Heading south this winter? Better apply for a passport quickly
By THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA - If you're planning to head south for a winter escape and don't have a passport yet, you better get moving.
Jean-Sebastien Roy, a spokesman for Passport Canada, says the agency is in the middle of its busiest period with mailed applications taking up to six weeks to process.
If you're in a real rush, taking your application to a passport office can reduce the wait to just two weeks.
The agency is issuing between 20,000 and 23,000 passports daily, Roy said, and the recently adopted simplified passport renewal process has helped speed things along.
Roy said the agency has accepted over 400,000 renewal forms since the program's inception in August.
Under the new scheme, applicants must meet certain conditions, including currently holding a Canadian passport issued after Jan. 31, 2002.
The agency also now allows most Canadian adult passport holders residing in Canada or the United States to act as guarantors for passport renewals.
According to the Passport Canada website, demand for Canadian passports more than doubled between 2000 and 2007. The agency expects to issue more than four million this year.
http://travel.canoe.ca/Travel/News/2008/01/15/4774419-cp.html
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