There's no similar requirement for a US passport.

Fewer Americans have passports (as a percentage) than in most other developed countries, though the absolute number is large because of our population size. In most countries, it's well north of 50%, while in the US, it's something below 40%.

Yes, Casey, I remember a guarantor having to be someone in a required profession, too. I got a client of mine who was a detective, signing mine years ago.

Nowadays a guarantor can be someone who has known the person for a number of years. Heck they could ask for my SIN as proof, that would suffice.

My friend asked me to be her guarantor in December and I had to decline since my own passport was expired for a number of years. I just got a new passport. I think the guarantor has to be a Canadian citizen so having a passport may be easier for Service Canada to prove they are Canadian. You also need 2 references but they don't have to have a passport, they just have to have known you for a length of time, they also don't have to be Canadian but it is preferable if they are

I still remember the day I had to obtain a US passport for my children. I am Canadian, and knowing what a ginormous PITA Canadian passport applications are like, I was dreading the paperwork for my children US passports. I just about convulsed in laughter at the simplicity of the application.

The last time I acted as a guarantor for a friend (we swap guarantor signatures, she's a surgeon, I am a lawyer,) about five/six years ago, I did not have to provide my passport info, but I did have to provide my bar number. And there must be a requirement that the guarantor be Canadian, otherwise my friend would just have her colleague sign, no? The last time I did my passport you had to have a doctor, lawyer or bank manager sign off as guarantor. I think that is a thing of the past now, no?

Sorry I posted while others answered my question. Good to know.

I remember having to do that when I renewed my passport in 2008. I asked the county sheriff to vouch for me. When I renewed it in 2013, all they asked for were two references not related to me and that I have known for at least two years. I was glad to see the period the passport was valid extended to 10 years rather than five.

I wonder, since they are now asking your friend to provide a guarantor, have they reinstated that requirement and done away with asking for references? My application was the simplified renewal, so maybe that makes a difference.

Sorry, Jasdip, I don't have an answer for your original question.

Dawn, there are still 2 spots for references on the form as well. They were filled out, and I was to be the guarantor.

Hmmmm...they must have changed it and added the guarantor requirement back in since 2013 then.

Dawn, I am not sure, but it seemed to me that at one point the Canadian application form changed a great deal from year to year before settling down. I know this because I lost my passport not long after having renewed it, so saw two pretty different forms. One had me prove I had the right to live in the US, another time I did not have to prove that, for example. Plus I was born in Quebec and needed to get the new birth certificate, which was another huge pain, especially from a distance.

Gosh I am sorry to rant here, but really only Canadians can understand this :-) Like the birth certificate/baptismal record change- no one would believe me.

Are Canadian passports only good for five years?

The number of US citizens with passports may escalate in coming months or years as they are becoming one of the few accepted "official' forms of identification. WA state driver's licenses are no longer accepted as TSA approved REAL ID, as are the DL's from Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. It is easier and faster to get a passport than have the relevant state agencies change up their DL formats to accepted levels.

Canadian passports used to be issued for five years but they are now good for ten years.

Rita, I know what you mean. Seems like every time I renew mine, there is a new rule or requirement. I always feel a twinge of anxiety when I send off all of the paperwork, but so far the new passport and original documents have always been sent back to me in a timely manner and without errors.

Dawn, yes, it always seems like a small miracle when the passport arrives in the mail :-)

I've yet to get Canadian citizenship for my children, which I always thought I would, but I so dread the paperwork that it just has not happened.

gardengal, I mentioned it to point out that as a percentage, far fewer Americans leave their home country for travel than do citizens of other countries. I think it's part of why we're so uninformed about the rest of the world, culturally and politically. It contributes to a phenomenon that most foreigners find shocking, how often Americans refer to their country as the "best in the world". Pretty funny coming from a group who doesn't know much about the rest of the world.

It seems like most states expect to be able to meet TSA standards for their IDs. If for domestic air travel, passports will be required for residents of some states who don't, it won't change the fact that most Americans have never left the US.

gardengal48, the requirement for WA state residents to have REAL ID at the airport doesn't take effect until Jan. 22, 2018. And an enhanced drivers' license works for identification as well as a passport. To get an enhanced drivers' license, you have to have an interview at the DOL, and show your passport. "Starting January 22, 2018, everyone will need an "enhanced driver’s license" or a passport to board flights under the federal Real ID Act."

REAL ID

I just renewed mine for 10 years. I will never allow mine to expire again. Renewing is so much easier now that you don't have to have 4000000000 million people proving who you are and you don't need a professional person to sign off on it either. I just wrote down the names of the people who I've known for X amount of years who are not related to me, along with the regular info and 2 weeks later, my new passport was delivered to my house.

Ahhhh...Debby, I think you've just cleared up my mystery. My passport hadn't expired when I renewed it which must be why I wasn't required to have a guarantor.

It sure is quick to fill out your Canadian passport application online, get your picture taken, picture and papers signed then take them down to a Service Canada office. My passport came in the mail less than 2 weeks after I brought in the paperwork. I have no plans to travel but needed it for extra picture ID since I don't drive, I also went and got my new Health Card with picture and an Ontario ID picture card which cost $35, so I am all set to prove who I am now. It was getting difficult when the only picture ID I had was my expired passport. The passport cost $160, but if you only want the 5 year passport it is $87.