Types of passports and travel documents

We issue regular (blue) passports to Canadian citizens for casual travel, such as

• vacations
• business trips

The regular passport has 36 pages. The validity depends on the age of the passport holder:

• adults age 16 years or older can choose a 5-year or 10-year passport
• children aged 0 to 15 years are issued passports for a maximum of 5 years

Diplomatic passport

We issue diplomatic passports to

• diplomats
• high-ranking Government of Canada officials
• representatives and delegates of the Government of Canada

You can use diplomatic passports for travel to

• a post abroad
• international governmental organizations and conferences of a diplomatic nature

The issuing office decides the validity period.

Special passport

We issue special passports to

• Senators
• Members of Parliament
• people employed by the Government of Canada who are in a non-diplomatic capacity and travelling
  • to a post abroad
  • on an official mission

The issuing office decides the validity period.

Temporary passport

Certain Canadian government offices abroad may issue temporary passports

• to Canadian citizens with an urgent and proven need for a passport
• for use while waiting to receive a regular, special or diplomatic passport

The issuing office decides how long the passport is valid, to a maximum of 1 year.

Refugee travel document

We issue refugee travel documents to people in Canada with protected person status. This includes

• Convention refugees
• persons in need of protection

You can use a refugee travel document for travel to all countries, except your country of citizenship.

The issuing office decides the validity period.

Certificate of identity

We issue certificates of identity to permanent residents of Canada who aren’t yet Canadian citizens and who either

• are otherwise stateless, or
• can’t get a national passport or travel document from any source for a valid reason

You can’t use a certificate of identity to travel to your country of citizenship.

The issuing office decides the validity period.