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Passport and Consular Services Passport and Consular Services Publication No. 2015-43-E 26 October 2015 Julie Béchard Legal and Social Affairs Division Parliamentary Information and Research Service Library of Parliament Background Papers provide in-depth studies of policy issues. They feature historical background, current information and references, and many anticipate the emergence of the issues they examine. They are prepared by the Parliamentary Information and Research Service, which carries out research for and provides information and analysis to parliamentarians and Senate and House of Commons committees and parliamentary associations in an objective, impartial manner. © Library of Parliament, Ottawa, Canada, 2015 Passport and Consular Services (Background Paper) Publication No. 2015-43-E Ce document est également publié en français. CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 2 PASSPORTS AND OTHER TRAVEL DOCUMENTS ............................................... 1 2.1 Legal Framework ................................................................................................... 2 2.1.1 Passport Eligibility and Issuance ..................................................................... 3 2.1.2 Loss of Passport Privileges ............................................................................. 3 2.1.2.1 Refusal of Passports and Revocation – Canadian Passport Order (Sections 9, 10, 10.1 and 10.3) ........................ 3 2.1.2.2 Cancellation of Passports (Sections 11.1, 11.2, 11.4, 12 and 13) ............. 5 2.1.2.3 The Administrative Process and Procedural Safeguards ........................... 5 3 CONSULAR SERVICES ........................................................................................... 7 3.1 The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and Other Treaties ...................... 7 3.2 Consular Services Provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada ................................................. 7 3.2.1 Information: Publications and Travel Advisories ............................................. 8 3.2.2 Consular Services in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act ............................................................................ 8 3.2.3 Main Services to Canadians and Distressed Canadians Abroad ................... 9 3.3 Dual Citizenship ................................................................................................... 10 LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT i PUBLICATION NO. 2015-43-E PASSPORT AND CONSULAR SERVICES 1 INTRODUCTION A passport is “an official Canadian document that shows the identity and nationality 1 of a person for the purpose of facilitating travel by that person outside Canada.” The Canadian passport is recognized worldwide. In a recent annual report, Passport Canada estimated that the number of valid Canadian passports in circulation would reach 23 million in 2013.2 The passport possession rate in Canada has grown by 20% since 2008.3 One factor that has contributed to this increase is the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which in 2007 began to require passports from Canadians entering the United States by air, and in 2008 extended this requirement to all travellers.4 Canadians travel for leisure and work, as well as in order to live abroad. Canadian diplomatic missions that provide consular services are the closest official link Canadians have to their country when they are outside Canada. A portion of the fee paid to obtain a passport goes toward services provided by Canada’s consular program. These services are considered complementary to the issuance of passports: passports facilitate travel, and consular services provide information to Canadians before their departure and assistance when they are abroad. The first part of this paper briefly describes the Canadian passport and other travel documents issued by Passport Canada. It explains the legal framework and eligibility requirements for these documents, and the circumstances in which a passport may be revoked. The second part focuses on consular services, including assistance to distressed Canadians abroad; it covers the legal framework for those services, the department responsible for them, and the special situation of dual nationals. 2 PASSPORTS AND OTHER TRAVEL DOCUMENTS Since 2 July 2013, Passport Canada has been part of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC); before that date, it was the responsibility of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD).5 DFATD still issues travel documents outside Canada on behalf of CIC. Service Canada facilitates passport delivery services, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as well as the Canadian Security Intelligence Service play key roles in ensuring the security and integrity of passport issuance. Passport Canada issues four types of passports and other types of travel 6 documents. LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT 1 PUBLICATION NO. 2015-43-E PASSPORT AND CONSULAR SERVICES The regular passport with a blue cover represents 98% of the 5 million travel documents issued per year by Passport Canada. The other passport types are: • the burgundy diplomatic passport; • the green special passport (for persons holding office, such as parliamentarians and government officials travelling for work without diplomatic immunity); and • the white temporary travel passport. Canadians can be issued an emergency travel document when a temporary passport cannot be issued. The two other types of travel document are intended for refugees and permanent residents who do not have a passport from their country of origin. These documents do not allow the bearer to travel to the country of origin. Since 2 July 2013, all new passports have been issued as ePassports,7 meaning that biometric information about the bearer as well as encrypted information confirming the passport’s authenticity are contained an electronic chip that conforms to international standards. This ensures that the Canadian passport is reliable, secure and tamper resistant. 2.1 LEGAL FRAMEWORK The authority to issue passports resides with the executive branch of government through royal prerogatives exercised by the Governor in Council, and therefore does not require an Act of Parliament.8 The Canadian Passport Order (CPO) granting this authority came into force in June 1981. The Order has been amended slightly over time to conform to evolving international norms and to respond to heightened security concerns. For instance, in 2001, the “one person/one passport” policy was implemented, amending the CPO9 to require the issuance of a separate passport for each child. Before the implementation of this policy, children under the age of 16 could be included on the passport of a parent or a legal guardian. Passport Canada explained that this practice was first adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (in 1999) and was “designed to reduce the risks related to the international trafficking 10 of children.” The CPO sections on the refusal and revocation of passports were also amended in 2001 to ensure that for any person already in possession of a valid Canadian passport (one that had neither expired nor been revoked), no other passport would be issued.11 In 2004, the CPO was amended to provide the minister with the discretionary right to refuse or revoke a passport for reasons of national or international security.12 In 2013, the CPO was amended to include the possibility for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to grant authorization to the Minister of Employment and Social Development Canada as well as to the Minister of Foreign LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT 2 PUBLICATION NO. 2015-43-E PASSPORT AND CONSULAR SERVICES Affairs to cancel or withhold passports. Cancellation is distinct from revocation. A passport reported stolen to the authorities will automatically be cancelled. In 2015, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness was given a prominent role in passport revocation in situations where “the decision is necessary 13 to prevent the commission of a terrorism offence.” The possibility of cancelling passports was extended to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness with the creation of a new procedure. 2.1.1 PASSPORT ELIGIBILITY AND ISSUANCE Any person who is a Canadian citizen may be issued a passport under the CPO.14 Proof of Canadian citizenship, such as a citizenship certificate, a birth certificate issued by the competent provincial or territorial authority, or a certificate of retention of Canadian citizenship15 is required.16 For children under the age of 16, the Passport Order requires that the application be made by a parent or a legal guardian and that the application include any relevant court order or separation agreement.17 At all times, Passport Canada can request additional information concerning any matter relating to the issue of the passport.18 Section 3 of the CPO states that every passport shall be issued in the name of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada and that the document remains, at all times, the property of the Government of Canada. The passport is issued on condition that the bearer will return it to Passport Canada if requested and that it must be signed by the person to whom it is issued. 2.1.2 LOSS OF PASSPORT PRIVILEGES 2.1.2.1 REFUSAL OF PASSPORTS AND REVOCATION – CANADIAN PASSPORT ORDER
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