Indian Passport Renewal from BLS Toronto

[info4sourav]

Hello everyone,

I am a PR holder of Canada and residing here since July last year (2018). My passport is going to expire in November 2019.
As I don't live in Toronto, I am thinking toapply for the renewal process during my visit to Toronto in a week from now.

I have a couple of questions, Would request you to kindly help/advise me in this, based on your personal experiences/knowledge.

1) Do I need to go through BLS International at Brampton only or can I get it done directly through the consulate in Toronto? In the latter case, if there any benefit in terms of processing time?

2) Do I need to submit my old passport and PR card along with the application form? I have a visitor visa to US stamped on my old passport,which is valid till 2023. Will that be gone once the passport is renewed?

3) Are they going to mail me my new passport,alongwith my old passport copy to the local address provided by me? In that, is it reliable enough to get it couriered outside Toronto (within Ontario)?

4) If I fill up the form online and then go to BLS International office, from your personal experience could you please tell me how much time do they take to call up and get the application submitted?

5) Do you advise to give my current local address in Canada to be mentioned there in the passport or do I need to mention my erstwhile Indian home address only?

6) Do I also need to submit COPR or any other document? I have PR card, will that suffice?

Would be grateful for a prompt reply/advice on the above points.

Regards,
Sourav

 

[PranavKat]

Hi Sourav,

see your replies below to the best of my knowledge.

Hello everyone,

I am a PR holder of Canada and residing here since July last year (2018). My passport is going to expire in November 2019.
As I don't live in Toronto, I am thinking toapply for the renewal process during my visit to Toronto in a week from now.

I have a couple of questions, Would request you to kindly help/advise me in this, based on your personal experiences/knowledge.

1) Do I need to go through BLS International at Brampton only or can I get it done directly through the consulate in Toronto? In the latter case, if there any benefit in terms of processing time? Passport renewal through normal process are accepted at BLS only.

2) Do I need to submit my old passport and PR card along with the application form? Yes I have a visitor visa to US stamped on my old passport,which is valid till 2023. Will that be gone once the passport is renewed? US Visa will remain valid. You just need to carry your old passport.

3) Are they going to mail me my new passport,alongwith my old passport copy to the local address provided by me? Yes In that, is it reliable enough to get it couriered outside Toronto (within Ontario)? Not sure. You may ask for express service which is tracked.

4) If I fill up the form online and then go to BLS International office, from your personal experience could you please tell me how much time do they take to call up and get the application submitted? I went to BLS in Scarborough on a wednesday around 9:30 am. I completed the whole process in 15 minutes. But it entirely depends on the rush on that particular day.

5) Do you advise to give my current local address in Canada to be mentioned there in the passport or do I need to mention my erstwhile Indian home address only? In the main application, mention your canadian address as the main address. Indian address will come under other address. Same is the case with Personal Particulates form.

6) Do I also need to submit COPR or any other document? I have PR card, will that suffice? PR Card & old passport for sure they will keep. Carry originals and photocopies of all the other documents as mentioned in their checklist.

Would be grateful for a prompt reply/advice on the above points.

Regards,
Sourav

 

[Avadh04]

Hello Every one,

Do they physically make address verification for passport renewal.
is bls Brampton same as bls Toronto, is there any processing time difference?

 

[xylene]

Hello Every one,

Do they physically make address verification for passport renewal.
is bls Brampton same as bls Toronto, is there any processing time difference?

No physical verification, you need to send a utility bill or drivers license copy. The new passport would be send to this address.

 

[AnujaA]

Hello everyone,
This thread has been really informative. I do have a query though. Is the Indian address accepted as Address to be printed in the passport application?

Thanks

 

[subodhp]

Hello everyone,
This thread has been really informative. I do have a query though. Is the Indian address accepted as Address to be printed in the passport application?

Thanks

Yes assuming your permanent address is still Indian, although both Indian and Canadian address proofs will be asked for (latter for your current mailing address).

 

[subodhp]

As of Jun 2019, BLS/CGI have stopped asking for original PR as part of passport renewal. You still need to carry it alongwith you to BLS but you will not have to send it to CGI alongwith rest of your application

 

[subodhp]

Walkin Application: 05th Jun 2019
Processing at CGI : 05th Jun 2019
Dispatched via Courier : 19th Jun 2019

 

[subodhp]

Walkin Application: 05th Jun 2019
Processing at CGI : 05th Jun 2019
Dispatched via Courier : 19th Jun 201
(Delivered) : 20th Jun 2019

 

[Gurnihal]

Hi all,

I'm a PR from India residing in Toronto. My passport (originally issued in Delhi) is due to expire end of this year, so I have started my passport renewal process.

I'm going to be updating how the process goes here and how long it takes, along with any relevant details that might be helpful for someone else in the future.

If someone has already gone through this in the past, can you please shed light on how long the processing takes? Some other threads here said that if I had done a PCC from BLS before, it takes shorter time to renew the passport. Is that true? In my case I have done PCC back in 2016.

Current Details:

Old Passport Pages : 36
Old Passport Issue location: Delhi
Expiry : End of Dec 2018
Tracking Page Used: https://www.blsindia-canada.com/trackapp.php

Updates:
2018-05-05 : Submitted Passport Renewal Application to BLS India in Toronto at the Lawrence Ave location.
2018-05-09 : Status changed from 'Application Received, in transit to Consulate General' to 'Processing at Consulate General'.

Hi Buddy,

Do you know when is the latest when we can apply for passport renewal. Mine is expiring in June 2020, what is the latest when I can apply for renewal?

 

[subodhp]

As late as you want to risk it

Assuming you have another ID (like PR card or DL), you only need valid passport for any international travel. If there is no need to travel, you can let your passport expire and 'renew' it when you need it. Many folks only make passports when they have to travel internationally. But that is probably not the best approach, especially since banking institutions, custom checks and rental car companies are frequently known to ask for passports as a required/extra ID proof to non-citizens, so read on..

A more sane advice would be to renew your passport based on your upcoming international travel plans. Also keep emergency travel considerations in mind (for ex. if you have a relative back in origin country in poor health). Given passport renewal can take about a month, there is going to be a month window when you will not be able to travel, so plan accordingly based on below :

You can only apply for renewal as early as a year before expiry.
Most countries excluding Canada would let you travel uptill 6 months before your expiry
Canada and few other countries will let you travel uptill 3 months before your expiry
A month before expiry is your absolutely last window to ensure you have a valid passport at any given point of time.

Things happen, process can go slower, so consider above as really borderline cases and try to keep some buffer when possible..

 

[Gurnihal]

As late as you want to risk it

Assuming you have another ID (like PR card or DL), you only need valid passport for any international travel. If there is no need to travel, you can let your passport expire and 'renew' it when you need it. Many folks only make passports when they have to travel internationally. But that is probably not the best approach, especially since banking institutions, custom checks and rental car companies are frequently known to ask for passports as a required/extra ID proof to non-citizens, so read on..

A more sane advice would be to renew your passport based on your upcoming international travel plans. Also keep emergency travel considerations in mind (for ex. if you have a relative back in origin country in poor health). Given passport renewal can take about a month, there is going to be a month window when you will not be able to travel, so plan accordingly based on below :

You can only apply for renewal as early as a year before expiry.
Most countries excluding Canada would let you travel uptill 6 months before your expiry
Canada and few other countries will let you travel uptill 3 months before your expiry
A month before expiry is your absolutely last window to ensure you have a valid passport at any given point of time.

Things happen, process can go slower, so consider above as really borderline cases and try to keep some buffer when possible..

Thanks

 

[goyalneha60]

Hi all
I have got recently COPR and will be landing in Canada in Oct. My passport is expiring on Mar 2020. I just wanted to understand should I renew my passport in India or cand

 

[goyalneha60]

Hi all
I have got recently COPR and will be landing in Canadain Oct. My passport is expiring on Mar 2020. I just wanted to understand should I renew my passport in India or Canada. The problem is Indian address on my existing passport is no longer valid. Infact all my Indian id proofs have same address. How do I get this sorted in one month. Any suggestions ?

 

[subodhp]

Hi all
I have got recently COPR and will be landing in Canada in Oct. My passport is expiring on Mar 2020. I just wanted to understand should I renew my passport in India or cand

Read reply #71 on this thread