Applying for a passport

Guarantor

Duties of a guarantor

Your guarantor must perform the following tasks free of charge:

1. Complete and sign the "Declaration of Guarantor" section free of charge.
2. Write, "I certify this to be a true likeness of (either your name or your child's name)" on the back of one of the passport photos and sign.
3. If applicable, sign and date a copy of the documents to support your identity.

Eligible guarantors

Your guarantor must:

1. Hold a five-year Canadian passport that is valid* or has been expired for no more than one year, on the day you submit your application;
2. Have known you personally for at least two (2) years.
3. Be a Canadian citizen 18 years of age or older;
4. Have been 16 years of age or older when he or she applied for his or her own passport.

Family members and those residing at the same address as yourself may be your guarantor provided he or she meets the specified requirements. Please note however that if you are the parent applying for a passport for your child, you cannot act as guarantor.

In order to benefit from the new guarantor policy, you must fill out the current Adult General Passport Application form.

Eligible guarantors for children

Your guarantor must:

1. Hold a five-year Canadian passport that is valid* or has been expired for no more than one year, on the day you submit your application;
2. Have known you (parent or legal guardian) personally for at least two (2) years and have knowledge of the child;
3. Be a Canadian citizen 18 years of age or older;
4. Have been 16 years of age or older when he or she applied for his or her own passport.

Please note that if you are the parent applying for a passport for your child, you cannot sign as guarantor for your child. However, the other parent of the child may sign as guarantor.

In cases where provincial family services have placed a child for adoption with a family, until the adoption is final (probationary adoption), the Provincial Director of Family Services, the Director of the Family Services Agency or the Director of the Incorporated Institution (in Québec) may also sign as guarantor.

Guarantors for military personnel

If they have known the applicant personally for two (2) years or more, the following Regular Force officers may act as guarantor for other Regular Force personnel and their dependents:

• Base Commander
• Commanding Officer
• Personnel Administrative Officer
• NDHQ Director General
• NDHQ Director
• NDHQ Career Manager

If this guarantor has known the applicant for less than two (2) years, in addition to the above, any other commissioned officer with access to service records can sign as guarantor. Instead of indicating the number of years they have know the applicant, they must add the following statement "through service records which I have verified".

Military police with two (2) years personal knowledge of the applicant can act as guarantors for other military personnel only.

* Validity

A guarantor's passport is not considered valid if, at any time prior to the issuance of the applicant's passport, the guarantor's passport:

• is damaged or is presently inaccessible;
• has been suspended or revoked;
• has been reported lost or stolen;
• has been found and returned to PPTC;
• has been destroyed by PPTC; or
• the return of the guarantor's passport has been requested by PPTC.

Free replacement passport due to PPTC error, of a passport that was issued for five years is considered to be a valid passport.

Declaration in lieu of guarantor

If you have not known an eligible guarantor for at least two years, complete form PPTC 132 "Statutory Declaration in Lieu of Guarantor" available from any Passport Canada office.

The "Statutory Declaration in Lieu of Guarantor" form must be sworn to or declared before, and signed by, a person authorized by law to administer an oath or a solemn declaration. If completed outside Canada, a qualified official includes a Canadian or British diplomatic or consular representative, or a qualified local official.