Can I travel to Canada on a SJTD from Delhi, India.

[Hellostudio]

Hello, I am an Indian and have lost my passport and PR card in delhi. I have to immediately get back to canada. Planning to apply for a SJTD AS i dont have any documents in India to get a new passport. I want to known if india allows for indian citizens to fly out using a Single Journey Travel Document (SJTD) or does Indian airport immigration require an indian passport from indian citizens?

 

[sodapop123]

Ooh, this could get complicated.

Hopefully you can figure this out soon, but losing the passport as well kinda takes a PRTD out of the picture until you can get a replacement passport issued.

1. No idea about the SJTD and airlines/airport question. Never heard of this before, but searching for it mainly comes up with refugee or stateless person situations - have you confirmed this is an option for you ?


2. Just thinking out loud here in case the SJTD doesn't work out for ya. Can someone in Canada scan the documents you need and send you the PDFs ? - I don't know the replacement process for a lost Indian passport, but this might work if the process is entirely online ?
Then get a PRTD after that. Obviously all this will mean you won't be able to fly back to Canada for a while.



Also, when you lose a passport, i believe you need to file a police report and report it to the the relevant authorities or something like that - i would check if you need to do this. Maybe a police report will help you get a re-issued passport without having the physical documents on hand or help reduce the processing timeline ?

 

[Hellostudio]

Ooh, this could get complicated.

Hopefully you can figure this out soon, but losing the passport as well kinda takes a PRTD out of the picture until you can get a replacement passport issued.

1. No idea about the SJTD and airlines/airport question. Never heard of this before, but searching for it mainly comes up with refugee or stateless person situations - have you confirmed this is an option for you ?


2. Just thinking out loud here in case the SJTD doesn't work out for ya. Can someone in Canada scan the documents you need and send you the PDFs ? - I don't know the replacement process for a lost Indian passport, but this might work if the process is entirely online ?
Then get a PRTD after that. Obviously all this will mean you won't be able to fly back to Canada for a while.



Also, when you lose a passport, i believe you need to file a police report and report it to the the relevant authorities or something like that - i would check if you need to do this. Maybe a police report will help you get a re-issued passport without having the physical documents on hand or help reduce the processing timeline ?

Ooh, this could get complicated.

Hopefully you can figure this out soon, but losing the passport as well kinda takes a PRTD out of the picture until you can get a replacement passport issued.

1. No idea about the SJTD and airlines/airport question. Never heard of this before, but searching for it mainly comes up with refugee or stateless person situations - have you confirmed this is an option for you ?


2. Just thinking out loud here in case the SJTD doesn't work out for ya. Can someone in Canada scan the documents you need and send you the PDFs ? - I don't know the replacement process for a lost Indian passport, but this might work if the process is entirely online ?
Then get a PRTD after that. Obviously all this will mean you won't be able to fly back to Canada for a while.



Also, when you lose a passport, i believe you need to file a police report and report it to the the relevant authorities or something like that - i would check if you need to do this. Maybe a police report will help you get a re-issued passport without having the physical documents on hand or help reduce the processing timeline ?

The indian passport process is so complicated. I need multiple types of proofs to apply for a passport which I dont have, you need to take all original documents to passport office as well. After that police verification will take place i.e. a cop will show up to your house to check if you live there (I don't have a permanent address). Nobody in canada can get to my original documents, so I am kinda stranded. I do have all of these docs in PDFs so was thinking to apply for a SJTD as I might be able to explain to the visa officer why I cant get a passport. However, the only issue is if Indian immigration will let me board the plane with that document.

 

[sodapop123]

The indian passport process is so complicated. I need multiple types of proofs to apply for a passport which I dont have, you need to take all original documents to passport office as well. After that police verification will take place i.e. a cop will show up to your house to check if you live there (I don't have a permanent address). Nobody in canada can get to my original documents, so I am kinda stranded. I do have all of these docs in PDFs so was thinking to apply for a SJTD as I might be able to explain to the visa officer why I cant get a passport. However, the only issue is if Indian immigration will let me board the plane with that document.

Oh man ! If there is absolutely no way to get a replacement indian passport - then this is a sticky situation for sure.


Unless someone comes up with a concrete answer based on personal experience (and this is not a common situation per my knowledge) :

• I guess you'll just have to call the airlines that you wish to use (given the whole middle east situation right now and flights cancelled etc.) and ask them if they recognize an SJTD for international travel boarding, before booking a ticket with them.
• On a little further research on google, it seems you might need to book a ticket first and then apply for an SJTD with that booking, for a particular travel date ? - not sure about this.
• If the above is true, I'd highly recommend you book a 'fully refundable ticket' so you don't end up wasting $$$$.
• You'd also need to find out how long this SJTD processing takes so you have it in time for your flight.
• Not sure about Indian immigration authorities question regarding boarding either - not sure how you'd be able to find out either.
• Even if all the above works out, It still depends on if the Canadian embassy considers your situation eligible to apply for an SJTD - You might wanna check on this first before anything else.
• And you should file a police report for your lost passport anyway ASAP, coz i'm assuming the Canadian embassy will need to verify that at some point when they review your request for an SJTD.

Also, goes without saying but please look into everything for yourself, coz i'm no expert on this.
Wish you all the luck, coz looks like you're gonna need it !