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Originally Posted by Jason14h
Why does it cost anything to “renew” a passport other than issueing the new one?
Honestly why doesn’t the government just send you a new one 3 months before expiry ? I imagine an email and / text to confirm your mailing address would be sufficient . Is it that we can’t figure out how to get a new picture updated for them that the best solution is still to walk to Walmart and get one despite the fact facial recognition tech exists and people can use their phones to upload a new picture
I guess that security is good enough to open online bank accounts , apply for loans , but not good enough to renew a passport
Anyone who thinks this couldn’t be done for a tiny percentage of the cost is out to lunch
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I don’t disagree that their may be savings to be had but I also think you’re being a little over dramatic here. $80 to renew a document every 5 years doesn’t seem that outrageous to me. At the end of the day it probably makes sense that a passport costs more than a happy meal given what goes into it beyond just printing the document. Heck a driver’s license in Alberta costs $93 to renew and that’s all done by the private sector that’s supposedly saving us all kinds of money, with zero security checks involved.
Your idea to automatically re-issue them would probably end up costing us more since the government would be sending them to people who may not even want or need it renewed. You also don’t want more passports in circulation than necessary given the security risks, which is the same reason they need a printed image rather than one that idiots would probably photo shop if they used their phone to take it.
I get what you’re saying about opening bank accounts online but that’s also a completely different kettle of fish. One allows you to deposit, withdraw and use currency whereas the other is literally used to determine who you are, where you’re from and whether you get on an airplane or are allowed into a country. If the bank issues an account under a false name(which happens) the risk is all on them, if a country issues you a passport under a fake name there’s far greater consequences.