Bastards.

[bjarvis]

My application to replace my missing passport was submitted a while ago.

Just today, Passport Canada announced a policy change dated October 1: they've changed the rules for eligibility of guarantors.

To this point, certain professionals who knew the applicant for at least two years and were not a relative could be a guarantor; for those of us living outside the Dominion, the list of professionals was considerably shorter but not impossible.

Under the new rules, a guarantor is now allowed to be a relative and the list of professional occupations is now out the window. The difficult part for me is that the guarantor must be him/herself a holder of a Canadian passport.

There are no Canadians within a day's drive of Washington, DC who currently holds a passport and can legitimately say they've known me for two years.

There is no word at the moment about what they're going to do with passport applications already in the pipeline. If I at least had a rejection notice, I might run into someone in Seattle next week who has known me the required period of time, say, Anne Uebelacker or any of my friends in Squares Across the Border. My only alternate plan is to ship my documentation to friends or family in Canada for their signatures, ship the documents back to me in the US, then ship them all back to the Gov't of Canada for processing.

To say this sucks toxic waste is a mild understatement.

Comments

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

I believe the requirements change was to allow Passport Canada to check their own database of passport holders rather than having to rely on membership lists submitted by professional associations. That makes sense, but they really need a different criteria for Canucks abroad.

[ciddyguy.livejournal.com]

That makes sense but not everyone does things that make sense which is why the comment in the first place.