A passport is a piece of identification that allows a person to enter a foreign country. It is the best proof of Canadian citizenship.

It is still possible to travel outside Canada without a Canadian passport, but this practice is becoming more and more obsolete. To avoid any complications, it is best to have a valid passport.

To obtain a passport, first you need to fill out and sign an application form. This is available on the Passport Canada website, or at one of their regional offices. You can also obtain the form at a Canada Post branch, or if you are outside the country, at a Canadian consulate.

When you hand in your form to the Passport office, you must provide the following documents:

• Two identical photos of yourself, passport size, taken in the last 12 months;
  
  
• The original of a proof of Canadian citizenship:
  
  -For people born in Canada, this means a Canadian birth certificate (only those issued by the Directeur de l’état civil du Québec after the 1st of January 1994 are accepted) or a certificate of Canadian citizenship.
  
  -For people born outside Canada, it means a certificate of Canadian citizenship, a certificate of naturalization in Canada, a declaration of Canadian citizenship, or a certificate of registration of foreign birth (see the Quebec Immigration Office).
  
  
• Any Canadian travel document that was given to you in the last 5 years (for example: Canadian passport, identity certificate, travel ticket, etc.);
  
  
• A photo ID to confirm your identity on which your name and signature appear (for example, driver's licence, health insurance card, etc.). You can send the original, which will be returned to you, or a photocopy. In the second case, your guarantor will have to confirm that the copies are identical to the originals by signing and dating them.

Finally, don’t forget to sign and fill in all the pages of the passport application form.

Also, you have to have the application signed by an authorized guarantor (on this topic, consult the fourth question in this Infosheet).

The guarantor also has to sign one of your photographs and the photocopies of the other documents (if you do not submit the originals).

Generally, if you send your passport application by mail, it will be returned to you within 4 weeks after the receipt of your application. When the application is done in person at the regional branch of the Passport Office, the time limit is around 2 weeks after receipt of the application.

If you need to obtain your passport more quickly, you must assume the additional costs of this kind of request, and go in person to present your application at the Passport Office. Two kinds of priority treatments are possible:

• Urgent: your passport will be ready on the business day following the date the application is received;
  
• Express: your passport will be ready within 2-9 business days after the receipt of your application.

To obtain your passport, plan to spend (as of 2008) between $85 and $105 depending on whether you are applying from within Canada or from another country. Also, if you want faster treatment, you will have extra costs to pay (in 2008, these came to between $30 and $70 extra, depending on the kind of priority treatment chosen).

In general, a guarantor is a person who vouches for, or takes responsibility for another. For example, parents are guarantors for the accidents that their children could cause.

On a specific part of the passport application form, the guarantor must declare that the information that you have included is correct.

He must sign the passport application form and one of your photographs. He also must sign and date the photocopies of any documents that you have attached, as needed.

But the guarantor can’t be just anyone! He must:

• be a Canadian citizen age 18 years or older;
  
• be living in Canada or the United States;
  
• have known you personally for at least 2 years;
  
• hold a valid 5 year passport, or one that has expired less than a year ago on the day you submit your application;
  
• have been at least 16 years old when he applied for his own passport;
  
• be accessible to Passport Canada for verification.

If you don’t know a guarantor who fits these criteria, you have to fill out an extra form called PPTC 132 “Statutory Declaration in Lieu of Guarantor”, available at the passport office. It may cost you extra because you have to sign it in front of a commissioner of oaths. See our Infosheet The work of lawyers, notaries, and commissioners for oaths.

The length of validity of the passport is 5 years for an adult. (For children’s passports, read on.) However, passports may be extended beyond the 5 year period in urgent and crises situations.

At the end of 5 years, if you don’t qualify for the Simplified Passport Renewal Process you have to go through all the steps to obtain a new passport: filling out a passport application form, having a guarantor sign, providing complementary documents and photos, and paying the fees.

The Simplified Passport Renewal Process is a way to renew a passport without having to resubmit supporting documentation like a birth certificate and without having to obtain a guarantor’s pledge.

In the simplified process, an applicant must:

• Fill out the simplified renewal form;
  
• Provide two new passport photos (these do not need to be signed by a guarantor);
  
• Pay the fee;
  
• Submit his most recent passport.

To be eligible for the simplified process, an applicant must:

• Be a Canadian citizen and live in Canada or in the United States;
  
• Have been at least 16 years old when he applied for his previous passport.

His most recent passport must have been:

• Issued under his current name;
  
• Valid for 5 years;
  
• Issued in Canada within the last 6 years;
  
• Undamaged;
  
• Never reported lost or stolen.

Yes, if you are travelling to the United States by plane.

However, if you are travelling to the United States by land or water, you must show:

• a passport; OR
  
• a Driver's licence plus; OR
  
• a NEXUS card; OR
  
• a FAST card.

Children and youth 15 years of age and under can enter the U.S. with a proof of citizenship (for example, an original or a copy of a birth certificate, or a Canadian citizenship card). This also applies to youth 18 years of age and under who are travelling with a school or other organized group, under adult supervision with their parents’ authorization.

According to Passport Canada, you shouldn’t go on a trip with a passport that will expire during your trip or a short time after your return. It is wise to get further information from the embassy or consulate of the country you wish to visit ahead of time.

Some countries will refuse entry to a person carrying a passport that will expire in a short time.

If you lose your passport or if someone steals it, you must immediately report it to the police of the place where it happened. It is also a good idea to ask for a copy of the police report.

Next, you have to report it to Passport Canada if you are in Canada, or to the Canadian Government Office (Consulate or Embassy) if you are outside the country. A new passport will be delivered to you when you have filled out the passport application form and after you have provided the following documents:

• A document proving your Canadian citizenship (birth certificate or citizenship certificate);
  
• Two new passport photos;
  
• The PPTC203 form, called a “Statutory Declaration concerning a lost, stolen, damaged, destroyed or inaccessible Canadian passport”.

But before replacing the document, the Canadian authorities conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

You will have to pay fees to obtain your passport.

Take precautions before you leave:

Make photocopies of your passport (the page where your name and photo are shown). Keep one in your bags in a different place from where you keep your passport, and give one to a person you trust who will be staying in Canada during your trip.

A visa is an authorization given by a country to a foreign person who wishes to spend time on its territory.

Not all countries require a visa for a stranger to enter their territory. To learn if the country that you would like to visit requires a visa, you can get information at the embassy or consulate of this country in Canada, at your travel agency or from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Applying for a visa takes time, so it is important to plan ahead. The costs of delivery of a visa can vary from one country to another.

Yes. Children, even newborns, must have their own passport. They are no longer included on their parents’ passports.

This measure is aimed at improving security in response to the attacks of September 11th, 2001. It is also meant to combat trafficking of children, by demanding specific detailed information on the child which will allow for her identification (photograph, age, name, physical description…).

The application form for a child’s passport is available at Service Canada Centres, at postal counters or on the Passport Canada website.

The people authorized to make the application are:

• One of the parents can, alone, fill out a passport application for his or her child. The parent is then called the applicant. Note that both parents have to sign the passport application.
  
• In case of separation or divorce, only the parent with custody can fill out a passport application for the child.
  
• In the case of shared custody, one or the other parent can make the application, but both must sign it.
  
• The legal guardian of the child can also submit the application for the child’s passport.

Several complementary documents must – in all cases – accompany the application:

• Two identical passport photos of the child;
  
• Original proof of Canadian citizenship (copies are not accepted):
  
  -if the child was born in Canada, a Canadian birth certificate (baptismal certificates and documents from civil or municipal registers are not accepted) or a certificate of Canadian citizenship; these documents are issued by the civil registry office of the province where the child was born;
  
  -if the child was born outside Canada, a certificate of Canadian citizenship; this document is issued by the Registrar of Canadian Citizenship;

• Any passport or Canadian travel document in the name of the child or on which her name appears;

AND if the parents are separated or divorced:

• All legal documents regarding custody and access rights to the child, as well as any legal document about the right to travel with the child;
  
• A copy of the separation or divorce judgment, if any.

You must sign and fill in the pages of the passport application and have the child sign in the space provided, if she is at least 11 years old.

The application, along with one of the photographs, must be filled out and signed by an authorized guarantor (consult the question on guarantors above).

The waiting period to receive a child’s passport is the same as for adult passports. For a child age 3-15 years, the fee is $37, and is valid for 5 years. For a child under 3 years, the fee is $22, and the passport is valid for 3 years. However, in exceptional circumstances like emergencies and crisis situations, Passport Canada can extend the validity of the passport.

Yes. To prevent child abductions, by both strangers and parents, customs authorities of many countries have strengthened control measures with respect to children travelling alone, with one parent, or with a person other than their parents.

To know what the entry requirements are for a given country, contact the embassy or consulate of the country in question.

Examples of the documents that may be required include:

• The passport belonging to the child;
  
• The birth certificate of the child, showing the names of both parents;
  
• If the parents are separated, all legal documents related to custody, for example, the custody judgment or the custody agreement with the other parent;
  
• A death certificate if one of the parents is dead;
  
• A parental consent letter signed by the other parent in situations where one parent is travelling alone with the child;
  
• A parental consent letter signed by both parents in situations where another person is travelling with the child, or where the child is travelling alone;
  
• Status documents from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Parents can find sample parental consent letters on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.