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All eligible Canadian adults can now apply online to renew their passports, Immigration Minister Lena Diab announced on Tuesday.

Only Canadians with passports expiring within 6 months were previously eligible

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Someone holding a Canadian passport in their hand.
The option to renew passports online is now open to all eligible Canadians. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

All eligible Canadian adults can now apply online to renew their passports, Immigration Minister Lena Diab announced on Tuesday.

Previously, Canadians could only renew online if their passport expires in the next six months or had already expired. Otherwise, they were required to apply in person.

“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.

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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darren Major is a senior writer for CBC’s parliamentary bureau in Ottawa. He previously worked as a digital reporter for CBC Ottawa and a producer for CBC’s Power & Politics. He holds a master’s degree in journalism and a bachelor’s degree in public affairs and policy management, both from Carleton University. He also holds a master’s degree in arts from Queen’s University. He can be reached at darren.major@cbc.ca.

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