Currently I’m going through the steps of obtaining a passport for my new baby daughter. There are a number of steps involved and if you need it in a hurry then there are some extra steps you must take. The specific directions and times are different for various cities and provinces so you will have to look up the proper government departments for your area.
First of all, let’s look at the normal process to get a passport for an infant in Ontario, which can take up to three months.
Statement of live birth
This is a form you should get from the hospital. It will have your information as well as the baby’s. The attending doctor should have signed it. Make sure all the information is filled in.
Register statement of live birth
You need to send the statement of live birth to the registration office. Since I live in Toronto, I sent the form to the City of Toronto Registry Services Office. Make sure you fill in the form correctly or they will send it back. For example, under the “father’s last name if different at birth”, we left the field blank since my last name has not change. Well, they sent it back! Check with your city to see how to register the birth of your child. Please note that in some areas, the hospital will send the form to the appropriate government division for you.
In Toronto, it take about two weeks for them to officially “register” the birth.
Birth certificate
Once the live birth is registered then you can apply for a birth certificate with your provincial government. In Ontario you can apply here. This process can take a while – in our case it took about a month so we could have skipped the travel letter step indicated below.
Apply for Passport
Once you have the birth certificate for the child, you have to get two passport photos from a photo place. These cost about $20 (ripoff) but you have to buy them – you can’t use your own photos. The form for a passport can be obtained from here – select the “Children” link. I believe it takes about two weeks to get the passport so the entire process can take up to a couple of months.
I need a passport for my infant quickly!
If you are planning a trip within a few months of the birth then you need to do the following steps.
Register the birth (same as above).
It seems that the process has changed, as the city of Toronto no longer registers births.
“As of November 2009, birth registration is processed by the Province of Ontario and not by the City of Toronto. You can use the province’s Newborn Registration Service, by linking to “How to register a birth in Ontario” at http://www.ontario.ca/en/life_events/baby/004436.
This service also provides links to obtain a birth certificate and social insurance number.
If you are travelling with a newborn and need a birth certificate quickly, you can request it through the province’s Newborn Registration Service. Details are on the website at: http://www.ontario.ca/en/residents/ONT06_019042. “
16 replies on “How To Get A Passport For Your Infant”
The earliest we got a passport for our kids was when the youngest was about 4. All it took was the b/cert and her mummy.
We got in about a week or so. Now the Gomen claims to issue them in 3 days.
Keep in mind baby should not be smiling too much on the pictures otherwise they’ll be rejected.
Thanks for the post this is something I’ll end up needing to know in the not too distant future.
Keep in mind baby should not be smiling too much on the pictures otherwise they?ll be rejected.
*guffaws* only in Canada, I swear ….
I’m sure it would be faster and easier to get a passport for my Dear Child (age 5) than to get one for me under the new rules.
Why? Because my last name is neither the name on my birth certificate nor the last name of my current spouse. It’s my first husband’s last name and I need to get a copy of my marriage certificate from that marriage in order to start the process! There are more hoops after that, but I can’t remember them right now.
Anyway, I keep putting it off.
I was in a photo place last week that does passport photos and they will take photo of children under 1 for free! So call around, you never know what deals you can find.
The challenge is how long does the “registration of live birth” take – especially in Ontario. The Ontario government website claims it can take up to 16 weeks (4 months!) to register the birth – receiving the birth certificate and applying for the passport are quick, smooth processes in comparison…but neither can begin until the registration takes place.
Hey Wooly Woman,
You can also print passport photos of your kids and self using the simple tips posted on epassportphoto.com. The site contains useful information on how to attempt a child’s passporrt photo and also the country-specific information about visa and passport photos. Just take a picture, save on your computer, and browse to the location from this site, you will get lovely passport pictures printed within seconds 🙂
give it a try!
noni
Fathersez – a week is pretty fast.
Nicolas – good point – no smiling babies!
Shevy – let us know how it goes with the passport if you ever get it.
Noel – I got messed up by the Ontario gov’t website since it said 4 months ( or 3?) so I thought I had to get the travel letter. In actual fact the statement of birth was registered in 2 weeks.
The link for Travel Letter says that the Travel Letter will only be issued if your baby is born on or before Nov. 10, 2008. Do you know what letter I need to get for baby born after that date?
WL – I don’t know. You should call your city hall and find out.
They might have a different form or maybe they have speeded up the birth certificate process so it’s not necessary?
My baby is due Dec 3rd and I need to travel Feb 25th that gives me about 12 weeks to obtain a passport.
has anyone gotten there babies passport this quickly?
I know that the passport is not the long process but the other steps e.g birth certificates..
some one please help.. !!
Hello
I am also trying to get a passport for an infant very quickly… I had my son on August 27th and did his birth registrations, applied for his birth certificate and his SIN card all on September 2nd (Tuesday). I received his birth certificate via purolator on the Friday!! It took only 3 days so I am assuming that is why they got rid of the travel letter option and only allow for passports for infants. That said…I have not done the passport application process yet and I am very concerned about meeting the expectations for his passport photo with him being so very young.
Hope this helps!
Veronica 🙂
I would appreciate any pointers for getting a Canadian passport for my baby born in the U.S. (I am a Canadian citizen.)
Many thanks! 🙂
Great summary, thanks!
It seems that the process has changed, as the city of Toronto no longer registers births.
“As of November 2009, birth registration is processed by the Province of Ontario and not by the City of Toronto. You can use the province’s Newborn Registration Service, by linking to “How to register a birth in Ontario” at http://www.ontario.ca/en/life_events/baby/004436.
This service also provides links to obtain a birth certificate and social insurance number.
If you are travelling with a newborn and need a birth certificate quickly, you can request it through the province’s Newborn Registration Service. Details are on the website at: http://www.ontario.ca/en/residents/ONT06_019042. “
i am a canadian cityzein ship , i am haveing a new born but i am no longer with the father of my baby , the father is alway the way in iraq would this be a promble for me if i try to get a passport for my newborn or the b/c