Form 30A, 1919-1924
(Ocean Arrivals)

Note: If you are going to use these records, we suggest that you print off a copy of this page for reference.

Research at Library and Archives Canada

About the Records

From June 1, 1921 to December 31, 1924, the Department of Immigration and Colonization required that individual manifests (Form 30A, RG 76 C1j) be completed and submitted to the immigration officers at the ports of arrival, instead of the large sheet passenger list manifests previously in use. A form had to be submitted for each passenger, including children, except those in transit to the United States. The use of Form 30A was discontinued as of January 1, 1925. From that date, the use of large sheet manifests was reinstated.

Each Form 30A usually included the following details:

Form 30A: Dmytro Zmendak, 1923. Library and Archives Canada, RG 76 C1j, reel T-15248.

• name of ship;
• date of sailing;
• port and date of arrival;
• name;
• age;
• occupation;
• birthplace;
• race;
• citizenship;
• religion;
• destination; and
• name of the nearest relative in the country from which the immigrant came.

Note that in the earlier version of Form 30A used in 1919, the names of accompanying dependents were usually included with the head-of-household, not on separate forms.

The use of Form 30A was inconsistent. Some immigration offices were using them as early as 1919, while some offices continued to use the sheet manifests as late as 1922. For the years 1919 to 1922, a passenger's name might appear in one or both series. If you cannot find a reference to your ancestor in Forms 30A, then we recommend that you search the passenger lists for that period.

How the Records Are Arranged on the Microfilm Reels

Forms 30A were microfilmed in quasi-alphabetical order. For each letter of the alphabet, surnames are arranged in groupings based on the initial letters of each name. For example, surnames starting with Ada, Adc and Add are grouped together starting with given names beginning with A. Such a grouping could include the following arrangement of forms:

Anne Adair, Benjamin Adcock, Christopher Addison, David Adair, etc.

Other examples:

Johann Wurmlinger, Kaarlo Wutala, Katarzyna Wusik, Ulrich Wurzer
Giovanni Lemmetti, Joseph Lemoigne, Margaret Lemon, Yvonne Lemoine
Adam Downey, Alexander Dow, Ann Dowd, Arthur Downes

Some of the more common surnames, such as Smith, Adams, MacLeod and Bennett, are grouped separately.

List of Microfilm Reel Numbers