Hold a work permit? Since 4 September 2026 you can take a course of six months or less without a study permit.
What it means →
Refugee travel document — document checklist
Prepared by CHK Immigration Services Inc. · government fee $95 adult · $57 under 16
Refugee travel document — document checklist
Every document an officer will look for, grouped in the order they are read. The ones marked refusal risk are where these applications actually fail — a complete file is not the same as a persuasive one.
8 documents 5 where refusals happen Government fee $95 adult · $57 under 16
Identity
Who is this person, and is the story consistent?Where files fail here: Names, dates or passport details that disagree across documents.
Two identical photos, endorsed on the back
Taken in person by a commercial photographer within the last six months, neutral expression, plain background, photographer’s details inscribed. Your guarantor signs the back and certifies the likeness — a missing endorsement is a standard return to sender.
Proof of your immigration status
A valid PR card, temporary resident permit, IRB notice of decision, verification of status, or a positive pre-removal risk assessment letter. The IRB notice is the document most often missing years after the hearing — order a replacement early.
The application form
Adults and children use different forms, and a child under 16 leaves the signature line blank. Signing on their behalf invalidates it.
Eligibility
Do they meet this program's bar, on paper?Where files fail here: A requirement evidenced by assertion instead of a document.
Confirm which document you need
Protected persons and Convention refugees get the refugee travel document. The certificate of identity is for permanent residents who are not protected persons and are stateless or cannot obtain a passport. Routing a protected person to the certificate costs $235 instead of $95 and carries no Convention recognition.
Find your guarantor first
A Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Canada, from an approved occupation, who has known you personally for at least six months. For someone recently landed this is the hardest item in the file, so start it before anything else.
Two references
Two people who are 18 or over, are not relatives and are not your guarantor, and have known you at least six months.
Admissibility
Is there anything that disqualifies them?Where files fail here: An old charge left undisclosed because it “didn’t count”.
Never travel to the country you fled
This matters more than every other row combined. Travelling there, or applying for or renewing that country’s passport, is treated as re-availing yourself of its protection. The Minister can then ask the Refugee Protection Division to find that your protection has ceased — and a cessation finding on that ground ends permanent resident status automatically, however long you have been settled here. Take advice before booking anything, including a family visit routed through a third country.
Mail it — there is no counter
This is IRCC’s Passport Program, not the immigration stream: applications go by mail or courier to Nova Scotia, and there is no in-person service. An incomplete package is returned, and a return-and-refile cycle costs weeks against a fixed travel date.
General information, not legal advice. This checklist is prepared by CHK Immigration Services Inc. and was checked against the Government of Canada’s published requirements on the date shown. Requirements change and vary by case, and IRCC generates a personalised document list for many applications — where that list or canada.ca differs from this document, they govern.
Lead times are planning estimates, not guarantees. Police certificates and credential assessments in particular vary widely by country and provider. IRCC makes all final decisions.
CHK Immigration Services Inc. is an immigration consultancy with offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Our consultants are regulated by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC). Nothing in this document creates a client–consultant relationship.
Current version: https://chkimmigration.ca/checklists/refugee-travel-document
Checked against the official IRCC page for this application in September 2026. Where that page disagrees with anything here, it wins. General information, not legal advice. Lead times are planning estimates, not guarantees — police certificates and credential assessments in particular vary widely by country and provider. IRCC also generates a personalised checklist for many applications, and that list governs. IRCC makes all final decisions.
Having the documents is not the same as having a persuasive file.
Every item above can be present and correct and the application can still be refused — on intent, on a date that does not reconcile, or on a lead time that ran out. A licensed consultant reads it the way an officer will.
Book a file revieweligibility review
Find out where you actually stand.
Send a few details. A licensed RCIC reads your profile personally, then replies with the routes that genuinely fit, the ones that do not, and the consultation fee and next available times.
- Read personally by a CICC-licensed consultant — never a bot, never a salesperson
- A written shortlist of the programs you realistically qualify for
- Consultations are fee-based; you get the fee and available times by reply
CHK Immigration Services — Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (CICC). Offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Submitting this form does not create a client–consultant relationship; IRCC makes all final decisions.