MP Allen To Host Passport Clinics

March 11, 2009

TOBIQUE-MACTAQUAC – Mike Allen, Member of Parliament for Tobique-Mactaquac, will host two passport clinics in the coming weeks to help people prepare for the change in U.S. requirements on June 1.

“The 11 clinics we held already were a big success, and hundreds of people took the opportunity to get help with their application forms,” said the Chair of the Atlantic Conservative Caucus.

Mr. Allen, along with staff members and volunteers from the community, will be working at clinics in Woodstock and Grand Falls.

The Woodstock event will take place at the Community Y Building in Connell Park on Wednesday, March 18, while the clinic in Grand Falls is scheduled for Tuesday, April 7, at the Grand Falls Town Hall. Both clinics will be open to the public from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“I’m really pleased to offer more clinics,” said Mr. Allen. “We look forward to helping many more individuals get their passports before June.”

People unable to attend the clinics can visit Service Canada Centres in Grand Falls and Woodstock, or Passport Canada in Fredericton.”

The Member of Parliament reminds people that the United States plans to require passports for land travel across the border on June 1 of this year. That gives people only a few more months to prepare.

When applying for a passport, you must provide an original proof of Canadian citizenship in the form of a birth certificate or a certificate of citizenship; supporting identification with your current name and signature, such as a driver’s license, Medicare card or Social Insurance card; and two identical photographs taken within the last 12 months. These can be taken by the photographer of your choice either before or after the clinics.

Also important to remember is that you will need a guarantor, someone who has known you for at least two years and has their own valid passport. They can even be a relative. This individual will need to sign your passport application, copies of your supporting identification and one of your photos.

Those attending the clinics should also have the names, addresses and telephone numbers of two non-relatives who have known them for more than two years.

Regular passport prices will be charged and are $22 for children up to the age of three, $37 for those aged three to 16 years less a day, and $87 for those aged 16 and over.

For further information, call the constituency offices toll free at 1-800-671-6160 or drop by.