Better late than never… we guess.
Known as one of the most powerful passports in the world, since the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Canadians have expressed frustration in the passport application process as they anxiously awaited their passports for a trip abroad.
After a year in the making, the federal government announced on Tuesday that recent passport applicants will now be able to see the status of their applications.
The arrival of this online tool is a solution put forth to help aid the passport offices that have become overwhelmed with applications in 2022 as the federal government started easing travel restrictions caused by the pandemic.
On Tuesday, Karina Gould, the minister responsible for government services told reporters the passport backlog proved that there was an essential need for an online tracker.
Until now, applicants had to contact a call centre to check on the status of their applications.
According to Gould, the call centre received more than 15 million calls this past year, 70% of which were from Canadians checking in on the status of their application.
Going forward, Canadians submitting passport applications will need to provide their email address which will then be used to access the new online portal.
To check the status of your application, more information can be found on the Government of Canada website.
Safe travels!
