How to show proof of Canadian citizenship for adult passport applications
You must provide proof of Canadian citizenship if you’re applying for a new adult passport.
- It has to be the original proof of citizenship document.
- We do not accept photocopies, even if they’re signed.
- We’ll return it to you once we verify it.
- If you apply in person, we may verify the document and return it to you right away.
You don’t need to provide proof if you’re applying to renew your passport.
On this page
- If you were born in Canada
- If you were born outside of Canada
- How to get a Canadian birth certificate
- If your name has changed
- If you updated your gender identifier
If you were born in Canada
Submit 1 of the following:
- a birth certificate
- It can be either long form or short form
- It should be from the province or territory where you were born
- a Canadian citizenship certificate
If you were born outside of Canada
Submit 1 of the following:
- a Canadian citizenship certificate
- a certificate of naturalization
- a certificate of registration of birth abroad
- a certificate of retention of Canadian citizenship
A laminated proof of citizenship may not be accepted
We accept laminated proof of citizenship documents if they were laminated by the provincial, territorial or federal government agency that issues them.
We do not accept a laminated proof of citizenship document if
- it wasn’t originally laminated when you got it
- it says “void if laminated”
This is because lamination changes and hides the document’s original security features. We need those features to validate the document.
If you need a new proof of Canadian citizenship
- apply for a birth certificate, if you were born in Canada
- apply for a citizenship certificate, if you were born outside Canada
How to get a Canadian birth certificate
Contact the vital statistics office in the province or territory where you were born to ask for a birth certificate.
Certain provinces have different documents that we also accept as proof of Canadian citizenship:
- British Columbia: Certified True Copy of a Registration Document – Registration of Live Birth
- Given in cases where the name of the bearer is more than 30 characters for the surname(s) or 30 characters for the given name(s).
- New Brunswick: certified extract of a registration document
- Given in cases where the name of the bearer is more than 39 characters for the surname(s) and 30 characters for the given name(s).
- Northwest Territories: Registration of Birth, Certificate of Registration of Birth, or Registration of Live Birth
- Given in cases where the surname(s) and given name(s) of the bearer are more than a total of 58 characters.
- Nova Scotia: certified photocopy of a Live Birth Registration
- Given in cases where the name of the bearer is more than 30 characters for the surname(s) and 38 characters for the given name(s).
- Ontario: certified copy of birth registration
- Quebec: birth certificate or copy of an act of birth issued after January 1, 1994, from the Directeur de l’état civil
If your name has changed
Your proof of citizenship can have either your new name or your previous name.
If you updated your gender identifier
You need to submit a completed Request – Sex or gender identifier – Adult 16 years or older [PPTC 643] (PDF, 1.07 MB) form if
- your proof of Canadian citizenship doesn’t have a sex field and
- your gender identifier isn’t supported by your previous passport
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