C-Passport – GUIDEBOOK

Passport

Canadian passports are issued to citizens of Canada. A passport enables the bearer to exit and re-enter Canada freely and travel to and from other countries in accordance with visa requirements. It facilitates the process of securing assistance from Canadian consular officials abroad, if necessary, and requests protection for the bearer while abroad. The procedures and forms applicable depend on whether you are applying for an adult passport, a passport renewal or a child’s passport.

Contact information

Service Canada

Website: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/help-centre.html

Government of Canada. Apply for a Passport – Adults. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/new-adult-passport.html. Consulted on May 26, 2020. Important: The information presented on the official website takes precedence over the information contained in this document.

YOU WILL NEED

• An original copy of your birth certificate;
• A document to support your identity:
– must include your name, date of birth, photo and signature;
– must be valid (not expired) and issued by a federal, provincial/territorial/state government authority or equivalent abroad.
• Two identical passport photos (the name and the complete address of the photographer and the date the photos were taken must be included on the back of one of the photos). For more information, visit https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/photos.html;
• Any valid Canadian travel document issued in your name.

STEPS TO FOLLOW

1) Find a guarantor

Your guarantor can be a family member or anyone living at your address, as long as they meet the guarantor requirements. Your guarantor must:
• Have known you for at least two years (if the guarantor is for your child’s passport, they must have known you for at least two years and must know of your child);
• Be available to answer questions related to your application;
• Be a Canadian citizen 18 years of age or older;
• Provide information from his/her own passport;
• Have been 16 years of age or older when he/she applied for his/her own passport;
• Hold a five-year or 10-year Canadian passport that, on the day you submit your application, is:
– expired for no more than one year; or
– valid (meaning it isn’t expired, damaged, inaccessible, suspended or revoked, reported lost or stolen, found and returned, been destroyed, requested to be returned)
If you’re the parent or legal guardian and you’re applying on behalf of your child, you cannot sign as guarantor on your child’s application. However, the other parent (not submitting the application) can sign as long as they meet the requirements.
The guarantor must complete their duties, free of charge, including:
• Completing and signing the “Declaration of Guarantor” section of your application;
• Writing “I certify this to be a true likeness of (applicant name)” on the back of one of the passport photos and signing it;
• Signing and dating your photocopies of each document you have submitted to confirm your identity (if it applies to you);
• Basic guarantor requirements.

2) Find two references

Your references must:
• Have known you for at least two years for passport applications (six months for Certificate of Identity or Refugee Travel Document applications);
• Not be your guarantor;
• Not be a family member;
• Be 18 years of age or older;
• Agree to you using their name and contact information for your application.
To avoid delays, make sure your references are available (not travelling outside of the country) and in your time zone so we can contact them easily.

3) Mail-in applications

Use a certified courier or traceable mail service to reduce the delivery time of your application and help protect your documents. Mail them to:
Government of Canada
Passport Program
Gatineau QC K1A 0G3

4) Fee payment

When applying by mail, you can pay by Visa, MasterCard, American Express (credit card or prepaid cards), or certified cheque or money order (postal or bank) in Canadian funds, made payable to the “Receiver General for Canada”. The exact fee must be specified.

Passport​