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The federal government is lifting a limit on how many Canadians can apply online to renew their passports, Immigration Minister Lena Diab announced on Tuesday.
Previously a maximum of 2,000 people per day could submit their applications online. That cap is now being removed. The online application process remains limited to those whose passport is set to expire within six months or has already expired.
“Eligible Canadians will no longer have to wait for an online application spot to become available, they will be able to begin their renewal online whenever it is convenient to do so,” Diab said during a news conference in Vancouver.
Canadians can only apply online from within Canada and will need to upload a digital passport photo from a commercial photographer. Applicants can also digitally upload their supporting documentation.
Diab didn’t rule out the possibility of further expanding the online application eligibility to children under 16 and Canadians applying abroad.
WATCH | Kids under 16 could become eligible later, minister says:
Government considering online passport renewals for kids under 16: minister
Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced that eligible Canadians aged 16 and older can now apply online to renew their passports. She said the government will monitor the program ‘as we continue to improve, perhaps adding children, perhaps adding population that is not in Canada, and so on.’
“We will continue to monitor how this goes on … as we continue to improve, perhaps adding children, perhaps adding populations outside Canada,” she said.
Canadians can still apply in person or by mail if they choose.
The online eligibility expansion is the latest change to the passport application process that the government has made in recent years. Those changes came after passport offices became overwhelmed with applications as the government began to ease pandemic-related travel restrictions, resulting in a backlog that hobbled the system.
When asked about the possibility that the expansion would overload the online application system, Diab said it has been “tested” and is ready for the increase.
WATCH | ‘The system’s been tested,’ Diab says:
Asked if passport renewal website will crash, minister says ‘the system’s been tested’
Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab on Tuesday downplayed the risk that an influx of online passport renewals would crash the system. Eligible Canadians aged 16 and over can now renew their passports through the Immigration Department’s website. ‘In person is always available and so is by mail, just in case,’ Diab said.
The initial online application phase was launched in December 2024 and was preceded by an online application status tracker in 2023.
While the service standard for processing passport applications stands at 20 days, the feds implemented a new “30 days or free” policy earlier this year. Both policies apply to online applications.
Select Service Canada centres have an expedited process for Canadians needing a passport within 10 days. Canadians will still need to apply in person for those urgent cases.