Canadian passport

A Canadian passport is an official document issued to citizens of Canada for the purpose of international travel; allowing the bearer to travel in foreign countries in accordance with visa requirements; facilitating the process of securing assistance from Canadian consular officials abroad, if necessary; and requesting the protection of the passport holder while abroad. [ [http://www.ppt.gc.ca/pptc/hist.aspx?lang=eng Passport Canada: History of passports] ] [ [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Passport Merriam Webster Dictionary: Passport; Merriam-Webster, Incorporated; 2005] ] Passports also serve as proof of Canadian citizenship and as a means of personal identification.

All Canadian passports are issued by Passport Canada, a special branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and are valid for five years, except that those of children under age three are valid for three years. As of early 2007, nearly 42% of Canadians held a valid Canadian passport. [ [http://www.ppt.gc.ca/publications/pdfs/ar_06_eng.pdf Passport Canada: Annual report for 2006-2007; Public Works and Government Services Canada; ISBN 0-662-37458-4 p.5] ] Although held by individuals, all Canadian passports remain property of Her Majesty in right of Canada. [http://www.pptc.gc.ca/publications/pdfs/81-86_administrative_2006_eng.pdf Canadian Passport Order; Registration SI/2006-95; June 28, 2006; "Canada Gazette"; Part II, Vol. 140, No. 13] ]

History

The first Canadian passports were issued in 1862, following the outbreak of the American Civil War, when the United States demanded more secure identification from Canadians wishing to cross the border. They took the form of a "Letter of Request" from the Governor General. These documents remained in use until, in 1915, Canadian passports were first issued in the British format, a ten section single sheet folder.

The modern form of the Canadian passport came about in 1921. At that time, Canadians were British subjects, and Canada shared a common nationality code with the United Kingdom; thus, Canadian passports were issued to those British subjects resident in or connected to Canada. This arrangement ended in 1947, when the Canadian Citizenship Act was granted Royal Assent and the designation of Canadian citizenship was created. As of July the following year, Canadian passports were issued to Canadian citizens only, [ [http://www.pptc.gc.ca/passport_office/history_e.asp Passport Canada: History] ] and by 1985 the first machine-readable passports were distributed, in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization standards.

In the 2008 federal budget, Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, announced that electronic passports will be introduced in 2011. [ [http://www.budget.gc.ca/2008/pamphlet-depliant/pamphlet-depliant1-eng.htm Budget 2008: Responsible Leadership for Uncertain Times] ]

Issuance and refusal

The issuance of passports is a royal prerogative, rather than an Act of Parliament; they are issued in the name of the reigning monarch, as expressed in the passport note. However, the authority to issue passports is granted to Passport Canada, a Special Operating Agency of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, under the authority of the Canadian Passport Order, an Order-in-Council that specifies grounds for which Passport Canada can issue or renew a passport.

Applicants must fill out the required forms, which include the necessity of two passport photos and affirmation from a surety. Rules regarding renewals of passports and the eligibility of guarantors were last updated in 2007, whereafter applicants may renew the passport using a shorter application form if: they are resident in Canada when they apply; lived in Canada and were at least sixteen years of age at the time of their previous application; and are in possession of a Canadian passport that was issued under their current name after January 31, 2002, is valid for five years, and not damaged or reported lost or stolen. Further, a guarantor may be a Canadian who currently holds a valid, or no more than one year expired, five-year Canadian passport; has known the applicant for more than two years; is eighteen or more years old; and were sixteen years of age or older when they applied for their own passport. For citizens abroad, passport applications are forwarded back to a passport centre by the local embassies, high commissions or consulates.

Passport Canada may revoke a passport or refuse to issue or renew a passport on grounds set out in the Canadian Passport Order, including such grounds as failure to submit a complete application, misrepresentation in obtaining a passport, and criminality. However, whether a Canadian passport may be revoked or refused on the basis of national security concerns has been questioned. In July 2004, Abdurahman Khadr was denied a Canadian passport by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, on the explicit advice of her Foreign Affairs Minister, Bill Graham, who stated the decision was "in the interest of the national security of Canada and the protection of Canadian troops in Afghanistan." The government invoked royal prerogative in order to deny Khadr's passport, as national security was not at that time listed in the Canadian Passport Order as a ground for refusal, though, shortly thereafter, on September 22, 2004, section 10.1 was added to the Order, which allowed the Minister to revoke or refuse a passport due to national security concerns. [ [http://www.passport.gc.ca/publications/pdfs/order_04_113.pdf Order Amending the Canadian Passport Order] ] Khadr sought judicial review of the minister's decision to refuse his passport, [ [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051205/khadr_passport_051205/20051205?hub=Canada CTV News: "Khadr lawyer says passport denial violates rights"; December 6, 2005] ] and on June 8 of the following year, the Federal Court ruled that the government did not have the power to refuse to issue Khadr's passport in the absence of specific authority set out in the Canadian Passport Order, but stated in "obiter dicta" that if the order were to be amended (as it had been after the fact), Khadr would likely not be able to challenge the revocation. [ [http://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/en/2006/2006fc727/2006fc727.html Khadr v. Attorney General of Canada] ] In 2006, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, then Peter MacKay, again denied Khadr's application, this time invoking section 10.1 of the amended Canadian Passport Order [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060830/khadr_application_060830/20060830?hub=TopStories CTV News: "Ottawa again denies Khadr's passport application"; August 30, 2006] ] Section 10.1 was later challenged in Federal Court by Fateh Kamel, whose passport had also been refused for national security reasons. On March 13, 2008, the Federal Court declared section 10.1 of the Passport Order to be unconstitutional and therefore invalid, [ [http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showdoc/cr/SI-81-86/bo-ga:s_9//en#anchorbo-ga:s_9 Department of Justice Canada: Canadian Passport Order] ] [ [http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/346021 Gordon, Sean; "Toronto Star": Can't deny terrorist's bid for a passport, judge rules; March 14, 2008] ] though the court suspended its declaration of invalidity for six months in order to allow the government time to amend the order.

The Governor General of Canada is issued a Canadian passport, unlike the Queen of Canada: similar to the formula used in the United Kingdom, as Canadian passports are issued in her name, it is unnecessary for the Queen to possess one. [ [http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page4871.asp The Monarchy Today: Queen and Passport] ]

Types of passports

Before 1947, there were two types of passports: those issued to people who were born British subjects and those issued to people naturalized as British subjects.

Today, there are six types of Canadian passports: [ [http://www.ppt.gc.ca/publications/ar_03.aspx?lang=eng#msg Passport Canada: Annual report for 2003-2004; Public Works and Government Services Canada; ISBN 0-662-37458-4] ]

;Regular Passport (navy cover): These documents are issued to citizens for occasional travel, such as vacations and business trips. The maximum validity period varies with the age of the passport holder. Children (3 to 15 years of age) and adults (16 years of age or over) are issued passports with a maximum validity of 5 years; children (under 3 years of age) are issued passports valid for a maximum of 3 years.

;Frequent Traveler Passport (navy cover): These are issued to frequent travelers, such as business people. These passports cost slightly more than a regular passport, containing 48 pages; $5 more for adults, $2 for children. The validity period for this passport is the same as for the regular passport.

;Temporary Passport (white cover): These are issued on behalf of Passport Canada to Canadians with an urgent and proven need for an interim passport.

;Emergency Passport (1 page): Emergency passports are one-use documents issued to Canadians for direct return to Canada or to another Canadian mission where full passport services may be obtained.

;Special Passport (green cover): These are issued to people representing the Canadian government on official business.

;Diplomatic Passport (maroon cover): These are issued to Canadian diplomats, top ranking government officials (including lieutenant-governors and Commissioner of Territories), [ [http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ps/nap/comm/rar_e.html Commissionners of the Territories - Indian and Northern Affairs Canada ] ] [ [http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ps/nap/comm/deaw_e.html#hon Honours] ] diplomatic couriers, and private citizens nominated as official delegates.

Format

Regular passports are deep navy blue, with the Coat of Arms of Canada emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The words "PASSPORT•PASSEPORT" are inscribed below the coat of arms, and "CANADA" above. The bilingual cover is indicative of the textual portions of Canadian passports being printed in both English and French, Canada's two official languages. The standard passport contains 24 pages, but it can be issued in a 48 page format upon request for an additional fee.

New security features, similar to those on banknotes, have been added with increasing frequency since 2001. Microprinting, holographic images, UV-visible imaging, watermarks and other details have been implemented, particularly on the photo page. As well, the photo is now digitally printed directly on the paper (in both standard and UV-reactive ink); previously, the actual photo had been laminated inside the document.

Data page

* Photo of the passport holder
* Type (P)
* Issuing Country (CAN)
* Passport No.
* Surname
* Given Names
* Nationality (Canadian/Canadienne)
* Date of Birth
* Sex
* Place of Birth
* Date of Issue
* Issuing Authority
* Date of Expiry
* Signature of the passport holder

The information page ends with the Machine Readable Zone.

Passport note

The passports contain a note from the issuing authority addressed to the authorities of all other states, identifying the bearer as a citizen of that state and requesting that they be allowed to pass and be treated according to international norms. The textual portions of Canadian passports is printed in both English and French, the official languages of Canada. The note inside of Canadian passports states:

* In English:::"The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada requests, in the name of Her Majesty the Queen, all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary."
* In French:::"Le ministre des Affaires étrangères du Canada, au nom de Sa Majesté la Reine, prie les autorités intéressées de bien vouloir accorder libre passage au titulaire de ce passeport, de même que l'aide et la protection dont il aurait besoin."

On the inside of the back cover on passports issued after 2007, a logo is printed for the federal department of "Foreign Affairs Canada." However, there has never been a Department of Foreign Affairs in Canada; the Department of External Affairs was continued under the legal name "Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade" (DFAIT) in 1995. Legislation was introduced in the 38th Parliament to legally separate DFAIT into two separate departments, but the legislation was defeated, though the Federal Identity Program allowed the departments to identify themselves by separate names. When the legislation was defeated, the Treasury Board revoked the authority, but, when prompted for comment, Passport Canada stated: "According to the Federal Identity Program of the Treasury Board Secretariat, the applied title for the Department is as follows: Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade/"Ministère des Affaires étrangères et du Commerce international" - Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada/"Affaires étrangères et Commerce international Canada". However, Passport Canada has been permitted to keep using the previous name of the Department until the printed passport covers stock is exhausted."Fact|date=March 2008

Place of birth

Passport applicants may request, in writing, that Passport Canada not list the country of birth on their data page. In response to the government of the People's Republic of China's (PRC) modification to the requirements for the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens born in Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan, the PRC will not issue visas to Canadian passport holders whose place of birth is inscribed as being Hong Kong HKG, Macau MAC or (city name) TWN. Accordingly, passports issued to Canadians born in Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan now only list the place of birth, without an accompanying three-letter country code. [ [http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/report-en.asp?country=55305 Travel Report for China - Hong Kong] ] Canadian citizens born in Jerusalem have their birthplace identified only by the city's name, with no national designation, due to the unresolved legal status of Jerusalem. [See [http://decisions.fca-caf.gc.ca/en/2007/2007fca247/2007fca247.html "Veffer v. Minister of Foreign Affairs"] , Federal Court of Appeal, June 25, 2007]

Fees (as of 2007)

Asia

Passport requirement to enter the United States

As of January 23, 2007, all Canadians entering the United States (US) via air were required to present a valid passport or NEXUS card. [ [http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative] ] It is further proposed that by June of 2009, Canadians entering the US by land or sea will have to meet the same requirement. Until that time, Canadians will continue to only be required to show proper identification (such as a driver's licence) and proof of Canadian citizenship (such as a birth certificate) upon request.

ee also

*Passport Canada
*Canadian Passport Order‎
*Passport
*Canadian nationality law

References

External links

* [http://www.passport.gc.ca Official site]
* [http://www.ppt.gc.ca/about/history_e.aspx History of Canadian Passports]
* [http://www.passport.gc.ca/newsroom/news.aspx?lang=e&page=/newsroom/20070608c.aspx Simplified Passport Renewal Program]
* [http://www.passport.gc.ca/newsroom/news.aspx?lang=e&page=/newsroom/20070608d.aspx New Passport Guarantors Policy]