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Consular Affairs
This page last updated: 17/05/2004 The Consular Section of the Canadian Embassy in Damascus is committed to providing effective, efficient and friendly services to all Canadians who come to our attention. We are also pleased to assist Canadians who may be living in or travelling through Syria.
General Information
| Address: |
Lot 12, Autostrade Mezzeh, Damascus, Syria |
| Mailing address: |
P.O. Box 3394, Damascus, Syria |
| Telephone: |
(963-11) 611-6692 / 611-6851 |
Fax:
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(963-11) 611-4000
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| Hours of Operations: |
Sunday to Thursday, 08:30 - 11:30 |
Information to travellers who plan to go to Syria or Cyprus are available at the Consular Section on the following website:
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/intro-en.asp.
Consular District
The Canadian Embassy in Damascus is responsible for both Syria and Cyprus. In addition to the Embassy in Damascus, we have two consulates headed by Honorary Consuls located at the following addresses:
Mr. M. Hisham Ismail
Honorary Consul of Canada at Aleppo, Syria
Al Sabil Street No. 2
Al Rabat Avenue, Sector 12
Tel: (963-21) 268-4160
Fax: (963-21) 268-4100
Mrs. Eleni Chrysostomides
Honorary Consul of Canada at Nicosia, Cyprus
1, Lambousa Street
1095 Nicosia, Cyprus
Mailing address: P.O. Box 22125, 1517 Nicosia, Cyprus
Tel.: (357-2) 775-508
Fax: (357-2) 779-905
The Canadian Embassy also provides to Australian citizens in Syria emergency consular services as well as certain regular services under the supervision of the Australian Embassy in Cairo (eg. providing Australian passport application forms, registering Australian citizens with the Canadian Embassy).
Services Offered
Some of the various types of routine consular services we offer:
- new passport applications, extension of passport validity, replacing lost/stolen or inaccessible passports, provision of parent consent forms;
- citizenship applications for children born in Syria and in Cyprus from canadian parent and replacement citizenship cards;
- registration of Canadians residing in Syria and in Cyprus;
- notarial services such as the certification of legal documents;
- witnessing signatures of Power of Attorney, certification of copies of original documents;
- provision of a letter of support for marriages, studies, or applications for visas;
- provision of general tax guides and contact information for Revenue Canada;
- general information on subjects such as customs, returning to Canada, health, local laws and regulations, etc.
Some of the emergency services we offer:
- we can contact, at your request, your relatives or friends and ask them to send you emergency funds;
- we can help you during emergencies such as natural disasters and civil unrest;
- we can assist with medical emergencies;
- we can notify next of kin regarding accidents or deaths and let them know whether, and how, they can help;
- we can seek consular access to detained Canadians and keep relatives informed of the situation.
- we can provide Canadians with a list of lawyers, doctors and hospitals in Syria.
Emergency Consular Services
The consular section offers a 24-hour emergency service to Canadians who are in distress. The telephone number (963-11) 611-6692 is connected to a voice-mail system directing the caller to the Emergency Desk in Ottawa.
If you are in Canada, you may make a collect call to Foreign Affairs in Ottawa at (613) 996-8885 and a consular officer will be able to assist in communicating with our embassy.
Passport Services
The fees specified below are in Canadian dollars. Applicants presenting their requests at the Embassy in Damascus can however choose to pay in Canadian dollars or to pay the equivalent amount in Syrian pounds or in US dollars.
To obtain a passport you must fill a passport application form, provide your current passport (if there is one), an original documentary evidence of Canadian citizenship (i.e. a citizenship card or a birth certificate from a Canadian province), two other identification documents such as driver's licence, social insurance card, health card etc., three identical regular passport-size photographs according to the specifications mentioned on the application form, and pay CAD 100.00 for regular passport and CAD 105.00 for business passport, in cash only. If you cannot obtain an eligible guarantor who has known you personally for at least two years, a Declaration in Lieu of Guarantor must be completed and an additional CAD 50.00 must be paid. An Embassy official must also certify one of the applicant's photographs on the reverse side.
If all requirements are met, expired limited validity passports may be extended at the Embassy. A fee of CAD 12.00 must be paid.
Passport application forms are available from the Embassy during regular working hours.
Passports for Children Under Age of 16
It is imperative to have both parents signature on a passport application for a child. If both parents live in Syria, the embassy may ask them to appear in person at the embassy when submitting the application for passport for their child. If one of the parents does not live in Syria, he/she should go to the nearest Canadian passport office or a Canadian mission to complete a Consent for a Minor Child form PPT028. The passport office or the Consular section at any Canadian Embassy will fax a copy of the completed form to our embassy so we will be able to proceed with the application.
The passport fees for a child less than 3 years of age are CAD 20.00 for a regular passport and CAD 22.00 for a business passport. And the maximum period of validity is 3 years.
Children who have been issued a passport in their first 12 months are entitled to a replacement passport at no cost. Full application requirements must be met. To ensure the photo is a current and true likeness of the child, the applicant must submit a photo of the child taken within one month of the date the application is submitted.
For a person of at least 3 years of age but less than 16 years of age, the fees are CAD 35.00 for a regular passport and CAD 37.00 for a business passport. The maximum period of validity is 5 years.
In case of emergency, and upon submitting a proof of emergency, our Embassy may issue a limited validity passport to a child born in Syria or in Cyprus and who has not yet received his/her Canadian citizenship card. This passport will be valid for 6 months to one year only. It will be possible to extend it to full validity (3 years for children less than 3 years of age , and five years for children at least 3 years of age and over, from the initial date of issue) once the citizenship certificate is received from Nova Scotia.
Lost or Stolen Passports
If you are applying to replace a lost or stolen passport, you must first report the details to the nearest police station and obtain a police report. You will then have to complete three forms identified as PPT040, PPT201 and PPT203. Please ensure that two of the forms have been certified by a Canadian Consular Officer or a Notary Public. A fee of CAD 50.00 is required for declaration of lost, stolen, inaccessible or damaged passport. In some cases, authorization from Canada has to be obtained to replace a lost passport.
Citizenship Applications
Instructions for submitting Canadian Citizenship applications
The following instructions are directed to Canadian citizens living in Syria and Cyprus who wish to apply for citizenship certificate through the Canadian Embassy in Damascus. Applications submitted through our office are pre-screened before being sent to the Registrar for Canadian Citizenship in Sydney, Nova Scotia. When the certificate has been issued by their office, it will be sent to the Embassy where it can then be picked up by the applicant. The Embassy will forward the certificates to the consulates in Aleppo, Syria, and Nicosia, Cyprus. This process can take upwards of one year.
Applications can be submitted in person at the Canadian Embassy in Damascus, and at the Canadian Consulates in Aleppo, Syria and in Nicosia, Cyprus. Canadians living in Cyprus can send their applications directly to Canada. Once the certificates are ready, they will be sent to them through the Canadian Embassy in Damascus.
As per the Citizenship Act of 1977, a child born to a Canadian parent (in or out of wedlock) outside of Canada has a claim to Canadian citizenship. The documents we must see to establish this claim are:
- The parent's original proof of Canadian citizenship (i.e. a Canadian birth certificate or a Canadian citizenship certificate). We must see the original of these documents. Photocopies will not be accepted.
- Two other pieces of the Canadian parent's identification (i.e. passport, drivers license, resident permit, health insurance etc.).
- Other documents, such as marriage certificate and/or legal name change certificate (if applicable).
- The child's official birth certificate which shows the child's birth details and indicates the full names of the natural parents. If this document is in any other language than French or English, it must be translated by a licensed or notarized translator, and certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country of birth.
- The photographs must be exactly as specified on the citizenship application form. Even in the case of children, the signature strip must appear on the bottom of the photograph. The size must be exactly as specified as the photograph will be mounted on a wallet-size card and enough space must appear on the card for personal information. Our experience has been that if the photographs are not submitted as specified, the application will be considered as pending until the correct photographs are received in Nova Scotia.
- The fee for processing applications for proof of citizenship, replacement of a proof of citizenship or for search applications is CAD 75.00 or the equivalant amount either in Syrian Pounds or US dolllars. The fee for processing a Right of Citizenship (the privilege of becoming a Canadian citizen - applies to those 18 years old or older), and for processing a Change of citizenship (a grant, resumption, retention, or renunciation of citizenship) is CAD 100.00 or equivalant amount either in Syrian pounds or US dollars . All fees are payable in cash to the consular section of the embassy.
- We will make a photocopy of your original documents and certify them as true copies.
Should you have any queries regarding possible eligibility or wish to obtain forms to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship for yourself or your child, please contact the Consular Section of the Canadian Embassy in Damascus (tel.: 963-11-611-6692).
Registration of Canadians Residing in Syria
The Embassy invites all Canadians living in or travelling to Syria to register with the Consular Section. Canadians can register on line at: http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/sos/rocapage-en.asp or communicate with the Embassy to receive a registration card. Only one card should be filled in for all the members of a family under the same address, and date of departure must be filled. Make sure to ask for the warden's name and telphone number.
Legalization of Documents
The Canadian Embassy and the Canadian Consulate in Aleppo, Syria, can authenticate Syrian documents which have been notarized by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Canadian Consulate in Nicosia, Cyprus, can authenticate Cypriot documents which have been notarized by the Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
To notarize a document in Canada, the proper procedure is to have the document notarized first by a notary in Canada. The notary's signature must then be authenticated by the Lieutenant-Governor of the province in which the notary is commissioned (such requests are usually channelled through the deputy provincial secretary of the province or, for Québec, by the secretary of the board of notaries in Montreal).
Documents then have to be authenticated by the Department of Foreign Affairs in Canada (JLAC). They can be contacted at the following address:
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
125, Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G2, Canada.
Tel: 1 (613) 995-0119
Fax: 1 (613) 944-0870
Canadian documents are not acceptable in Syria without having been notarized by the Syrian Embassy in Ottawa:
The Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic
151 Slater Street
Suite 1000
Ottawa, On, K1P 5H3
Tel: 1 (613) 569-5556
Fax: 1 (613) 569-3800
E-mail: syrianembassy@on.aibn.com
Web site: www.syrianembassy.ca
Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates
To obtain a copy of a certificate please contact the Vital Statistics Office of the province in which the event occurred. Please note that there is no central registry of births, deaths and marriage in Canada.
ALBERTA
Web site: www3.gov.ab.ca/gs/services/vpe/index.cfm
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Web site: www.vs.gov.bc.ca
MANITOBA
Web site: www.gov.mb.ca/cca/vital/
NEW BRUNSWICK
Web site: www.gnb.ca/0051/0379/index-e.asp
NEWFOUNDLAND
Web site: www.gov.nf.ca/gsl/gs/vs
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Web site: www.hlthss.gov.nt.ca
NOVA SCOTIA
Web site: www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/vstat/
ONTARIO
Web site: www.cbs.gov.on.ca/mcbs/english/4ULUQT.htm
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Web site: www.gov.pe.ca/vitalstatistics/index.php3
QUEBEC
Web site: www.etatcivil.gouv.qc.ca/English/index.htm
SASKATCHEWAN
Web site: www.health.gov.sk.ca/ps_vital_statistics.html
YUKON
Web site: www.hss.gov.yk.ca/prog/vs/
Social Insurance Numbers
Application forms can be obtained by contacting the following address:
Social Insurance Registration
Central Index
P.O. Box 7000
Bathurst, NB
E2A 4T1
Taxes
Only tax forms can be provided at the Mission. The Canadian Embassy is not in a position to provide advice on taxation matters nor answer specific queries on individual tax returns. Should you require any further information and / or supplementary forms you should contact:
Revenue Canada
International Taxation Office
2204 Walkley Road
Ottawa, Canada
K1A 1A8
Tel.: 1 (613) 952-3741
Fax: 1 (613) 941-2505
You may wish to visit the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency Web site at http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/menu-e.html
Medical Coverage in Canada
If you are returning to Canada following an extended period of absence abroad, you may not be covered by provincial health insurance immediately on your return to Canada. Private medical insurance should be obtained to cover the interim period.
Any queries regarding medical coverage in or outside Canada should be addresses to the relevant provincial office.
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