Omission of place of birth in Passport

[LEP_582]

Hello,

As some of you may know, CIC offers the possibility to omit the POB in your passport biographical page:

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/passport/forms/pdf/pptc077-eng.pdf

I was wondering if by selecting this option have you encountered problems when traveling?

Thank you!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hello,

As some of you may know, CIC offers the possibility to omit the POB in your passport biographical page:

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/passport/forms/pdf/pptc077-eng.pdf

I was wondering if by selecting this option have you encountered problems when traveling?

Thank you!

Hi

From what I recall people posted in other threads about this topic and from what is posted on IRCC's website, yes, it can cause problems. Some countries require this field and refuse entry based on this alone. Depending on the country, you can face increased questioning and security screening, also more likely to lead to refusal.

 

[canvan14]

I am just curious about the reason for someone to not want their original birthplace to be shown on the passport.

 

[shahmad]

Hello,

As some of you may know, CIC offers the possibility to omit the POB in your passport biographical page:

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/passport/forms/pdf/pptc077-eng.pdf

I was wondering if by selecting this option have you encountered problems when traveling?

Thank you!

The consequences of not having your POB on the passport are way more than having it. So, I would say don't opt it out.

 

[scylla]

Hello,

As some of you may know, CIC offers the possibility to omit the POB in your passport biographical page:

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/passport/forms/pdf/pptc077-eng.pdf

I was wondering if by selecting this option have you encountered problems when traveling?

Thank you!

Don't do it. It will create more problems than it solves and you can expect other countries to pull you into secondary regularly.

Have a friend who did this because he though having his city/country of birth listed would be a bad idea and would cause problems entering other countries. He had his Canadian passport without a city listed for less than a year before he paid to have it changed to list his city of birth. He was pretty much pulled into secondary every single time he entered another country and extensively questioned about why his birth city wasn't listed. Situation improve drastically once he got the new passport (with his birth city listed).

IMO there are absolutely no advantages to omitting your POB in your Canadian passport. All this does is cause problems. My friend is not the only bad stories I've heard related to this.

 

[LEP_582]

I am just curious about the reason for someone to not want their original birthplace to be shown on the passport.

Well people has plenty of reasons, in my case, I'm not ashamed of where I come from, but from the actions of my country of origin's governement and it's consequences. No one can predict the future but It would not be crazy to say that this goverment is capable of many things. It's a shame but either if I hide my POB it or not I might be sent to secondary inspection because of how's my country of origin is perceived today and God knows in the nearest future.

Another example: I have a friend that comes from a country that has been historically associated with narcotics, of course he has nothing to do with that but citizens of that country are deeply scrutinized at airports, much more than others. He is actually the one first talked to me about that option in the Canadian passport.

As you can see, some people come from countries that are torn apart by war/terrorism/narcotics/intolerance and consider to hide POB as an option.

 

[Joshua1]

Well people has plenty of reasons, in my case, I'm not ashamed of where I come from, but from the actions of my country of origin's governement and it's consequences. No one can predict the future but It would not be crazy to say that this goverment is capable of many things. It's a shame but either if I hide my POB it or not I might be sent to secondary inspection because of how's my country of origin is perceived today and God knows in the nearest future.

Another example: I have a friend that comes from a country that has been historically associated with narcotics, of course he has nothing to do with that but citizens of that country are deeply scrutinized at airports, much more than others. He is actually the one first talked to me about that option in the Canadian passport.

As you can see, some people come from countries that are torn apart by war/terrorism/narcotics/intolerance and consider to hide POB as an option.

I see what you’re saying. However, the very reason you would want to leave out the PoB is the very reason why border agents would be suspicious. Just imagine a US border agent asking you why is there no PoB, what would you say? A few leading questions... you get defensive etc. Then you will have to prove that you’re not a “bad hombre”...
This opens more room for unwanted scrutiny as others have said.

 

[LEP_582]

Don't do it. It will create more problems than it solves and you can expect other countries to pull you into secondary regularly.

Have a friend who did this because he though having his city/country of birth listed would be a bad idea and would cause problems entering other countries. He had his Canadian passport without a city listed for less than a year before he paid to have it changed to list his city of birth. He was pretty much pulled into secondary every single time he entered another country and extensively questioned about why his birth city wasn't listed. Situation improve drastically once he got the new passport (with his birth city listed).

IMO there are absolutely no advantages to omitting your POB in your Canadian passport. All this does is cause problems. My friend is not the only bad stories I've heard related to this.

Well, thanks for your input on this matter. I was giving a serious thought on ommiting my PoB, my friend told me that some officials ask and some others doesn't. And for the ones who ask, once he answers they don't go deeper on questioning him, but in the end it seems like it's not worth it.

Someone said in this tread that "tax evasion" could be another reason. I think he deleted the answer since it's no longer here, but still is on my email. I have not thought about it and it's not my case but seems a reasonable answer, too.