Passport Canada has announced that it will introduce a new 10-year ePassport with embedded computer chip and distinctive historical watermark features which means the cost of renewing one will rise. The new passport will be full of iconic images that will make Canadian passports more attractive and more secure. These images showcase Canada’s history and the building of our nation.
As of July 1st, 2013, all new Canadian passports will be 36-page electronic passports also known as ePassports. At this time, applicants age 16 and up will have the option of applying for a passport with either a five or ten year validity for both first-time applications and renewals. The new ePassports will cost $160 and prices for kid’s passports will raise to $57 (an increase of $20). That same child’s passport, if applied for outside Canada, will cost $100.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird unveiled the new chip technology passports in October, saying they look on the outside like the current passport, but have new security features that make the passport more tamper-proof. When information is first stored on the e-chip in the passport, the e-chip is electronically locked so that your information cannot be tampered with. No additional information about you or your travels will be stored on the e-chip.
The agency is also hiking other fees, including a $45 charge on top of the regular passport fee to replace a document that’s lost, damaged or stolen.
Canadians ordering passports from outside the country will see the biggest jump in fees. It will cost $190 to apply for, or receive, the five-year document in another country. The fee will be $260 for the 10-year version requested under the same circumstances.
Over 100 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France, have been using ePassports for several years with no reported chip failures. Canada is the only G8 country that doesn’t currently issue ePassports to the general public, although it has been issuing chip-enhanced diplomatic and special passports since 2009.
For more information on passport renewals or the new ePassport, visit the Passport Canada website.