In the hope of avoid long lines and frustrated people, I applied to renew my passport in October.
I did this by mail.
This felt "early" as my passport was expiring Dec. 24.
Little did I know a week-long Canada Post strike would cause my passport to be stuck in limbo.
All this would be fine, as I don’t have any vacations or travel coming up, but making the situation much more complicated is the fact that I am moving on Dec. 30.
Not far albeit, but still a move nonetheless. I won’t have access to my current address, if the passport arrives after Dec. 30.
I’ve been spending the past weeks since Oct. 24 crossing my fingers that it would miraculously arrive at my Vancouver house.
On Nov. 13, the payment of $160 came out of my account from "SC Passport Mississauga, Ontario," but there has been no sign of it.
Canada Post workers went on a nationwide strike on Nov. 15 and it’s still ongoing with no end in sight.
255 callers ahead of me
I decided to go online and check the status. Here I was just told it was "in progress" and felt confused once again as to what to do next.
My loving parents called me daily and each day asked if I had any sign of the missing passport.
After reading a Toronto Star article, my parents suggested I call the passport program at 1-819-997-8338. This way I could try and find out if mine had been stuck with Canada Post, or is one of the 185,000 passports being held.
When I called, I was notified there were 255 callers ahead of me.
After realizing this waiting game was not going to work, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
Here’s hoping my journey to finding my lost passport will help you if you’re in a similar situation.
Don’t make the same mistake I did
Thankfully, I live in Vancouver and could walk to the Vancouver Service Canada Centre building on West Hastings Street to Passport Services.
When I walked into the atrium at 10 a.m., my slight moment of relief not seeing people lined up outside was quickly squashed.
The entire downstairs atrium was filled with people waiting in line. So I took one small sigh and joined them. The Passport Services opens at 8:30 a.m., so getting there earlier might have helped.
After a few minutes, I overheard someone explaining how this line was for passport renewal and I realized, only thanks to them, I needed to speak with someone at the front of the line.
They alerted me that I needed to wait inside and was handed a red ticket with the handwritten number 140 on it.
Over the next hour, I watched as the staff tried to help people and the frustration grew on people’s faces.
Finally, my number was called and I felt like I won a prize. A woman spoke to everyone in line explaining how if you are not travelling in the next 10 business days, you need to come back and they will not issue a passport until then.
I explained my situation and she told me I needed to come back and "wait out the strike." Trying to explain again that it was not about travel, the issue was my address, she told me to have my file number and my date of birth.
One of these I had, my date of birth, but I was never given a file number because I mailed my passport through Canada Post.
As I waited in line, I remembered that I had checked online for the status of my passport back in November. Checking my emails I found it and luckily I had my file number in the email.
Many other people tried to say they just wanted their passports now, but without fail, they were turned away if they could not prove their travels. People had to print off their flights or receipts for upcoming trips. So don’t arrive empty-handed and print this off before.
You can check wait times online for the office, but this time only reflects how long it takes once you’re inside — not the time you wait outside in the atrium.
Be patient and kind
Finally, it was my turn to explain my situation to one of the Passport Service officers.
She confirmed I could not get a new passport, but suggested I change my address so if and when the strike is over my passport would be sent to my new Vancouver address.
I was then handed another number — U005 — and told once again to sit and wait.
There were a few gaps in communication that I and others figured out ourselves by chatting. I understand staff are doing their best, but a lot of people were coming in and backlogging the system because they just wanted a passport the same day.
While waiting, I overheard a couple that wanted a new passport before Dec. 30 due to travel, but the officer said she would not accept this as the passports don’t expire for another year and could not complete their request.
They waited two hours to speak with the officer.
Thankfully, I did not leave and it took another 45 minutes until I spoke to the next officer. This time, I explained the situation from the start, asking for any help in changing my address.
She asked me a series of questions then stepped away and came back a few minutes later.
My passport had not been sent to Canada Post, it is completed and is at a Passport Canada location ready to be sent out.
She asked me to write my scenario down on a blank piece of paper, just as I told her.
At the end she explained how she is going to put a request to have my passport sent to me immediately using a courier service, such as UPS. That way it would arrive at my current address before I move, around Dec. 20.
I was so appreciative for her help and she told me if I don’t hear from her in two business days that means it’s been approved to be priority sent.
Here’s hoping my phone does not ring and that they don’t call me. Otherwise, I am not sure what’s next and will likely be back in line waiting.
I’ve heard of people’s weddings being impacted, not being able to see family members or people’s jobs being impacted by not having their passports due to the strike.
After three hours, I have a solution and I appreciate their help very much. I can only imagine how exhausted the staff are constantly dealing with frustrated people who are all being affected in different ways.
