In recent years, Passport Canada has changed its requirements so that you will no longer have to attend at a lawyer’s office for notarization for application, renewal, or replacement of a lost or damaged passport. Guarantors and references can be your friends, family members, or employers, who have known you for more than several years and who are of the age of majority and a Canadian citizen. Application and renewal of passports can be done via regular mail, at the postal offices or receiving offices, and the designated Passport Canada offices.
In the event you are new to the city and you have no one to act as your guarantor, then a lawyer, notary public, commissioner of oaths, or justice of the peace may assist in swearing you under oaths, sign and seal the form called the Statutory Declaration in Lieu of a Guarantor. This form is only available for in-person pick up at the passport offices. To save you time waiting in line, the form is often kept by the security/reception desk at the passport offices. You will need to pick up the form from the passport office, get your passport photos taken, contact one of the mentioned officials and get the form sign and seal, bring that form back to the passport office along with your application, photos and the required fee. This process can only be done in person at the passport office.
New travel regulations for Canadians now require a valid passport for entry into the United States and many other countries down in the Caribbean. As a result, there may be people who might be caught by the new rules. If you are one of those individuals who allowed their passports to expire and your travel flight is coming up within days, Passport Canada offers emergency, express and urgent passport processing for an extra fee. The fastest processing time is around 24 hours. In very rare cases, a 12 hours turn-around time may be requested. Except for certain holidays, there are passport offices in the Greater Toronto Area that also open during the weekends. Again, you will not need the services of a lawyer or notary public for emergency passports, unless, you require the Statutory Declaration in Lieu of a Guarantor signed and sealed.
In the event you are new to the city and you have no one to act as your guarantor, then a lawyer, notary public, commissioner of oaths, or justice of the peace may assist in swearing you under oaths, sign and seal the form called the Statutory Declaration in Lieu of a Guarantor. This form is only available for in-person pick up at the passport offices. To save you time waiting in line, the form is often kept by the security/reception desk at the passport offices. You will need to pick up the form from the passport office, get your passport photos taken, contact one of the mentioned officials and get the form sign and seal, bring that form back to the passport office along with your application, photos and the required fee. This process can only be done in person at the passport office.
New travel regulations for Canadians now require a valid passport for entry into the United States and many other countries down in the Caribbean. As a result, there may be people who might be caught by the new rules. If you are one of those individuals who allowed their passports to expire and your travel flight is coming up within days, Passport Canada offers emergency, express and urgent passport processing for an extra fee. The fastest processing time is around 24 hours. In very rare cases, a 12 hours turn-around time may be requested. Except for certain holidays, there are passport offices in the Greater Toronto Area that also open during the weekends. Again, you will not need the services of a lawyer or notary public for emergency passports, unless, you require the Statutory Declaration in Lieu of a Guarantor signed and sealed.