I received Certificates for my family and myself yesterday (Nov 18, 2021), whereas my oath was on Nov 12! So fast!
I drove this morning from Toronto to Kitchener and was there at 8:10am, approx. 10 people were in front of me, none with the appointment. I did not have it either. When they opened the office, I was the third in line for passport application. When my turn came, few more guys appeared to be with appointments and they were served first. A first person who checked the documents and gave me a number for another window took it 2-3 minutes to screen the docs. I waited for the next 5 minutes in the waiting area and approached the window. The person who took my application (one-by-one) was super kind and supportive! Indeed the best service ever. I have some plans to travel on Dec 10 (not confirmed yet) and I mentioned it on our applications. The clerk said the normal standard processing time will make the passports ready by Dec 3, therefore I don't need to apply for express / urgent. Moreover, someone was requesting the urgent pickup with travel plans late December and was rejected - the officials said there is no need and reason as they will still make it on time. So, save your money
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So, I applied for 3 passports, paid standard fee + pickup fee from their location. My in-person pickup date is December 3.
So far, so good!
Good luck to all!
