Travel

A Canadian passport is the only reliable and universally accepted travel document available to Canadians for the purpose of international travel. Canadian citizens returning to Canada who present other documents, such as a Certificate of Canadian Citizenship, birth certificate, provincial driver’s license, or foreign passport, instead of a Canadian passport, may face delays or be denied boarding by transport companies.

Starting October 27, 2015, Certificates of Identity and Refugee Travel Documents will no longer be printed with a status field on the photo page (page 2). This is already an international standard, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) compliant and will not impede travel.

It is advised that Permanent Residents travel with their Permanent Resident (PR) cards as Certificates of Identity and Refugee Travel Documents are not considered proof of citizenship.

Canada issues approximately 5 million travel documents a year, 98% of which are regular passports. There are six types of Canadian passports and two types of travel documents issued to refugees and stateless persons living in Canada.

As of July 1, 2015, all new Canadian passports are issued as ePassports .

Canadians are most familiar with the regular (blue) passport that is issued to Canadian citizens for occasional travel, such as vacations and business trips.

• Adults (16 years of age or over): have the option of a 5-year or 10-year passport;
• Children's passports (0 to 15 years of age): are issued for a maximum of 5 years