All eligible Canadians can now renew their passports online, the federal government announced Tuesday, removing previous daily limits on how many people could apply online.
Immigration Minister Lena Diab spoke at a press conference in Vancouver.
“As of today, online passport renewal will be available to all eligible adult Canadians applying from within Canada. We are removing the limit on the number of people who can access this service,” Diab said.
“That means eligible Canadians will no longer have to wait for an online application spot to become available. They will be able to begin their renewal online whenever it is convenient for them to do so.”
The announcement comes after multiple reports in recent years of Canadians having to wait hours in person and online for passport renewal spots.
At the time, Service Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) cited a lack of re
“Removing the limit on online passport renewals may sound like a small operational change, but for hundreds of thousands of Canadians, it will mean one less errand, one less line-up and one less thing to worry about before their next journey,” Diab said.
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The changes come as the federal government says it expects demand for passport renewals to keep climbing.
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Annie Koutrakis, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of jobs and families, also spoke Tuesday and said an estimated 4.6 million passport applications will be made throughout 2026, up from 3.8 million last year.
She then said approximately two million of those passport applications are for people who could submit them online, and the changes mean they may be able to avoid waiting in person at Service Canada locations.
Diab was also asked by Global News whether the government’s online application portal can handle the influx of applications now that the caps have been removed.
“The system has been tested, and the IRCC and Service Canada have an expectation. They usually have an awareness of what they expect. And it was designed with that in mind and tested,” she said in response.
Canadian passport fees increased in March for the first time since 2013, but Diab said the new changes would not result in additional higher fees.
“We really need to keep up with the cost of the government providing services to Canadians. And so that’s why … there was an increase, and we don’t anticipate an increase now because of the announcement that I am making today,” she said.
Both in-person and mail-in services remain available for Canadians who are not able to renew their passports online or prefer traditional methods. This also includes express and urgent options for those who need quicker processing times.
Applying for a passport renewal online requires applicants to be located within Canada, use a valid online payment and submit a digital photo from a commercial photographer.
Applicants can also submit copies of supporting documents instead of mailing in the original versions.
Diab also said Canadians applying for a new passport may be able to do so even if theirs is expired or nearly expired, provided it was issued within the last 15 years.
Online passport renewals still follow a 20-business-day processing standard, and the government is maintaining its 30-business-day passport service guarantee for eligible complete applications to be processed or be free of charge.
