Passport to Nowhere
These days it’s hard to find something to praise about the US. Most of the time, it’s easier to criticise but in this case, I can readily say that there is one good thing about their system that is sorely lacking in Canada. It has to do with the passport system.
In Canada, your passport is only good for a paltry five years and in order to acquire said document in the first place, you need to provide a copy of your birth certificate or proof of citizenship as well as supply the government with two further pieces of ID that prove you are who you say you are (this can be a license, health card, SIN card etc), address information, workplace information, as well as supply two character references who have known you for two years, emergency contact and secure a guarantor who has known you for at least two years.
On top of the plethora of requested information, you also need to have the passport picture taken to match certain requirements. Such as, you cannot smile (meaning, you can’t say cheese), it has to be taken against a certain background etc.
Once you’ve done all the paperwork, then you bring it into the passport office and shell out $85CND for a document that will only be valid for 5 years. And that fee is for typical processing time not for accelerated processing time, it’s for the regular time, which is now subject to a massive 10 week backlog. That is if you don’t do it over the internet. If you go in person, it’s only a mere 2 week delay.
However, in the US, while there are strident regulations like there are in Canada, there is one key difference which makes their system preferable and it is the simple fact that they don’t have to renew their passport for 10 years after it is sent to them. On top of that, the passport is actually renewable, unlike in Canada, where after the 5 year period, it expires, requiring the person to begin the process all over even though they already went through the process.
The cost of acquiring a passport in the US is also less than it is here, not only because the applicant can renew after a longer period of time but because the initial cost is less over all.
The initial cost is $82USD, and renewal is $67.
There are various documents that are required but the factors such as the valid time period and cost make it favourable as well as the fact that the renewal process is simplified for those who have already been approved.
Too bad it won’t apply in Canada until August 15th, 2007. But even then, it won’t help me because I’ll be hit with the backlog when I go to “renew” my passport – got to love name changing.
Stumble It!
