Order of priority: Documents for date of birth

This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

The following table illustrates which documents should be used to establish a date of birth record by line of business, in descending order of priority where 1 is the top document to be used.

Note: This table does not apply to requests for a correction of date of birth. See Managing existing date of birth records for more information on correcting dates of birth.

Order of priority of documentary evidence for establishing a date of birth record by business class

	Temporary resident (VR, WP, SP, TRP)^{Footnote i}	Permanent residence application (including first time PR card)	Permanent resident card renewal	Refugee claimant/ protected person	Citizenship grant applicant – adult [5(1) of the CA] or minor [5(2)(a) of the CA]	Citizenship discretionary grant [5(4] of the CA]	Citizenship grant for stateless person [5(5) of the CA]	Citizenship grant for adopted person [5.1 of the CA]	Resumption of citizenship [11(1) of the CA]	Proof of citizenship applicant (born outside Canada)	Proof of citizenship applicant (born in Canada)
Birth certificate issued by Canadian province or territory	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	1	N/A	N/A	1	N/A	1^{Footnote ii}
Adoption order	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	1	N/A	N/A	N/A
Foreign passport	1	1	1	1	N/A	3	N/A	2^{Footnote iii}	2	2	N/A
Travel document	2	2	2	2	N/A	4	1	N/A	3	3	N/A
Immigration document issued by IRCC	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	1	2	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Referral document from international body^{Footnote iv}	N/A	N/A	N/A	3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Identity document issued outside Canada	3	3	N/A	4	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	4	N/A
Foreign birth certificate	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	5^{Footnote v}	2	2^{Footnote iii}	N/A	1	N/A
Statutory declaration as per IRPR 178	N/A	4	N/A	5	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Legal change of date of birth document issued in Canada	N/A	N/A	3	N/A	2	N/A	N/A	3	4	N/A	2

Footnotes

Footnote i

Applies for extensions

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Footnote ii

Not applicable to a person described under paragraphs 3(2)(a), (b) and (c) of the Citizenship Act.

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Footnote iii

If an adoption order is not available, the birth certificate and the foreign passport may be used to create a date of birth record, provided the documents were issued after the adoption took place.

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Footnote iv

Must be a recognized international body/organization that has signed an agreement with an IRCC Minister (see s. 50(2) and s.170 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations).

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Footnote v

In case of border babies, where the applicant who is a minor born in United States and does not possess a passport or another travel document, the date of birth recorded on the foreign birth certificate will be used to establish the date of birth on the citizenship record.

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Date modified:: 2019-01-02

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Order of priority: Documents for date of birth

Order of priority of documentary evidence for establishing a date of birth record by business class

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