Canadians eager for international travel face long wait times for passports due to the high number of applications.

According to Employment and Social Development Canada, the passport processing time is five business days for those applying in person and 17 business days for those applying by mail.

"With travel resuming, Service Canada is seeing an increase in passport applications across the country. Maja Stefanovska, spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada, said that appointment priority is given to clients who have immediate travel needs based on their travel date.

According to the department, 1.2 million passports have been issued since the beginning of April 2021, compared to 363,000 passports issued from April 2020 to the end of March 2021. These numbers are still far from pre-pandemic levels, when Service Canada processed 2.3 million passports between April 2019 and March 2020, according to data.

The sharp increase in demand has left some travelers struggling.

Amreen Haroon is planning a trip to the United States next month, but she doesn't believe her new passport will arrive in time.

She said: "I have to postpone my trip, and my parents are very elderly and are also anxious. They were expecting a passport by this time. It is very frustrating. Currently."

Meanwhile, in Halifax, Mark Robinson faced long lines at the local Service Canada site while trying to renew his passport in time for a trip to Disney within two weeks.

He said: "We are now in a panic to renew it before we go."

Laurence Sheehan, a professor at the Rowe School of Business at Dalhousie University, said that with some travel restrictions lifting on April 1 – when vaccinated travelers no longer need to provide a negative COVID-19 test result upon return – people will be looking to get out again.

He said: "There is a completely pent-up demand for travel." "People have been stuck in their homes for the past two years."

Service Canada said, "If desperate, anyone who needs a passport within two business days can visit the nearest Service Canada passport office, but they must also bring proof of travel."

Proof of travel can be a travel ticket, a written announcement, an itinerary with proof of payment, or proof of a family emergency requiring immediate travel. The urgent passport comes with an additional cost of $110.

Edited by: Dima Abu Khair