OTTAWA — Canadian adults who meet federal eligibility requirements can now renew their passports online without visiting a Service Canada location or mailing an application.Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced the nationwide expansion Tuesday, opening the online service to all eligible adult applicants after a limited rollout.Applicants must have both a home and mailing address in Canada and must be renewing their own passport.Their current passport must be a regular blue passport issued within the past 15 years. It must have been issued when the applicant was at least 16 years old, have been valid for five or 10 years and show the holder’s place of birth.Online renewal is only available when a passport has already expired or will expire within six months. Canadians whose passports remain valid for longer cannot use the online service..Applicants must also obtain a digital passport photograph taken in person by a commercial photographer. Scanned copies of printed photographs will not be accepted.The government says online applications can take up to 20 business days to process, not including mailing time.A person’s existing passport is cancelled once the online application is submitted and cannot be used while the renewal is being processed. Anyone requiring a passport sooner is being advised to apply in person.Passports renewed online are mailed to the applicant. The service is not available to Canadians whose home or mailing address is outside the country.The online application uses Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s new portal and allows applicants to upload their photograph, provide the required information and pay the fee electronically.A five-year adult passport currently costs $122.50, while a 10-year passport costs $163.50 following fee increases that took effect March 31.Online passport renewal was first made available to a limited group of Canadians in December 2024 as part of the federal government’s digital modernization program.More than 91,000 Canadians had used the system to apply for an adult passport renewal by Jan. 31, according to federal briefing documents.Applicants who are ineligible to use the online service may continue to renew by mail or in person.Child passports cannot be renewed. Parents must submit a new application each time a child requires another passport.
