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Passport Canada
Category: Public Services & Government Public Services & Government [Edit]
757 Hastings Street WSte 241
Vancouver, BC V6C 1A1
Neighbourhood: Downtown
(800) 567-6868
5 reviews for Passport Canada
5 reviews in English
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Review from Sarah R.
Vancouver, BC
1/13/2012
I was amazed at the efficiency with which my passport was processed. I'm travelling to the states in three weeks, and I was concerned I wouldn't have my passport back in time. I went in to the Vancouver Passport Office at 7.15am on Friday, January 6 hoping to avoid a long line. I was about 10th in line for opening at 7.30. Though the attendants were a bit brusque, and the directions weren't exactly clear as to which line to wait in and what to expect next, I was processed in no more than 15 minutes. Granted, I did have the simplified renewal form complete and all my documents in order, and appropriate pictures.
I received my new passport Friday, January 13; one week later! Between them and Canada Post, it's nice to be able to say for once that I was amazed at the efficiency of government services! Kudos! -
Review from David W.
1/17/2011 3 Check-ins Here
Located on the 2nd floor of the Sinclair Centre, initially built in part in 1910 (that's right 1910!) a series of historic buildings were merged in 1986 by the Henriquez Partners Architects,the designers of the BC Cancer Research building on Broadway (giant circular windows), to finally form the Sinclair Centre.
Upon walking in you may take the elevator, which I would describe as the slow way, or the stairs next to the elevator that has a clearly marked sign passport office, which obviously would be the fast way.
The regular lineup starts with the stanchions outside. This part is poorly designed as there are actually two queues once you get inside. One for pickup and one for filing your paperwork. The pickup line almost has no one and you may go straight into the passport office and line up there. It's tucked away on the far side of the wall and you must literally cut through the regular lineup to gain access to it.
The passport office expects you to be knowledgeable of the process and come well prepared. This is done by going online to read about the entire process and also where you may download the forms. I would strongly recommend not going down to the passport office with out these forms filled out in full.
Their busiest days are Monday and Friday for obvious reasons. Queue times on those days are usually about 1.5 hours even at 7:30am Monday when there were people lined up beyond the length of the stanchions waiting for the office to open. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays the line up time usually only takes about 15-30 minutes.
If you haven't filled out your forms you may pick up the forms just left of the entrance. This place really isn't the place to ask a lot of questions as they are very busy and the reception line up is mainly for processing what type of paperwork you intend to file, whether its complete, and which ticket number they'll give you. Show them your forms as the first thing when you go up. You'll be given a disgusting used bag with all your stuff in it and wait in the waiting area for your number to be called and finish your process with an agent. I saw several people with very little knowledge of what they should have done when they lost their passport and get very little service from the agents. The reason being its a complicated process.
If your passport is stolen / lost / or damaged, unless you have a travel itinerary or other rock solid evidence of travel such as a work contract (and even then its up to the discretion of the agent) you will not be fast tracked a passport. This also costs about $100 extra and takes 24 hours. Otherwise you must wait 14 days.
You must report it in person at the Vancouver Police Station. They'll give you a number that you'll have to put on your PPTR 203 form.
Second you'll have to fill out a statement, your PPTR 203 form, have it witnessed by a person of the law such as a lawyer or notary. This will cost you about $100 but I managed to find a notary just up the street from Sinclair who did it for $40.
You will need to have 2 passport photos taken which you may do at Sinclair but you must have a guarantor sign the back of your photos to prove its the true likeness of yourself. London Drugs does a 15 minute passport photo and processing. This guarantor must also sign your PPTR 153 form stating they are a Canadian citizen, held a valid passport for at least 5 years, and has known you for 2+ years. They've changed it to where a family member, even residing at the same address, may be your guarantor. In addition you must provide 2 additional references of people who have known you for 2 years, but do not have to meet as many requirements as the guarantor.
Lastly, you will need a piece of ID such as a driver's license and proof of your Canadian citizenship such as a birth certificate or citizenship card.
The process for a applying for a passport is fairly similar to this except you will not need to fill out the police report or the PPTR 203. The whole application process costs $87-92 depend if its a 24 or 48 pages. A renew is even more simple and you fill out the PPTR 053. You cannot pay by cash.
Washrooms are downstairs in the food court. Note the food court doesn't wake up till around 9:30am. I also strongly recommend sitting on the right side of the room as if you sit on the left side you'll notice the board with the numbers is obstructed by a light and you have to look behind you to see which letter is in front of the number.
I've definitely seen more beginner friendly systems such as at the consulate in Paris. The Canadian government made a huge move over the last decade to go online and reduce their operating costs but having been through the passport office numerous times I pity the stressed out travelers and first timer's who generally get a good shock. -
Review from Melissa E.
Vancouver, BC
3/15/2011
Ah the dreaded passport office. It always creeps up on you and once you step in the door it feels like you never left.
I went over there totally unprepared not having filled out the application beforehand which just means I spent way too much time on the phone calling references and old jobs asking for their postal code. Annoying.
So here are my suggestions:
1- Fill out the forms BEFORE you go to the office
2- Fill out the simpler form if at all possible. Much faster and you don't need a guarantor to sign anything
3- Arrive between 10-11am. This way you avoid the initial early morning, pre-work lineups as well as the lunch rush.
At the end of the day, once my application was complete, I probably only spent a total of an hour waiting. Not too bad.
Everyone working there was very helpful although I didn't have any major problems or issues.
I can't really give more than 3 stars though cause is any passport office worthy of more than that? If there is, I want to move to that country. Now that I think of it, a coffee cart outside would have been nice and god knows they would make a killing. Also, they could use more desk space for those of us ill prepared and having to fill things out on site. -
Review from Jenni B.
1/3/2010
Oh the joys of the pain in the arse which is renewing your passport.
I thought I would be smart and nip in to renew last week - I mean everyone seemed to have the week off so lines should be short right? Ahhh, what an eejit I am! The first office was deceptful, didn't realize I had to go to the "upstairs room." Then it being lunch, half their staff was on break which made the line crawl for a while.
But here were my happy points:
1. Watching some obnoxious girl be chewed out for putting in her passport applications 10 business days prior to her date of travel and not wanted to pay the express fee. (I heard the employee delivering the chew out use the words "how dare you"). Awesome for a laugh!
2. Everyone I dealt with was super friendly and efficient!
3. I get confused. When finding my way to the upstairs "sit and wait to pay and hand in said renewal form" they had people directing. Yay!
4. There were at least 60 people in the room waiting when I walked in; but after everyone returned from their break it was super fast!
5. Seriously, the staff I dealt with were awesome!
So, it took an hour, which I think was atypical and definately bad timing on my part. But they have those handy travel brouchers to read and pass the time.
And super happy point - I adamantly wanted to keep my current passport (you know memories, has my visa in there for Ireland though it's invalid(, and the girl nullified it and returned it to me on the spot.
So, I can't say I loved the experience of renewing, but they are definately doing a good job of doing their best. -
Review from Phil S.
Vancouver, BC
8/31/2009
Not sure if it was sheer luck or the time that I went but went in at 10.45 am and there was a 5 minute wait to get my application. Polite service, no wait, amazing! I think they've hired extra staff to help with the backlog. I was also promised my wait would only be 10 days for the passport, woohoo! Talk about service from a government agency.
