Lost Passport

[apple416]

Hello,

My friend has lost her passport and she has recently become eligible to apply for citizenship.

She has been issued a new passport by her consulate.

That old passport had:

• her first entry to Canada in 2013
• 1 trip she made in 2015 as PR

She has a photocopy of the entire passport before it got lost.

She has filed a police report with Toronto Police but they only provided her with a report number (they did not provide her with any physical copy of the report upon filing)

Her physical presence calculator indicates that she meets the residency eligibility criteria (in fact she is way past her date in which she was eligible).

My questions are:

• Can she apply for citizenship?
• What are the chances she will be granted citizenship?
• If she can apply, what information should she include with regards to the lost passport?
• Are there any documents she ca request from Toronto Police and CBSA prior to her filing an application? - should that be included in the initial application filing?

I'd really appreciate your help and guidance in this matter.

Thank you.

 

[btbt]

If she meets the requirements she can apply for citizenship. Not having all travel documents is not a reason for which they'll deny a citizenship application, but IRCC may ask for proof of her physical presence in Canada (they ask this of people who have all their passports, too, either to ensure the case is well-documented or to assuage any doubts IRCC has). The extent of such documentation demands varies, but they can be quite extensive. Here is a thread in which people talk about such requests; perusing that may give you/her an idea of what can happen. (Such a request may not happen at all, but missing a passport makes it slightly likelier).

IRCC may or may not accept the photocopies of the passport when they verify the physical presence calculation. This verification happens on the day of the citizenship test during a short interview; she should not include the photocopies with her application. I don't know if the fact she has those copies could raise more questions; I don't know if it's common for people to have photocopies of their passports. There is still the fact that, unless those are certified copies, IRCC has no way of knowing when the photocopies were made, so she could have used the passport after the copies were made.

She can contact TPS and ask if they can issue a copy of the report. If simply asking does not work then she could ask for a copy under privacy law (ATIP).

She should list the passport on her application where it asks for a list of all travel documents held. She should also include a letter explaining that the passport was lost. She can include a photocopy of the biographical page; it's common to have photocopies of those (if so she should mention she had a photocopy in her records). If she has a report from TPS she should include (a photocopy of) it with the letter. If TPS refuses to issue the report she can just include the report number in the letter.

There is no reason to request a travel history from CBSA. IRCC can access those records directly (if she grants IRCC permission by checking the box on the application form). If she does request a CBSA travel history it should not be included in the initial application.

 

[apple416]

Thank you for your response @btbt

I was about to help her obtain a CBSA travel history, but I realized their web site states:

When this option is available, requesting the report directly from the CBSA will cause a significant delay to your application process.

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/agency-agence/reports-rapports/pia-efvp/atip-aiprp/thr-rav-eng.html
​

Is that something she should be concerned about?

 

[blueangel371115]

Thank you for your response @btbt

I was about to help her obtain a CBSA travel history, but I realized their web site states:

When this option is available, requesting the report directly from the CBSA will cause a significant delay to your application process.

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/agency-agence/reports-rapports/pia-efvp/atip-aiprp/thr-rav-eng.html
​

Is that something she should be concerned about?

Personally, I think they say that to scare people into not doing it. I don't see how it would affect the processing time other than delaying the time it takes for people to even send it. I honestly think it's just them trying to lighten their workload. But I'm no lawyer or an employee.

 

[btbt]

Personally, I think they say that to scare people into not doing it. I don't see how it would affect the processing time other than delaying the time it takes for people to even send it. I honestly think it's just them trying to lighten their workload. But I'm no lawyer or an employee.

Yeah, I expect there's some of that. Many people on the forum have requested their CBSA records. It does not seem to impact processing at all.

That said, I expect it's also to make it clear to people who do not give permission to IRCC to access CBSA records (and instead want to provide the paper records they've requested from CBSA themselves) that doing so can delay processing. So people who don't select that option on their application form may find processing to be slower.

 

[leelah]

Hello,

My friend has lost her passport and she has recently become eligible to apply for citizenship.

She has been issued a new passport by her consulate.

That old passport had:

• her first entry to Canada in 2013
• 1 trip she made in 2015 as PR

She has a photocopy of the entire passport before it got lost.

She has filed a police report with Toronto Police but they only provided her with a report number (they did not provide her with any physical copy of the report upon filing)

Her physical presence calculator indicates that she meets the residency eligibility criteria (in fact she is way past her date in which she was eligible).

My questions are:

• Can she apply for citizenship?
• What are the chances she will be granted citizenship?
• If she can apply, what information should she include with regards to the lost passport?
• Are there any documents she ca request from Toronto Police and CBSA prior to her filing an application? - should that be included in the initial application filing?

I'd really appreciate your help and guidance in this matter.

Thank you.

Is there any update with this? I also lost my old passport but i have the first page with me. Though i did not use this passport for my Canadian Immigration application, I do not know if an explanation letter will suffice. Pls advise...

 

[apple416]

Is there any update with this? I also lost my old passport but i have the first page with me. Though i did not use this passport for my Canadian Immigration application, I do not know if an explanation letter will suffice. Pls advise...

Hi @leelah, my apologies, I haven't been on here for a while now. I helped my friend apply for his citizenship, and atm it says Processing started. We gave a brief explanation in the form, obtained a police report (but did not submit that).

We think the police report maybe useful when going into interview.

I'll keep you posted on any updates I may get from him.

Thanks you.