FauxSteMarie,
Would you mind sharing how you got pickpocketed? The fact that you use an photographer's vest and an underarm pouch now seems to indicate that you carried your valuables some other way previously.

If you seek to have a passport replaced on the grounds that it has been lost or stolen, there is a very good chance that your name and new passport number will be flagged as risky (which could cause hassles later when you're travelling) because there will be concern that someone other than you is attempting to use your identity.

Well, I decided with a trip to Europe coming up in September, I'd just renew this spring to be on the safe side.

It was quite speedy. I had my passport back in 9 business days (plus two weekend days) from the day I mailed it.

I also just renewed my passport and it took only 5 business days in their office!! I received it Saturday in the mail. This wasn't an expedited application.

The long waits for Canadian passports
seem to be a thing of the past.

I applied in person at the main passport office in Ottawa in late March and had my new one in less than a week.

Rob

I posted my renewal at the end of Jan and received my new passport just under one month later. It took about a week more, before the old one was returned, however...????

I, too, 'JUMPED' early, as the old wasn't due to expire until Sept, but I'll be in Ireland until the first of July.

Did NOT 'Expedite' the application.

Bob

<i>If you seek to have a passport replaced on the grounds that it has been lost or stolen, there is a very good chance that your name and new passport number will be flagged as risky (which could cause hassles later when you're travelling) because there will be concern that someone other than you is attempting to use your identity.</i>

Yep, I can confirm that. Lost a passport in 1993 and I do get questioned more thoroughly every time I return to the US. Usually this is just done at the regular immigration counter and doesn't take much extra time, but once I was asked to retrieve my luggage and proceed to another interview area where there were already a handful of people waiting. Fortunately, they decided to interview me first (I'm not sure why, maybe I was the only US passport holder?) so it didn't take that long.

I received my old passport today, Monday, the renewed one on Saturday, 2 days ago. The 2nd picture we sent in for the renewal was stapled inside of my old passport. Guess they only need one new photo now.

The turn around time for a renewed passport right now is under 2 weeks!

Turnaround time seems to be quite short now--several weeks instead of the months long backlog in summer of 2006
I was concerned that things would slow down again due to new rules on land crossings from Canada but this does not seem to have caused a problem this year.

I always have a valid passport as I can never be 100% sure of what I may be doing in the future. I tend to renew our passports when they have 6 to 9 months left on them.