Include only Biographical Pages OR all pages of Passport?

[goodman36]

I just got a new Passport from the Embassy of my home country. My old Passport has almost all pages with arrival/ departure stamps as I had traveled many times in my fast years after arriving in Canada. I will be meeting the 1095 days requirement next week and apply immediately:

Now, should I include:

1) Only the Biographical page of my new Passport
2) Biographical Pages of both my new and old Passports
3) Biographical pages of my new Passport as well as all pages of my old Passport

 

[torontonian2003]

I just got a new Passport from the Embassy of my home country. My old Passport has almost all pages with arrival/ departure stamps as I had traveled many times in my fast years after arriving in Canada. I will be meeting the 1095 days requirement next week and apply immediately:

Now, should I include:

1) Only the Biographical page of my new Passport
2) Biographical Pages of both my new and old Passports
3) Biographical pages of my new Passport as well as all pages of my old Passport

You need the biographical pages of all passports which carry stamps relevant to the 4 year period prior to your application, even if they are expired. So I'd suggest provide BOTH biographical pages of both your new and expired passports. In addition copy the VISA stamp pages, if you traveled to a third country where you needed a visa.

Although not mentioned by CIC for the application, it may be beneficial to copy the stamped pages and clip those together with the bio pages. The stamps are the most obvious evidence of your absences. The more travels you claim in your residence calculation sheet, the more likely CIC will demand for proof of border entries/exits during the process. They would eventually ask for those anyway if you have multiple travels.

Please check this citizenship policy (CP 5) manual for CIC staff on Residence:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/cp/cp05-eng.pdf

The following is an excerpt from CP 5:

Documents that can provide additional information on residence
The following documents can provide additional information where residence questions exist:
— Passport/Travel Documents: When requested, applicants are required to provide all
passports, current and previously issued relevant to the four year period. Citizenship officials
must review passport stamps in all passports issued during the relevant time period when a client
comes in for testing, or any time prior to submitting an application to a citizenship judge for
decision. If the passport or travel document has been issued in the last five years, or if it has been
replaced by a document which would otherwise still be valid, the applicant should provide the
cancelled passport as well as the valid one. If the old passport or travel document was lost or
stolen, a police report may be requested. Note: Judgment must be exercised as some countries
do not return previous passports to clients and some applicants (e.g., refugees) may have
entered Canada without a passport.
• When assessing stamps in passports, it is important to look at entry stamps to Canada and
entry stamps to other countries which could indicate departures from Canada. The shape of
these stamps may also be informative as many countries use different shapes to indicate
entry and exit, e.g., entry stamps (oval) could be presented as exit stamps (square). When
assessing entry visas, it might be pertinent to look at the validity dates and the status under
which entry was given (visitor, student, worker, etc.) Note: Since not all countries, including
Canada, routinely stamp passports at entry, a lack of entry stamps is not always indicative
that no absences have occurred.

 

[rayman_m]

1. Make colour copies of Biographical pages of both old and new to meet CIC requirements.

2. Make colour copies of both passport's all pages including stamp pages. Just put a small note and write Additional Documents: 1. All pages of passports 2. you can add other key documents if you want like Lease/Tile of residence, Insurance, Medical record etc.

So as per CIC you met the primary condition providing the documents they require and you added some additional documents which may help on your case since you had lot of travel.

 

[torontonian2003]

I just got a new Passport from the Embassy of my home country. My old Passport has almost all pages with arrival/ departure stamps as I had traveled many times in my fast years after arriving in Canada. I will be meeting the 1095 days requirement next week and apply immediately:

Now, should I include:

1) Only the Biographical page of my new Passport
2) Biographical Pages of both my new and old Passports
3) Biographical pages of my new Passport as well as all pages of my old Passport

Some suggestions before you go through the submission:
(1) Double-check your travel records especially if you have several. It is not uncommon for folks to forget shorter trips they made only to realize them after submission

(2) Check that all departures and reentries have appropriate stamps in your passport. Lately, passports of PR residents are no longer stamped upon return to Canada at certain borders or airports. If you are missing a stamp, it would be prudent to request your CBSA (Canadian Border Services Agency) reentry records. This CBSA history will be your proof of returns in lieu of the missing stamps. You can submit this history together with your passport pages. Also, some folks have reported in this forum how they utilized this CBSA history as a means to cross-verify their own recollections of their travels (especially if you made land travels, or possibly have forgotten a shorter trip).

(3) Make sure all the stamps are legible and do not require translations, or provide official translations if any stamp is not in English or French.

(4) The 1095-day rule once satisfied, is often adequate for prompt submission, provided you never left Canada during the last 4 years or you have few short travels with all stamps accounted for. If your travels are multiple and not properly documented with stamps on your passport, it could be helpful to delay your submission so that you have a few days of buffer beyond the 1095 rule. The opinion in this forum is split about this issue but I'd like to personally mention my case where I applied exactly after obtaining 1095 days physical presence. Although, my travels history is accurate, CIC still asked that they do a validation with CBSA. CIC staff cited that it's specifically because I have 1095 days residence and not longer. I'm still waiting for an oath invitation after passing my test, even though most of my cohorts in Mississauga on testing day are already Canadian within a week after our test/interview.

 

[Goldline]

Here is the official answer form cic site:
3. Biographical page of Passport(s)/Travel Document(s)

The biographical page means the page where it has your name, photo, passport/travel document no., issue date and expiration date.

Provide photocopies of the biographical pages of all passports and/or travel documents (valid and cancelled) for the relevant four (4) year period immediately preceding the date of your application,

Also, provide photocopies of any renewal pages of the passport(s)/travel document(s).

Note: If any of these documents are no longer in your possession please explain why.

Adding xtra docs won't hurt , the problem is if you're missing some required docs.

 

[goodman36]

Here is the official answer form cic site:
3. Biographical page of Passport(s)/Travel Document(s)

The biographical page means the page where it has your name, photo, passport/travel document no., issue date and expiration date.

Provide photocopies of the biographical pages of all passports and/or travel documents (valid and cancelled) for the relevant four (4) year period immediately preceding the date of your application,

Also, provide photocopies of any renewal pages of the passport(s)/travel document(s).

Note: If any of these documents are no longer in your possession please explain why.

Adding xtra docs won't hurt , the problem is if you're missing some required docs.

Thanks you and everyone else who responded.

I had ordered online a copy of entry/exit reports from CBSA. Hoping to get it next week.

I can document the exists and entries from the Stamps in my Passport. When I entered Canada from outside, my passport wasn't always stamped by CBSA - most of the times they scanned my PR Card.

Now, since it seems from the responses I received above I should include all pages of my previous Passport (my new passport doesn't have any stamp as I have not traveled after I got this), should I include a separate page (like a Excel sheet) stating the Exit/Entry dates from/to Canada matching the page of the stamp for that exist/entry?

Also, I have proof that I lived 3 years in the last 4 years such as I own the Condo that I live in - so I have Notice of Assessment with same address for last 4 years, prood of auto/home insurance with same address for last 4 years, Driver's license showing present address for last 4 years etc.

 

[torontonian2003]

Thanks you and everyone else who responded.

I had ordered online a copy of entry/exit reports from CBSA. Hoping to get it next week.

I can document the exists and entries from the Stamps in my Passport. When I entered Canada from outside, my passport wasn't always stamped by CBSA - most of the times they scanned my PR Card.

Now, since it seems from the responses I received above I should include all pages of my previous Passport (my new passport doesn't have any stamp as I have not traveled after I got this), should I include a separate page (like a Excel sheet) stating the Exit/Entry dates from/to Canada matching the page of the stamp for that exist/entry?

Also, I have proof that I lived 3 years in the last 4 years such as I own the Condo that I live in - so I have Notice of Assessment with same address for last 4 years, prood of auto/home insurance with same address for last 4 years, Driver's license showing present address for last 4 years etc.

You won't get the CBSA report until at least 30 days after requesting.

It won't hurt to append an ordered listing of your travels showing departure/arrival dates, passport number, and quick description of the nature of the travel. Put these together with the VISA pages and travel stamp pages of your passport.

It's your call if you'd like to supplement your residence claims (why not?). Normally, when CIC begins doubting residence claims they could ask for the following follow-up documents:
1. Passport copies (including all pages whether stamped or blank)
2. Proof of employment (employment letter, T4 stubs, income tax assessments)
3. Proof of school attendance (in Canada within the relevant 4 years)
4. Financial records (for self-employed)
5. Banking/credit card statements showing regular Canada transactions
6. Utility and personal bills in Canada
7. Proof of volunteer work
8. Government entry/exit records (including CBSA plus external entry/exit records other countries might have on you)

See the citizenship policy CP 5 (Residence) publication written to guide CIC staff:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/cp/cp05-eng.pdf

Don't overdo it however and keep the primary support documents separate together with the CIC forms (application form and the signed residence calculation).

 

[goodman36]

I had ordered the CBSA report 1 month ago.

Should I include this with the Package?

What is the implication of me giving permission to CIC to check my records with CBSA? I heard this permission basically allows them to continually check my entry/exit with CBSA for life.

 

[torontonian2003]

I had ordered the CBSA report 1 month ago.

Should I include this with the Package?

What is the implication of me giving permission to CIC to check my records with CBSA? I heard this permission basically allows them to continually check my entry/exit with CBSA for life.

Yeah, send a copy of your CBSA file together with the passport pages (departure/arrival stamps, any third-country visas, and the bio pages). Also send an itemize list (spreadsheet) detailing your travels (departure/arrival, brief description of the nature of the trip, # of days)

The consent allows CIC to verify your CBSA record themselves if they want to. Just say YES to that. In a way, it leaves the impression that you're being transparent with your absences. Interestingly, don't be surprised if you get to the test/interview and the interviewing CIC staff reiterates the question asking if you provide consent on the same question you already ticked. That happened to me and a few others here. I suppose it's standard for them to verify if you're really giving them authorization to access your CBSA record.

But in your case, since you already obtained your history and submitting it with your application, they might just consider the history as is. Keep the original in a safe place and bring it with you on testing day.

I'd say it's been good forethought to obtain your CBSA history. It could pave the way for your application to be considered routine and be fast tracked.

Good luck!