Canadian Passport 2026: Apply, Renew, Fees and Timelines

What a Canadian passport actually is

A Canadian passport is a travel document issued only to Canadian citizens. Every new passport is a 36-page book with an embedded electronic chip, which is why it is called an ePassport. The chip holds the same information that is printed on the data page: surname, given name, nationality, date of birth, sex, date of issue, your photograph and the passport number. More than 100 countries, including the United States, France and the United Kingdom, use ePassports, and the International Civil Aviation Organization recommends them.

Two consequences matter in practice. First, the chip is electronically locked when your information is first written to it, so it cannot be edited. If your name, date of birth or gender identifier changes, you do not amend a passport — you apply for a new one. Second, the passport is evidence of your citizenship and identity at a border, but it is not proof of citizenship for other purposes; that is the job of a birth certificate or citizenship certificate.

It is also worth being clear about what a passport is not. It is not a visa, and it does not grant you entry anywhere. Holding a Canadian passport means you can return to Canada and that you can request entry to other countries according to their rules. Each destination sets its own entry requirements, which is why the Government of Canada tells travellers to check the entry and exit requirements for every country on the itinerary before booking.

Canadian passport at a glance

The table below summarises the practical facts. Everything in it is drawn from the current IRCC passport pages, with the March 31, 2026 fee amounts already applied.

If you are not yet a citizen, a Canadian passport is not available to you, and no agency can obtain one for a non-citizen. That single fact disqualifies a large share of the misleading information circulating online about “instant” Canadian passports.

What a Canadian passport costs

Passport fees increased on March 31, 2026, and they adjust annually under the Service Fees Act. The fee depends on two things: how long the passport is valid for, and whether you are living in Canada or outside Canada.

Several optional services carry their own fee. Urgent pick-up costs CAN$125.75 and weekend or statutory holiday service costs CAN$383.50. If you report a passport as lost or stolen while it is still valid, an extra CAN$45 replacement fee applies on top of the cost of the new passport. A temporary passport is CAN$125.75.

Two rules catch people out. If you apply by mail, the amount that matters is the fee in force on the day IRCC receives your application, not the day you mail it — fees can change while a package is in transit. And if IRCC takes longer than 30 business days to process a complete application (completed on or after April 1, 2026), the application fee is refunded automatically; you do not have to ask for it.

How long a Canadian passport takes

IRCC publishes service standards rather than promises. The standard depends on how and where you submit the application.

These standards exclude mailing time. Once a passport is ready, mailing it usually takes about five business days, and that varies by region because all passports are printed in Canada. The practical reading is simple: IRCC tells applicants not to finalise travel plans until the passport is in hand, and the same advice applies here.

If the standard is missed, the Service Fees Act gives you a route to a refund, and refunds are processed automatically. The 30-business-day clock only starts once IRCC has the complete package — form, photos, all supporting documents and fees — and it excludes mailing time, extra review time for complex files, and any hold while IRCC collects more information.

Should you renew or apply?

The single most common avoidable mistake is applying for a renewal when you do not qualify for one. A renewal is simpler: no guarantor, no references, and it can be done online. But you can only renew if every one of these is true about your last passport.

• It was an adult passport issued when you were at least 16 years old.
• It was issued within the past 15 years.
• It was valid for 5 or 10 years.
• It carries the same name, date of birth and place of birth that you want on the new passport.
• It carries the same gender identifier you want on the new passport.

If any of those is false, you are applying for a new adult passport, which needs a guarantor, two references and a full document set. IRCC returns renewal applications that do not meet the criteria, so checking first saves weeks. If you want to renew more than a year before the old passport expires, IRCC will ask why; by mail you must include a written explanation.

Documents a new application needs

A first adult passport, or any application that cannot be renewed, needs all of the following. Missing one item is the difference between a processed file and a returned one.

• Proof of Canadian citizenship — a birth certificate or citizenship certificate. A paper certificate must be the original, not a photocopy; a citizenship e-certificate must be attached as a printed copy.
• An identity document — original or photocopy. If you use a photocopy, show both sides and have them signed and dated by your guarantor or signing official.
• Two identical passport photos that meet the Canadian specification.
• A guarantor who signs your form, one photo and the ID copies.
• Two references who are 18 or older and have known you at least two years.
• Your current passport or travel document, if it is still valid.

Consistency across documents matters as much as completeness. A name that differs between a birth certificate and an identity document, or a spelling that changes between documents, is read as a reliability problem rather than a clerical one, and it can trigger a review of the whole file.

Passport photos are where applications die

Canadian passport photo rules are stricter than most people expect, and they are different from those of other countries. Two identical photos are required, taken within the last six months, and the print itself must be 50 mm wide by 70 mm high. Your face, measured from chin to crown, must be between 31 mm and 36 mm — so the photo is not simply cropped to a headshot.

On the back of one photo, the photographer must write or stamp the studio name, the complete address and the date the photos were taken. Your guarantor then signs that photo. Photos with a busy or dark background, a tilted head, an open mouth, tinted glasses or glare are rejected, and a rejected photo stops the whole application. A United States 2 by 2 inch photo is not acceptable for a Canadian passport.

Child photos use the same 50 by 70 mm frame and the same 31 to 36 mm face range, but no parent’s hands and no child’s hands may appear in the image. Newborns are allowed a wider range of facial expressions.

Urgent and express service

If you need a passport sooner than the standard, you can request urgent pick-up, express pick-up or emergency weekend service. You can ask when you apply in person, or later if your plans change.

• Urgent pick-up — by the end of the next business day (CAN$125.75).
• Express pick-up — 2 to 9 business days.
• Emergency weekend or statutory holiday service — CAN$383.50.

You must show proof that you need it: an airline, bus or train ticket; a travel itinerary showing proof of payment; a written statement if you are travelling by car; proof of illness or a death in the family; or a written explanation of a legal, banking or residency requirement. A few locations process express applications more slowly — Kelowna and Pointe-Claire take 4 to 9 business days, and Charlottetown 3 to 9.

IRCC is explicit that it cannot guarantee a passport on time, for example where there are security concerns or the application is incomplete. Do not finalise travel until the passport is physically in your hands.

Child passports

A child passport is valid for a maximum of five years and cannot be renewed. It stays valid until its expiry date even after the child turns 16, after which the young person applies for an adult passport. Until then, a new child passport is required each time the old one expires.

The person applying must be a parent (where the parents are not separated or divorced), the parent who holds custody or decision-making responsibility, or the child’s legal guardian. All parents or guardians should sign, and IRCC may contact the other parent. Since November 5, 2024, proof of parentage must accompany every child passport application.

The guarantor for a child application must have known you personally for at least two years and know of the child. IRCC also runs a list that lets a parent flag a child in its system to prevent an unauthorised passport application being made for that child.

Lost, stolen or damaged passports

Report a lost or stolen passport as soon as possible by calling 1-800-567-6868 inside Canada, or by contacting the nearest Government of Canada office if you are abroad. Reporting matters even if you think the passport is simply misplaced, because an unaccounted-for valid passport is a security risk.

What happens next depends on whether the passport was still valid. If it was, you must submit a PPTC 203 declaration with your application and pay an extra CAN$45 replacement fee on top of the new passport fee. If it had already expired, no special form is needed — you renew or apply in the normal way. A damaged passport also requires the PPTC 203 declaration.

IRCC may review or investigate how a passport was lost, stolen or damaged before issuing a replacement, and that can add delay. A passport that is found after being reported lost must be returned.

Guarantors and references

A guarantor confirms your identity and your information. For a new adult passport they sign the guarantor section of the form, one of your photos, and dated copies of both sides of your identity document. A guarantor must be 18 or older, have known you personally for at least two years, be a Canadian citizen, and hold a Canadian passport that was issued for 5 or 10 years and is either valid or expired for less than a year.

Their passport cannot be damaged, inaccessible, suspended or revoked, reported lost or stolen, found and returned, destroyed by IRCC, or requested back. A guarantor cannot charge you money for the service.

Two references are also required. They must be 18 or older and have known you for at least two years. They cannot be your guarantor, your spouse or common-law partner, your child or grandchild, or other close family. Crucially, a renewal needs no guarantor and no references — which is one of the strongest reasons to renew rather than apply again.

Names and passport numbers

If your name changes — through marriage, divorce, a legal name change, a court order, an adoption or the reclamation of an Indigenous name — you cannot amend the old passport. You apply for a new one and add a document explaining the new last name, supporting identification showing the new name, and your proof of citizenship. Since the passport information is duplicated on the chip, a name change is always a new document.

The passport number itself is printed on the data page. Since May 10, 2023, new passports carry a nine-character number that begins with a letter, followed by six digits, and ends with two letters. If the name on your passport does not match your tickets or other ID, expect delays at borders, airlines and immigration desks — which is why bookings should always be made in the name printed in the passport.

How to plan without losing weeks

Passport problems are almost always sequencing problems rather than information problems. The people who lose weeks are the ones who discover a document or a signature is missing after they have already paid and mailed the file.

1. Check whether you can renew before you do anything else. If you can, you skip the guarantor, the references and the citizenship document entirely.
2. Read your current passport’s data page and note the expiry date, so you know the real deadline rather than the one you remember.
3. Get the photo taken by a commercial photographer and have them write the studio name, address and date on the back of one print.
4. Confirm your guarantor actually holds a qualifying Canadian passport, and that it is not expired by more than a year.
5. Submit in person at a passport office if you want the 10-business-day standard, rather than 20.
6. Do not book travel until the passport is in your hands.

Finally, note the timing of the fee rules. Fees change annually, and for mailed applications the fee that applies is the one in force when IRCC receives the file. Checking the current amount immediately before submitting is a minute of work that prevents a returned application.

Frequently Asked Questions