I am going to put this on the bump too but I thought I would share here. I am sure a couple of you have already done this but for those who haven't here you go.
You need to fill out the form for kids under 16. It's a quick form takes about 3 minutes to fill out.
If your child is under a year you can renew the passport for free one time.
This is where the annoying things happen. It says on the appilcation that the applicant has to know the guarantor for two years or you need to get a form signed by a lawyer/notary in lieu of a guarantor. So if your kid is under the age of 2 you have to get that signed right? Nope you don't. This is because technically you are the applicant and not your kid. The form is worded poorly. Apaprently they get asked that question 20 times a day.
Under the section that tells you what documentation you need it says that you need a long form birth certificate or some form of official documentation that lists both parents on it. This is only if you aren't/weren't married when the baby was born. A regular birth certificate is fine otherwise.
Finally, when you get the passport photo done, this is going to sound wierd but this is what the guy on the phone told me and it doesn't say it anywhere on the forms, they are more likely to accept the picture at the passport office if your child is wearing gender specific clothing. So make sure that if you are getting a picture for your daughter she is wearing something obviously girly. For boys something more masculine. Oh and most places that do passport photos will guarantee that the picture will be accepted for an adult or they will do another picture for free. They will not do guarantee the photo for the kids under 2.
I learned all this over the last couple of days and I figure it would save people some time on the phone.
Re: So getting a canadian passport for someone under 2.
Wow.... sucks that you didn't have anyone giving you this advice in advance.
Thanks though.
On a similar note, my BIL (American) is getting his 1 year old daughter Nexus. He said it was a riot filling out those forms. I guess it asks a whole bunch of questions (i.e. favourite movie)... they're going to have to make sure to quiz my neice on the answers they provided as she gets older.
Hmm I found it to be pretty straight forward when applying for Ben's. There are some pretty good FAQ's and guidance docs on their website that explain everything (it says in the notes on the form online that it is the parent who is the applicant - hence why you have to sign the form)
The photos are a PITA. There was a lady on CityTV who had to get her LO's taken like 8 times because Passport Canada kept rejecting them. How much would that suck.
You know, I am in the process of doing this as well and was going to come over here to ask about this. The guarantor stuff is confusing. So who can sign that anyway?
I was thinking the same thing...
My kids have both had passports since they were weeks old. The picture, just like an adult picture, is primarily of the face, some shoulder does show, so the 'gender specific' clothing comment is weird to me.