Renew Canadian passport from the U.S.

[Sofitalian 134]

Hi Canadian VJ members,

 

I have to renew my Canadian passport from the U.S. in the next 3-4 months. Has anyone renewed theirs from the U.S.? I wanted to see how you got your photos taken. I couldn't find anywhere in my city that takes Canadian passport photos, and I read that you can't do it by yourself because you need a professional photographer/studio to sign on the back of the photos.

 

I'm currently in Hong Kong for travelling and I wonder if I should just take mine from here. Will there be a problem when the photo studio address is in Hong Kong but I mail the application from the U.S.?

I sent this question to Canadian Consulate as well as the canada.ca website but no reply. Thanks in advance for anyone who can share their experience.

[Mike E 11,727]

8 minutes ago, mave said:

Hi Canadian VJ members,

 

I have to renew my Canadian passport from the U.S. in the next 3-4 months. Has anyone renewed theirs from the U.S.?

Yes, too many times. I am scarred for months after each renewal. 

 

8 minutes ago, mave said:

 

I wanted to see how you got your photos taken. I couldn't find anywhere in my city that takes Canadian passport photos, and I read that you can't do it by yourself because you need a professional photographer/studio to sign on the back of the photos.

I once tried to get Canadian passport photos done at Walgreens. They did manage to find the sizer. The photos were rejected for reasons other than. Walmart could also do them, but the background wasn't light enough. I've actually never had a passport photos from Walgreens for U.S. or Canadian passports ever be accepted.

 

The last  two times  time I did it,  I went to the professional photographer at Sears. Of course Sears is pretty much gone. Maybe JC Penny is still around. Any true professional photographer  with digital photography skills should be able to do this.

 

The photographer  doesn't sign the back of the photo.  Per https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/renew-adult-passport/renew-us.html#documents

 

 

Quote

 

• On the back of one of the photos, the photographer must write
  • their name
  • their complete address and
  • the date the photos were taken

 

 

 

It also doesn't say the photographer has to be professional. I think the next time I get one done, I will ask a neighbor to take a photo with their smart phone and text it to me. Then I will get it printed myself at Walgreens. Then cut it. Then ask the neighbor to write name, address, and date down.

 

8 minutes ago, mave said:

 

I'm currently in Hong Kong for travelling and I wonder if I should just take mine from here. Will there be a problem when the photo studio address is in Hong Kong but I mail the application from the U.S.?

As long as it is not more that 6 months old, no problem.

8 minutes ago, mave said:

I sent this question to Canadian Consulate as well as the canada.ca website but no reply. Thanks in advance for anyone who can share their experience.

I had one passport renewal where they allowed Canadians in the USA to use USA passport standards. That was so stress reducing. Made up for the being required to find a doctor to be my guarantor. Thank goodness that stupidity is finally gone (for renewals). Now it is just find two references.

[Sofitalian 134]

Thanks @Mike E for sharing your experiences. Much appreciated.

 

From the below link, I read that "name and complete address of the photo studio". Hence I had the impression that it must be a photo studio.

 

On the back of 1 photo

• the photographer must clearly write or stamp the
  • date the photo was taken
  • name and complete address of the photo studio

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/photos.html

 

If that is not a must, maybe I can even ask my husband to take it for me (he used to be a professional photographer). 😃

[Mike E 11,727]

There is another option. If you google for 

 

  Canadian passport photo online

 

you will find outfits that will will let you upload a photo.  They then take it from there and ship you your photos with the stamp on the back.

 

"Does this meet the spirit and letter of the regulation" you ask?

 

Well it depends on what a photographer is. A photographer is someone who prescribes the art of producing images from electromagnetic waves. I'm sold.

[Lemonslice 4,590]

2 hours ago, mave said:

Hi Canadian VJ members,

 

I have to renew my Canadian passport from the U.S. in the next 3-4 months. Has anyone renewed theirs from the U.S.? I wanted to see how you got your photos taken. I couldn't find anywhere in my city that takes Canadian passport photos, and I read that you can't do it by yourself because you need a professional photographer/studio to sign on the back of the photos.

 

I'm currently in Hong Kong for travelling and I wonder if I should just take mine from here. Will there be a problem when the photo studio address is in Hong Kong but I mail the application from the U.S.?

I sent this question to Canadian Consulate as well as the canada.ca website but no reply. Thanks in advance for anyone who can share their experience.

No problem taking the photo in Hong Kong.  You can also find a local photographer in the US by reaching out to your local consulate, they maintain a list of photographers who are aware of the requirements; list is also available on the travel smart app. 

[Sofitalian 134]

Hi all, I'd like to provide some updates I got regarding my previous question.

 

1. I emailed the Canadian Consulate in HK to ask about this. I received two replies (1 minute apart). The first one said it's ok to use the photos taken in HK for my renewal applications sent from the U.S.. In the 2nd reply, it stated that "if you have your photos taken in Hong Kong, and plan to submit your application to another passport office other than Hong Kong, then it is up to the processing officer to whether or not consider the photos acceptable. Questions may be raised whether or not the applicant is within the jurisdiction of the passport office it the photos are taken at another country." 

 

2. Then I wrote to the Canadian Consulate in the U.S., they provided me a list of passport photographers in those states that fall under the consular jurisdiction of the State I live in. However, they asked me to confirm with Passport Program if the photos taken in Hong Kong are acceptable in my case.

 

3. I talked to an agent at Passport Program. They confirmed that photos taken outside U.S. are ok as long as the photos are taken according to the specifications required (and I mentioned that the photography studio in Hong Kong is accepted by Canadian Consulate HK).

 

On the list of photographers, I found ONE Walgreens. I called Walgreens at that particular location. They confirmed that they had their equipment set up to take Canadian passport photos, and they will put the studio name, address and date. I guess this will be my go-to in order to avoid any unexpected rejection from Passport Program.  

[Lemonslice 4,590]

On 1/31/2023 at 1:49 PM, mave said:

Hi all, I'd like to provide some updates I got regarding my previous question.

 

1. I emailed the Canadian Consulate in HK to ask about this. I received two replies (1 minute apart). The first one said it's ok to use the photos taken in HK for my renewal applications sent from the U.S.. In the 2nd reply, it stated that "if you have your photos taken in Hong Kong, and plan to submit your application to another passport office other than Hong Kong, then it is up to the processing officer to whether or not consider the photos acceptable. Questions may be raised whether or not the applicant is within the jurisdiction of the passport office it the photos are taken at another country." 

 

2. Then I wrote to the Canadian Consulate in the U.S., they provided me a list of passport photographers in those states that fall under the consular jurisdiction of the State I live in. However, they asked me to confirm with Passport Program if the photos taken in Hong Kong are acceptable in my case.

 

3. I talked to an agent at Passport Program. They confirmed that photos taken outside U.S. are ok as long as the photos are taken according to the specifications required (and I mentioned that the photography studio in Hong Kong is accepted by Canadian Consulate HK).

 

On the list of photographers, I found ONE Walgreens. I called Walgreens at that particular location. They confirmed that they had their equipment set up to take Canadian passport photos, and they will put the studio name, address and date. I guess this will be my go-to in order to avoid any unexpected rejection from Passport Program.  

Good luck and please keep us updated. 

[Isabel&Will 112]

On 1/31/2023 at 12:49 PM, mave said:

On the list of photographers, I found ONE Walgreens. I called Walgreens at that particular location. They confirmed that they had their equipment set up to take Canadian passport photos, and they will put the studio name, address and date. I guess this will be my go-to in order to avoid any unexpected rejection from Passport Program.  

I had to apply for a new Canadian passport from the US since I changed my last name when I got married. I just sent it off a couple weeks ago so I don't have information on whether or not it was successful unfortunately, but they did process my payment 😅 I will try and update once I know more but the processing times are pretty long.

I went the Walgreens route, mainly because there were no recommended photographers near me. Keep in mind that the people working there when you go may not be knowledgeable about non-US passport photos and you will (probably) have to cut your own photos. They also had a photo paper shortage for a while so you may run into that as well 🙃 Their passport computer screens had a walkthrough on how to take and crop passport photos from many different countries, but I had to help walk them through it because they'd never done it before. I'd definitely recommend bringing the official "Examples of acceptable and unacceptable passport photos" with you and comparing if you can, especially since the photos themselves can be somewhat pricey. I think the resulting photos were acceptable but they are only valid for 6 months rather than what I believe is the usual 12 when applying from Canada (passport application requirements, not because they were taken at Walgreens).

 

I sent my application via USPS and was required to fill out a customs form. The address given for applications from the US didn't have a street number or PO Box (it's literally just "Passport Program", City, Province, Postal Code) so you may not be able to fill in some of the fields on the customs form, so just be careful with that. I put "Passport Program" as the business name and skipped the street number fields and it seems to have gotten where it needed to go. The USPS clerks unfortunately didn't have any insights or advice and told me they don't know how Canadian addresses work so I kinda just had to cross my fingers and hope for the best. Definitely get some form of tracking, especially if you have to send any original documents. 

[Sofitalian 134]

@Isabel&Will Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

As you said, the staff at Walgreens wasn't that knowledgeable. I found out that one Staples branch here that can cater to many countries' passport photo requirements. So I took mine at Staples. At the end, I sent two sets of photos (one took at Staples here, one took in Hong Kong) with my application. I wrote a cover letter to mention why I did that.

 

I sent my application at a FedEx location here. Whey they input the street address and postal code of the Passport Program, in their system, the province is written as "PQ" instead of "QC". There's no way they can change it. When I tracked the package, it's already been delivered. Let's see how long it will take for my application.

 

The staff at FedEx also said they could take Canadian passport photos (change setting in their machine).

 

[Isabel&Will 112]

12 hours ago, mave said:

in their system, the province is written as "PQ" instead of "QC". There's no way they can change it. When I tracked the package, it's already been delivered. Let's see how long it will take for my application.

I'm glad you found a way to make it work and good luck with your application! I believe PQ is the French abbreviation for Quebec (shorthand for "Province du Québec") so I think it would have made it there either way, but from what I've read they stopped using that regularly in the 90s so it's interesting that the system hasn't been updated 

[Mike E 11,727]

I’ve no confidence that Walgreens photos will be accepted, simply because the workers there have no formal training in photography and certainly none in photo standards required by immigration authorities. 
 

Fewer than 50 percent of photos I’ve had taken at Walgreens are accepted by either the U.S. or Canadian passport agencies. Once I detected that pattern, I stopped using Walgreens and other  drug stores. I mean  think about it: you wouldn’t get a photo at a liquor store or a cannabis shop? Why a drug store? 
 

Someday Canada’s passport agency will adopt 21st century standards.  I can produce  superior results from my iPhone.  
 

 USPS priority mail is great for domestic stuff. It is poor for international, and then you have to keep in mind that Canada Post(e) is going to take over once it crosses the border (and to do so requires clearance by both CBP and CBSA which can take weeks).  Canada Post(e) is just awful and prone to wild cat strikes.  

 

I’ve always used FedEX for my Canadian passport applications.   I’ve never noticed it used PQ instead of QC. QC is the mandated abbreviation. Since it never leaves FedEX’s system in probably  doesn’t matter.  Still,  I suppose it is time to switch to DHL, which years of VJ reading has taught that  is the one  true universal courier. 

[Anthony446 51]

I have nothing to add here but I will also be up for renewing my passport in the near future, so I appreciate the info!

[Sofitalian 134]

I'm happy to report that I got my new passport together with my old one today! From the date they rec'd my package till they prepared the FedEx shipping label, it took 11 working days.

 

I sent two sets of photos (one taken in Hong Kong and one taken in Staples in US). They used the one in HK as I requested.

[Lemonslice 4,590]

On 2/27/2023 at 10:59 AM, mave said:

I'm happy to report that I got my new passport together with my old one today! From the date they rec'd my package till they prepared the FedEx shipping label, it took 11 working days.

 

I sent two sets of photos (one taken in Hong Kong and one taken in Staples in US). They used the one in HK as I requested.

Missed your update, that is great news.  Thank you for sharing!