Canadian passport

  • Canadian passport
  • Passeport canadien
The front cover of the biometric Canadian passport issued since 2023.
Identity Data Page of a Canadian biometric passport
TypePassport
Issued byService Canada Centre of Employment and Social Development Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, on behalf of the King in Right of Canada
First issued
  • 1862 (letter of request)
  • 1921 (booklet)
  • 1985 (machine-readable passport)
  • 1 July 2013 (biometric)
  • 10 May 2023 (current version)
In circulation24.6 million[1]
PurposeIdentification & Travel
Valid inWorldwide
EligibilityCanadian citizenship
Expiration5 or 10 years after acquisition for adults (age 16 years and older), and 5 years for children under 16[2]
Cost
Adult (5 years) [3]
  • Regular: CAN$120
  • Express: CAN$170
  • Urgent: CAN$230
Adult (10 years) [3]
  • Regular: CAN$160
  • Express: CAN$210
  • Urgent: CAN$270
Child [3]
  • Regular: CAN$57
  • Express: CAN$107
  • Urgent: CAN$167

A Canadian passport (French: passeport canadien) is the passport issued to citizens of Canada. It enables the bearer to enter or re-enter Canada freely; travel to and from other countries in accordance with visa requirements; facilitates the process of securing assistance from Canadian consular officials abroad, if necessary; and requests protection for the bearer while abroad.[4][5]

All Canadian passports are issued through the Passport Program of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).[6] Prior to 1 July 2013, Canadian passports were issued through Passport Canada, an independent operating agency of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.[7] Passports are normally valid for five or ten years for persons 16 years of age and older, and five years for children under 16.[2] In 2022, 70% of Canadians had passports, with over 24.6 million passports in circulation.[1] Although held by individual citizens, all Canadian passports legally remain the property of the Crown and must be returned to the Passport Program upon request.[8][9]

Canada is a member of the Five Nations Passport Group, an international forum for cooperation between the passport issuing authorities of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States in order to "share best practices and discuss innovations related to the development of passport policies, products and practices".[10]

Canada began issuing biometric passports, also known as electronic passports or e-passports, to Canadian citizens on 1 July 2013.[4]

As of 2024, the Canadian passport ranks sixth in the world in terms of freedom of movement and travel according to the Henley Passport Index.[11]

A new passport featuring more security features and artwork was rolled out in summer 2023.[12]

  1. ^ a b "IRCC Minister Transition Binder 2021: Passport Program". canada.ca. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (28 May 2015). "Passports in general". Canada.ca. Government of Canada.
  3. ^ a b c Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (28 May 2015). "Pay your passport fee in Canada". Canada.ca. Government of Canada.
  4. ^ a b "History of passports". Government of Canada. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Merriam Webster Dictionary: Passport; Merriam-Webster, Incorporated; 2005". Merriam-webster.com. 13 August 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  6. ^ "Passport Program Annual Report for 2016 – 2017". Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Retrieved 11 March 2018. (See p. 8 for percentage figure and p. 15 for number of travel documents in circulation.)
  7. ^ Canadian Passport Order, SI/81-86 .
  8. ^ Branch, Legislative Services (29 May 2019). "Consolidated federal laws of canada, Canadian Passport Order". laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Refusal, revocation, cancellation and suspension of Canadian passports". Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. 14 June 2006. Retrieved 17 July 2018. Canadian passports are the property of the Government of Canada. If a person is requested to return a passport, the passport must be provided to the Passport Program without delay or by the date indicated.
  10. ^ "International Comparison of Passport Issuing Authorities" (PDF). Passport Canada. 1 March 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  11. ^ "Global Passport Power Rank 2023 | Passport Index 2023". Passport Index – Global Mobility Intelligence. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Canada unveils new passport design with state-of-the-art security features". 10 May 2023.

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