Blog - Passport renewal
Passport renewal
Today I went to the Canadian embassy to renew my passport, same as 5 years ago. Of course I had forgotten about most of the procedure.
I had found the application form (PPT 040) though there's a requirement to print it on letter-sized paper (8½"x11"), which is nowhere to be found in Japan where the standard is A4. So anyway I printed it on A4 and filled it in, though one of the parts must be signed by a guarantor, a doctor or some authority that knows you for over two years, and I wasn't to take an appointment with my doctor to later find out that A4 paper is no go.
I also found out that with another form called "Statutory Declaration in Lieu of Guarantor" (PPT 132) a guarantor isn't needed, so I thought I'd give it a try. This one prints on odd-sized large paper but I also printed it on A4 just so I can at least gather the information.
There are also some strict requirements about the photos, requiring that they're stamped with the date and also the photo studio's name and address. Therefore I couldn't use the photo machines everywhere in town. I dropped by a small photo shop near my home, ran by an old friendly man who fixed my collar and made a pretty good photo. It cost me ¥1000 though.
Next was to bring all this stuff to the embassy. The application was fine in A4, but not the PPT 132 which I had to copy. The surprise came when it was time to pay, skipping the guarantor cost me a whopping ¥5000 ($50), ouch! The 5-year passport itself costs ¥10000 ($100), or an additional ¥500 ($5) for twice the amount of pages (48 instead of 24).
At least I got this done with in just one visit, and my new passport should arrive in 3 weeks. Then I'll have to go to the Immigration Bureau again to get my visa and re-entry permit transfered. Whew. :)
Posted on April 19, 2007 at 23:30 | Tweet
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Yikes! I need to check when my passport expires. But at least the US Embassy gives you extra pages for free! :)
Posted by Brad on April 20, 2007 at 00:44
don't we just love being foreigners ...
both my passport and greencard are up in 2010 .. that will be heaps of fun
Posted by Peter Nacken on April 20, 2007 at 00:48
A friend in England was just venting his frustration yesterday at the impossibility of finding 8.5x11" page protectors and binders in England. He;s got a collection of technical papers that won't fit in anything.
Though in Tokyo I bet there has to be some kind of foreigner goods shop, but then I bet they might only stock lined paper just to tease you.
Posted by ndkent on April 23, 2007 at 08:12
For the record: I received it today. They said 3 weeks but it took 12 days, not bad. :)
Posted by Patrick on May 1, 2007 at 12:07
Bunr the old passport.
Posted by Fei on October 31, 2007 at 08:54
... why?
Posted by Patrick on October 31, 2007 at 08:55