Agency overview | |
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Dissolved | 1 July 2013 |
Superseding agency | |
Type | Special operating agency |
Key document |
Part of a series on |
Canadian citizenship |
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Canadaportal |
Passport Canada (known as the Passport Office prior to June 2006) [1] was an independent, special operating agency of the Government of Canada with bureaucratic oversight provided through Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. Passport Canada was responsible for issuing, revoking, withholding, and recovering Canadian passports, and it was the sole issuer of them (except for emergency and temporary passports that may be issued by a Canadian mission abroad). [2]
The agency operated under the auspices of the Canadian Passport Order which defined the agency. [3] Due to its status as a special operating agency, Passport Canada was financed solely through the fees collected for issuing passports and other travel documents. It did not receive direct funding from the federal government.
Passport Canada became defunct on 1 July 2013, after the amended Canadian Passport Order came into effect replacing Passport Canada with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) as the passport issuing authority on that date. [4] Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), through Service Canada, is responsible for the delivery of the passport program on behalf of IRCC. Service Canada delivers in-person passport services in passport offices and at Service Canada Centres in Canada. [5]
The Canadian Passport Order is an Order in Council made under the authority of the royal prerogative. [4] First passed in 1981, it has been amended several times. Under the previous Canadian Passport Regulations, which the Order superseded, residents of Canada could obtain a passport by completing an application and sending it in by mail to the Department of External Affairs without having to prove their Canadian citizenship. [6]
It specifies who is eligible for a Canadian passport, as well as the procedure and application process for obtaining one. Under the Order, the Governor-in-Council has the authority to revoke or refuse a passport on grounds specified in the Order. A passport may not be refused or revoked on grounds not specified in the Order.
The Order established the Passport Office (later Passport Canada) as a special operating agency to oversee the distribution of passports to Canadian citizens. Following amendments in 2013, Passport Canada was dissolved and responsibilities for issuing Canadian passports were transferred to the Passport Program of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
In April 2005, the Auditor General of Canada Sheila Fraser gave a scathing report on Passport Canada, writing that employees of the agency lack proper security clearance. [7] Prior to the Auditor General's report, Passport Canada had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Corrections Canada to obtain a full list of inmates' names, as they are ineligible for a passport.
Follow-up reports were issued in 2007—which noted continuing control issues [8] —and 2009—where satisfactory progress was observed, especially in light of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative introduced by the United States. [9]
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuing registration of that birth. Depending on the jurisdiction, a record of birth might or might not contain verification of the event by a healthcare professional such as a midwife or doctor.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is the department of the Government of Canada with responsibility for matters dealing with immigration to Canada, refugees, and Canadian citizenship. The department was established in 1994 following a reorganization.
Transgender rights in Canada, including procedures for changing legal gender and protections from discrimination, vary among provinces and territories, due to Canada's nature as a federal state. According to the 2021 Canadian census, 59,460 Canadians identify as transgender. Canada was ranked third in Asher & Lyric's Global Trans Rights Index in 2023.
The right of abode is an individual's freedom from immigration control in a particular country. A person who has the right of abode in a country does not need permission from the government to enter the country and can live and work there without restriction, and is immune from removal and deportation.
In the United States, identity documents are typically the regional state-issued driver's license or identity card, while also the Social Security card and the United States passport card may serve as national identification. The United States passport itself also may serve as identification. There is, however, no official "national identity card" in the United States, in the sense that there is no federal agency with nationwide jurisdiction that directly issues an identity document to all US citizens for mandatory regular use.
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) is an Act of the Parliament of Canada, administered by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), that replaced the Immigration Act, 1976 in 2002 as the primary federal legislation regulating immigration to Canada. The "Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations" (IRPR) specify how provisions of IRPA are to be applied.
South Korean nationality law (Korean: 국적법) details the conditions in which an individual is a national of the Republic of Korea (ROK), commonly known as South Korea. Foreign nationals may naturalize after living in the country for at least five years and showing proficiency in the Korean language. All male citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 who are able-bodied and mentally competent are required to perform at least 18 months of compulsory military service or alternative civilian service.
The USA PATRIOT Act was passed by the United States Congress in 2001 as a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. It has ten titles, each containing numerous sections. Title IV: Protecting the Border aims to prevent terrorism in the USA through immigration regulations. The provisions of the title generally increase the difficulty of entering the country for those known to have, or suspected of having, terrorist intent.
The permanent resident card also known colloquially as the PR card or the Maple Leaf card, is an identification document and a travel document that shows that a person has permanent residency in Canada. It is one of the methods by which Canadian permanent residents can prove their permanent residency status in Canada, and is one of the only documents that allow permanent residents to return to Canada by a commercial carrier.
A Canadian passport is the passport issued to citizens of Canada. It enables the bearer to enter or re-enter Canada freely; travel to and from other countries in accordance with visa requirements; facilitates the process of securing assistance from Canadian consular officials abroad, if necessary; and requests protection for the bearer while abroad.
According to the 2021 Canadian census, immigrants in Canada number 8.3 million persons and make up approximately 23 percent of Canada's total population. This represents the eighth-largest immigrant population in the world, while the proportion represents one of the highest ratios for industrialized Western countries.
Canadian immigration and refugee law concerns the area of law related to the admission of foreign nationals into Canada, their rights and responsibilities once admitted, and the conditions of their removal. The primary law on these matters is in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, whose goals include economic growth, family reunification, and compliance with humanitarian treaties.
Visitors to the United States must obtain a visa from one of the U.S. diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt or Visa Waiver Program countries.
Polish nationality law is based primarily on the principle of jus sanguinis. Children born to at least one Polish parent acquire Polish citizenship irrespective of place of birth. Besides other things, Polish citizenship entitles the person to a Polish passport.
A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the bearer may return to the issuing country, and are often issued in booklet form to allow other governments to place visas as well as entry and exit stamps into them.
Palestinian people have a history that is often linked to the history of the Arab Nation. Upon the advent of Islam, Christianity was the major religion of Byzantine Palestine. Soon after the rise of Islam, Palestine was conquered and brought into the rapidly expanding Islamic empire. The Umayyad empire was the first of three successive dynasties to dominate the Arab-Islamic world and rule Palestine, followed by the Abbasids and the Fatimids. Muslim rule was briefly challenged and interrupted in parts of Palestine during the Crusades, but was restored under the Mamluks.
The visa policy of Canada requires that any foreign citizen wishing to enter Canada must obtain a temporary resident visa from one of the Canadian diplomatic missions unless they hold a passport issued by one of the 53 eligible visa-exempt countries and territories or proof of permanent residence in Canada or the United States.
The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) is a standing committee of the Canadian House of Commons that studies issues related to citizenship and immigration in Canada.
Migration 5 is a conference of the immigration authorities of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The five countries work together to "enhance the integrity, security and efficiency of their immigration and border services" including the sharing of certain overseas visa application centres.