Be aware: Don't smile!

quaqualita

Member
Feb 4, 2002
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This is not a joke, this really just happened to us:
Our 6 year old daughter is born in Sosua, father is Canadian. A few weeks ago we finally went to the Canadian consulate in Puerto Plata to get Canadian citizenship and passport for our daughter. We filled out all the paper work, got the special sized pictures, got them signed, paid all the fees, etc... and brought everything back to the consulate.

Today they called us, that there is a problem with the passport for our daughter, we need to get the pictures re-done, because the photos show her beautiful smile!!!

Obviously, there is a law saying that you are not allowed to smile on your passport picture! I never heard of this and of course nobody told us before.

So now we have to go again with our daughter to that special photo store in Puerto Plata and re-do the pictures and of course pay again for them (they are special sized and quite expensive). Another trip to Puerto Plata 3 days later to pick up the photos, go back to Cabarete having them signed by our family doctor and finally make a third trip to Puerto Plata to bring them to the consulate.

Well, I find this non-smiling rule quite strange. This time we will make sure to tell to my daughter when we re-do the pics: "ok, honey, now please look really sad!"

quaqualita
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
13,372
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A few months ago, Washington decided to implement such law for American citizens. I don't know about Canada however. Aaah, these anglo-american nations, why being so rediculous?
 

FireGuy

Rest in peace Amigo!
Aug 21, 2002
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Hi quaqualita,

Greetings from Atlantic Canada .

Yes, it's true. I have to suffer through all the snow and ice up here in the "Great White North" and when I get my picture taken for my annual Caribbean Fix - I'm not even allowed to smile about it. I guess it's so I will look like my picture (pouting) when i return to Canada. Our Immigration people must have had a hard time telling if smiling pictures matched pouting faces in the lines.

Another bureaucratic nonsense ruling.

Gregg
 

FGUnsworth1

Active member
Oct 18, 2003
153
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smile!

Make sure and tell your daughter not to smile while entering Canada. They might mistake her for a terrorist.
 

maryanne

New member
Mar 16, 2003
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Yes, it's true

The regulations, which came into force on November 3, stipulate that all applicants for passports should not smile, frown, or manifest anything but solemn facial expressions when having their photographs taken.

Seriously!

Maryanne
 

quaqualita

Member
Feb 4, 2002
312
13
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just missed that date

jeeze... we brought all the papers and pictures in the last week of October to the consulate and have been told that everything looks fine. However, the person working on the passport applications there was in vacation until mid November.
So, if like maryanne says, the regulations came into force on November 3, we had the very bad luck that our application wasn't looked at befort that date.
Quite a hassle for us now, to do this all over, but I guess we have no other choice, if I want my daughter to be Canadian.

Thanks for all your info!

quaqualita
 

Bolt

New member
Jun 12, 2002
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This is not actually unheard of and UK passports say normal facial expression only ie non grinning or smiling and no hats etc.

BUT This year we went back to have cedulas renewed and there was a problem with one letter wrong on my wifes residency card. It was processed all legit 2 years ago through a lawyer so no funny stuff went on but they insisted that the name spelling had to be correct even though they cocked it up 2 years ago. Anyhow my wife had to get more photo's done and she always wears glasses. (blind as a bat) so off we go for new photos wearing her glasses except this year....NO GLASSES ALLOWED!

What?? I couldnt believe it. New ruling in SD immigration that all applicants must remove their glasses. Now in every other country in the world, those that wear glasses must wear them for official passport and other ID photos. This is because you would be more recognisable by customs or police if you were wanted for anything. Makes sense of course.

Here no, anything that conforms to reason and sense then the opposite applies especially if it is a way of extracting more money.
 

eagle

New member
Sep 7, 2003
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face scanning

Just a guess...

Is it possible that they have some software matching a passport photo against a database photo? If you smile or wear glasses, it might not be able to recognize the same person from two different photos.

I admit that if this is true, it sounds like a very low-tech kind of way. But hey, it is not as controversial as DNA collection or iris scanning, right?

Eagle
 

Bobs

New member
Jan 8, 2002
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Biometrics : total control society

What's with the hullaballoo over glasses, earrings and whathaveyou ?
Within two years passport of every law-abiding citizen of the free world wanting to travel to the US or just landing there to get a connecting flight, must hold biometric tags of the passportholder : microchip with iris-scan and fingerprint-parameters. It's a new thing : you're a potential terro-nutcase, unless you can prove otherwise. Same thing goes for its own citizens, just read the provisions of the Patriot Acts I and II. The really paranoid-strikken want all newborns to submit DNA-strands for a national database. Allready airline passengers have to submit all kinds of sensitive info, such as creditcardaccountnrs. to US authorities for unlimited storage. And all this vast array of information is supposed to help (me as a) law enforcement (agent to) stop the next terrorist attack ?
This is just me wandering off on a rant here, but in the future will only Hippo and his diputados be able to afford a passport to collect their frequentflyer miles ?
 

trina

Silver
Jan 3, 2002
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This might help: my husband had his and our son Angelo's pics done in Sosua, it was only 80 pesos in 2001. Let me know if you want me to find out where they were done.