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Returning to Canada
Leaving a foreign country
Transport companies, such as air, rail, and bus services, are required to ensure that all passengers travelling to Canada can produce valid, universally accepted travel documents. This includes Canadian citizens returning to Canada from abroad. Transport companies, especially international airlines, may be fined if they carry improperly documented (pdf) travellers and are often liable to return those passengers to their point of origin
A Certificate of Canadian Citizenship (CCC) is not a travel document and airlines are known not to accept it as such. Airlines are known to refuse boarding to dual national Canadian passengers returning to Canada, travelling on a passport that requires a visa to enter Canada, regardless of whether the passenger presents a valid CCC as proof of Canadian citizenship.
To avoid such problems, Canadian citizens, including dual nationals, are strongly advised to obtain a Canadian passport prior to initiating international travel and to use their Canadian passport at all times for international travel.
A Canadian passport is the only reliable and universally accepted travel and identification document for the purpose of international travel. It proves your admissibility to enter Canada.
Re-entering Canada
Returning to Canada means a stop at a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) check point. Be sure to declare everything acquired abroad, whether purchases for yourself or gifts, as well as goods bought at a Canadian or foreign duty-free store. Keep original receipts. The booklet I Declare describes what you can and cannot bring back to Canada if you have been away for less than a year.
Permanent residents (immigrants living in Canada who are not yet Canadian citizens) travelling outside Canada need a valid permanent resident card to return to Canada. Travellers should check the expiry date on their card and apply for a new one at least two months before they travel. For more information, please visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website
