10 Jul, 2012
Things we learned while renewing our passports. (Plus, where to get cheap passport photos in Ottawa)
Posted by andrea tomkins in: Ottawa|travel talk
I’m heading to BlogHer 2012 in NYC in August. I bought my ticket last year and have been waffling about my attendance for many months. It was only a couple weeks ago that a decision was made. It’s official. I’m going, and bringing the family with me.
During the day, I’ll be in sessions about content development, marketing, and branding while they explore the city and do all kinds of fun stuff. I’m happy they are coming with me, but sad I won’t be able to join them on their adventures. At this point I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to swing another visit. It’s just so expensive to stay there. Boo.
Anyway, one big thing that’s been on my to-do list is to get all of our passports renewed.
First thing: the photos. Did you know you’re not allowed to smile in Canadian passport photos anymore? Your expression must be totally neutral. That means that our photos ended up looking like mugshots.
All they’re missing is black horizontal bars in the background:
You can’t wear reflective glasses or funny hats either! Darn.
Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself. I didn’t want to pay through the nose so I asked Twitter and called around to see where we can get the cheapest passport photos in Ottawa. You might be surprised at what I found out:
- Black’s passport photo price is $24.85 including tax (although according to the website they offer a 25% discount for families of three or more)
- Costco: $7.90 (!)
- Shopper’s Drug Mart: $11.99
- Loblaws/Real Canadian Superstore (which is where we ended up): $9.99
- Walmart: Ugh. Don’t go to Walmart.
(This pricing is accurate as of July 2012.)
The Superstore did a good job and I was happy with the experience. No appointment is necessary, but I do recommend you check their hours before you go. (Photo studio hours are not the same as the store.) We were in and out really quickly and it was relatively painless.
Next: the forms.
Mark filled out our passport forms online and printed them out. I wanted to go to the passport office in person. If you do that the processing time is only 10 days as opposed to 20 days if you submit the application by mail.
So I brought our bundle o’ forms to the passport office on Meadowlands (Ottawa locations are all listed here) yesterday, only to find that I didn’t have Mark’s ID with me and he forgot to sign the girl’s applications.
Seems they need to be signed by both parents! Ha ha!
CUE. THE. RAGE.
TIP #1:
- Carefully read every single line on every single page of the passport application and double-check to make sure you have every piece of ID you require.
TIP #2:
- If someone else (like your spouse) is filling out the form, carefully read every single line on every single page of the passport application and triple-check to make sure you have every piece of ID you require BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE.
So Sarah and I went back there today for a second visit. It wasn’t so bad. The lady who was helping us was very nice. She even found a couple of OTHER ERRORS in the forms that, ahem, Mark filled out, and figured out a way around them so I wouldn’t have to return for a third time. We were only there for about an hour total.
Anyway, as of next year this process might look a bit different, well, the passports will be different anyway. Canada will be issuing ePassports in 2013 and they’ll be good for ten years. You can read more about them here.
