Winnipeg 
Canada has expanded its online renewal service to all eligible adult citizens living in Canada, removing the previous limit on how many people could use the digital option.
Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced the change Tuesday, allowing applicants to submit their renewal form, professional digital photo, and payment online. That means eligible Canadians can complete the process without mailing documents or visiting a Service Canada Centre.
“Canadians expect passport services that work for their lives,” Diab said, describing the expansion as part of the government’s work to modernize public services.
Who can renew online?
Canadians applying online must meet several conditions, including:
- Applying for themselves: The service cannot be used to renew another person’s passport.
- Living in Canada: Both the home and mailing address must be in Canada.
- Approaching expiry: The passport must already be expired or set to expire within six months.
- No immediate travel: Applicants must not need the passport for at least 20 business days, plus mailing time.
- No personal-detail changes: The name, birth information and gender identifier must remain the same.
- An eligible passport: It must be a regular blue passport issued within the past 15 years, valid for five or 10 years and obtained when the applicant was at least 16.
- No passport complications: Damaged, seized or surrendered passports are not eligible.
- Restrictions also apply to passports reported lost or stolen and those containing observations.
- A commercially taken passport photo is still required. For an online application, the photographer must provide a digital file.
Online renewals follow a 20-business-day service standard and include real-time application updates. Anyone who needs a passport sooner must apply in person for 10-business-day, express or urgent service.
The expansion follows a limited rollout that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada began in December 2024. Service Canada has also expanded 10-business-day service to Iqaluit and Yellowknife and publishes estimated in-person wait times for all Service Canada Centres.
