This fall, it'll already be time to renew my passport. Happily, I don't have to start the process at the moment. Beginning from Tuesday, the rules for air travel into the United States will require a passport, and this means the Canadian offices are hopping. In a year it will be required even for travel by road. This sort of puts an end to the long-held belief about having the longest undefended border in the world, eh?I remember being able to do a large part of the application process online in 2002. So, I looked around government sites and rediscovered epass Canada. If one takes the time to fill out everything on your computer, the completed application form can be printed on a local printer. Then, one just drops off or sends in the form and supporting documents at the nearest passport office.
I also found out that the epass can be used for services on the Canada Revenue Agency. There is further security as they needed to send me an additional code for their site. It allows residents to check on previous tax returns as well make changes to some personal data.