APEX INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL | CORPORATE TRAVEL SERVICES CANADA VACATION TRAVEL ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD | ||||||||||||||||
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| News Release October 1, 2007 New guarantor policy in effect Under the new policy an eligible guarantor must: * Be a Canadian citizen 18 years of age or older; * Hold a five-year Canadian passport that is valid or has been expired for no more than one year; * Have been 16 years of age or older when they applied for their own passport; and * Have known the applicant personally for at least two years. Demand for Canadian passports has more than doubled over less than a decade. In 1999-2000, Passport Canada issued 1.7 million passports. In 2006-2007, it issued 3.6 million passports and this fiscal year, the figure is expected to reach more than four million. Now, any family member as well as any individual residing at the applicant's address may act as guarantor, provided he or she meets the requirements noted above. To simplify the verification of guarantor eligibility, Passport Canada will use its own database, thereby increasing the security and efficiency of the process. | |||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Passport Renewal Program The Simplified Passport Renewal Program will be available as of August 15, 2007, and is part of a broader effort to modernize Canadian passport services. It will allow Canadian citizens who meet certain eligibility criteria to renew their passport using a shorter form and without submitting documentary evidence of citizenship, supplementary identification and a guarantor declaration. Under the renewal program, passport applicants will only be required to submit the shorter form along with two new photos, the application fee and their last passport. Canadians who meet the following eligibility criteria will be able to benefit from this program: They must be residing in Canada at the time they apply. They must have resided in Canada at the time of their previous application. They were 16 years old or over at the time of their previous application. Their previous passport: Must have been valid for five years, Must have been issued after January 31, 2002, Was never damaged or reported as lost or stolen, and Must have been issued under their current name. This program will yield benefits to both passport applicants and Passport Canada. Applicants will save time and will not have to surrender important documents such as their birth certificates or citizenship cards for an extended period of time. Passport Canada's productivity will increase, as fewer steps will be required for the entitlement and screening of each file. Renewal applications are still subject to all current security verifications. The new Simplified Passport Renewal Program application form will be available at all Passport Canada service points and through Passport Canada's Web site, and it will be accepted at all of Passport Canada offices, through receiving agents and by mail. Updated: 2007-06-08 | |||||||||||||||||
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