When I was in the office this week, we went through my files and documents and noticed that my passport expires February 2012, a fact that I was aware of but didn't think would be an issue since that's 11 months from now. However, in order to get a resident permit visa for Tanzania your passport has to be valid for 6 months after you return. So, this morning I called the Tanzanian High Commission in Ottawa and the lady told me that they might over look the 2 month difference but then again, that would depend on the immigration officer upon arrival in Tanzania....a chance that I'm not willing to take!
I then called Passport Canada but hung up after about 2 minutes of fun automated voice options that just take you in a loop and you either end up on hold for another 20 minutes or listening to the same options over and over again trying to figure out which one best suits your inquiry. My day was going well enough so I decided to just go and speak to someone in person. Since I had to go to the travel doctor anyway, I though I would kill two birds with one stone as both offices are in the same area of the city.
The guy at the Passport Office told me that he couldn't rush my passport renewal because they only rush if you need it within 10 business days or less and today is 12 business days for me. Apparently 2 days makes a world of difference. I sensed that he was starting to get frustrated with my inquiries, I understand that he must deal with a lot of people yelling at him on a daily basis, but I was trying to be rational! Now, my next plan of action is to go back first thing Monday morning and just pray that I have a passport in my hands by the 18th of March!
Useful Links:
Passport Canada
Foreign Affairs Canada
Something else to keep in mind with your passport:
Make sure you check how many blank pages you have left. Most visas and entry stamps take up a full page and if you don't have this space available you might run into trouble at the immigration office in your country of destination.
This story was sent to me in an email...
I WON'T BE GOING TO SOUTH AFRICA
André Désiront
| |
As I write this, I should really be photographing lions and elephants with my Nikon, on a private reserve located next to Kruger National Park in South Africa.
Instead, I am sitting in front of my computer in Montréal. Last Tuesday (Feb. 22), I took a United Airlines flight to Washington, where I arrived on time - long before the South African Airways (SAA) desk opened – and where I was to check-in for the Johannesburg flight taking off later that afternoon.
When the SAA employees opened the desk, I was among the first in line. A few minutes later, I was presenting my passport to the SAA employee, who leafed through it for quite awhile before informing me that she could not let me board me the plane.
Why? Because all the pages meant for visas and entry stamps were already full. There were a few empty spaces here and there, but the young woman informed me that South Africa requires a complete blank page on which to affix its entry permit.
After I asked her if this was some kind of joke, I had her bring over her supervisor who reiterated to me that it was a requirement that we were not going to find a way around. She showed me a notice issued by the South African Embassy in Washington which effectively stated that travellers without a completely blank page for visas and stamps in their passport would be refused upon arrival in the country.
“If I let you board, they will put you on the first flight back,” she explained. She suggested that I call the Canadian Embassy and ask that new pages be added to my passport. “If you act quickly, you might get back in time for tonight’s flight,” she continued. “Otherwise, I’ll keep a place for you on tomorrow night’s flight.”
I contacted the Washington Embassy where the consular services attendant, to my bitter disappointment, informed me that, for a number of years now, additional pages cannot be added to Canadian passports.
She told me I had to get a new passport, either at the Washington Embassy - which would take between 48 and 72 hours - or in Montreal, where I could get an emergency passport in 24 hours upon presentation of my travel papers. This was in the afternoon. One way or another, the schedule constraints were going to prevent me from taking an SAA plane before Friday night, delaying my arrival in South Africa until Saturday night, at which point it would be too late to take part in the events I had been invited to (but that’s another story).
So I decided to cancel my trip. I went to United’s ticket booth where a kind employee modified my reservation (I was supposed to return a week later) so that I could return to Montréal that same evening. Normally I would have had to pay a $75 fee for the modification but she was sympathetic after hearing about my little misadventure and made an exception for me.
Back in Montreal, I contacted the Ministry of External Affairs, where Pierre Florea, consular matters spokesperson, explained to me that “having a blank page available in one’s passport for visas is not an exceptional request limited to South Africa.” I was aware that we had to provide blank pages for authorities to stamp their visas in countries that require one, but South Africa does not require a travel visa from Canadian citizens.
I should have paid more attention to the ministry website. Only afterwards did I realize that in the destination section it clearly states that “Canadians arriving in South Africa with a full passport (i.e. does not contain at least two empty pages for the necessary South African Temporary Resident Permit or visa), will be denied entry to South Africa.”
Unfortunately, I never read the recommendations and tips provided by the website, even though I consult it on a regular basis. My mistake! Travel agents sending their clients abroad to places other than the Caribbean or the European Union should make it their bedtime reading.
The process by which you can add pages to a full passport was brought to an end on Jan. 4, 2005. Any applicant whose passport pages are full must now request a new one.
I had a 24-page passport. I went to the Passport Office yesterday and applied for a new one, this time with 48-pages. It will cost me an extra $5 ($92 instead of the $87 for the 24-page document), but for people like me who often travel, it’s indispensable.
As for my travel experience, I visited Washington’s Dulles Airport, which is all but deserted in the middle of the day. While waiting for the SAA desk to open I had a burger and fries at the Harris Bar Tap, a small bar located next to the Air France registry desk. The fries were dreadful.
Instead, I am sitting in front of my computer in Montréal. Last Tuesday (Feb. 22), I took a United Airlines flight to Washington, where I arrived on time - long before the South African Airways (SAA) desk opened – and where I was to check-in for the Johannesburg flight taking off later that afternoon.
When the SAA employees opened the desk, I was among the first in line. A few minutes later, I was presenting my passport to the SAA employee, who leafed through it for quite awhile before informing me that she could not let me board me the plane.
Why? Because all the pages meant for visas and entry stamps were already full. There were a few empty spaces here and there, but the young woman informed me that South Africa requires a complete blank page on which to affix its entry permit.
After I asked her if this was some kind of joke, I had her bring over her supervisor who reiterated to me that it was a requirement that we were not going to find a way around. She showed me a notice issued by the South African Embassy in Washington which effectively stated that travellers without a completely blank page for visas and stamps in their passport would be refused upon arrival in the country.
“If I let you board, they will put you on the first flight back,” she explained. She suggested that I call the Canadian Embassy and ask that new pages be added to my passport. “If you act quickly, you might get back in time for tonight’s flight,” she continued. “Otherwise, I’ll keep a place for you on tomorrow night’s flight.”
I contacted the Washington Embassy where the consular services attendant, to my bitter disappointment, informed me that, for a number of years now, additional pages cannot be added to Canadian passports.
She told me I had to get a new passport, either at the Washington Embassy - which would take between 48 and 72 hours - or in Montreal, where I could get an emergency passport in 24 hours upon presentation of my travel papers. This was in the afternoon. One way or another, the schedule constraints were going to prevent me from taking an SAA plane before Friday night, delaying my arrival in South Africa until Saturday night, at which point it would be too late to take part in the events I had been invited to (but that’s another story).
So I decided to cancel my trip. I went to United’s ticket booth where a kind employee modified my reservation (I was supposed to return a week later) so that I could return to Montréal that same evening. Normally I would have had to pay a $75 fee for the modification but she was sympathetic after hearing about my little misadventure and made an exception for me.
Back in Montreal, I contacted the Ministry of External Affairs, where Pierre Florea, consular matters spokesperson, explained to me that “having a blank page available in one’s passport for visas is not an exceptional request limited to South Africa.” I was aware that we had to provide blank pages for authorities to stamp their visas in countries that require one, but South Africa does not require a travel visa from Canadian citizens.
I should have paid more attention to the ministry website. Only afterwards did I realize that in the destination section it clearly states that “Canadians arriving in South Africa with a full passport (i.e. does not contain at least two empty pages for the necessary South African Temporary Resident Permit or visa), will be denied entry to South Africa.”
Unfortunately, I never read the recommendations and tips provided by the website, even though I consult it on a regular basis. My mistake! Travel agents sending their clients abroad to places other than the Caribbean or the European Union should make it their bedtime reading.
The process by which you can add pages to a full passport was brought to an end on Jan. 4, 2005. Any applicant whose passport pages are full must now request a new one.
I had a 24-page passport. I went to the Passport Office yesterday and applied for a new one, this time with 48-pages. It will cost me an extra $5 ($92 instead of the $87 for the 24-page document), but for people like me who often travel, it’s indispensable.
As for my travel experience, I visited Washington’s Dulles Airport, which is all but deserted in the middle of the day. While waiting for the SAA desk to open I had a burger and fries at the Harris Bar Tap, a small bar located next to the Air France registry desk. The fries were dreadful.
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