Just a note (September 14, 2015) – We are near the end of son’s first three year Canadian Passport and about to renew. We DID NOT update the picture any time during the three year period. You are allowed one ‘free’ picture update but we didn’t bother.
Even with his picture taken before he was a half year old and really only slightly resembling his present self, we travelled across the Canada/U.S. border between Ontario and New York as recently as late August, 2015 and had no problems whatsoever.
Quite frankly, getting a passport photo for a newborn or toddler can be a royal pain in the ass and those taking the pictures will most likely be less than mildly interested. Although it may not be the case for everyone, in our case we proved it not to be a necessity.
After my passport denial (click link for full story) adventure in 2009, I’m pretty conscious of getting things right when it comes to these international travel documents. When Eddie was born in June, 2012, we knew he would be travelling but didn’t think it was a rush to get the passport done yet.
After he was born, I went online to the Service Ontario site and quickly and easily got him registered, along with his social insurance number and birth certificate. However, there are two types of birth certificate, the long form and the short form. I chose the short form, not knowing what a long form birth certificate was and why anyone would have one.
I should have picked long form. When it came to applying for Eddie’s passport at the start of October, 2012, we came across a little obstacle in the passport process. As of October 1, 2012, when applying for a passport for a newborn you must show proof of parentage. Proof of parentage equals long form birth certificate.
Fortunately, this is a quick and easy process, again through Service Ontario. Within a week we had the long form birth certificate and were ready to get that passport.
For those in Ontario, here are a few things we found that made it easier (this is just opinion and may not apply to you):
- Go to a Service Canada office and get the physical passport application.
- Find a place that takes passport photos for newborns. Not many will – including the CAA in our town.
- Physically go to a passport office, as opposed to applying online and mailing everything in. Why? If something is missing or done wrong – you will know right away. And… I simply do not trust Canada Post…
For anyone in the Greater Toronto Area, it is worth going to the passport office on Gillingham Drive in Brampton. This little office is tucked away in a strip mall behind some big box stores, is English only and doesn’t do emergency applications. We have never had to wait more than 10 minutes to get called to the counter.
For a child under 3, the passport is valid for three years (everyone else is five). For a child that is less than one year old at the date of issue, the passport photo can be updated once for free over the three years – this does not extend the life of the passport.
The good thing is, a 48 page passport for a child under three is just $24 as opposed to the $92 for an adult. Like the birth certificate, we waiting just a week to receive the new passport.
