01
Identify the right document
Refugee travel document or certificate of identity, based on your actual status rather than assumptions.
Travel documents
Refugee Travel Document — protected in Canada, and able to travel.
If you are a protected person or a stateless permanent resident, you may not be able to use a passport from your country of origin — and you should not try. There is a correct Canadian document for you.
Protected persons Stateless PRs Brampton & London
The two documents
Which one applies to you.
Two documents, two different groups of people. Applying for the wrong one is the most common cause of delay.
Protected persons
Refugee Travel Document
- For convention refugees and protected persons in Canada.
- Recognised internationally so protection does not mean being unable to travel.
- Cannot be used to travel to the country you were protected from.
- Obtaining your origin country’s passport can jeopardise your status.
Stateless PRs
Certificate of Identity
- For permanent residents who are stateless or cannot obtain any national passport.
- Issued where no country will provide you with a passport.
- You must maintain your PR status and residency obligation alongside it.
- Other countries still set their own visa requirements.
Which document?
Find the right travel document.
Applying for the wrong one is the most common cause of delay. Two questions settle it.
Your status
Two questions.
What to know
How these documents work.
They prove identity, not citizenship
These documents let you travel; they do not make you a Canadian citizen or replace a passport in every sense.
You cannot return to the country you fled
Travel there is excluded, and attempting it can jeopardise your protected status.
Visas may still be required
Other countries decide their own entry rules for these documents. Check each destination before booking.
Keep your status current
Your entitlement flows from your status here. Maintain your PR card and residency obligation alongside it.
Citizenship is the durable answer
Once eligible, Canadian citizenship and a Canadian passport remove this problem permanently.
Apply early
Processing takes time. Document first, tickets second — never the other way round.
How we work
How we help.
02
Assemble the application
Photos, identity evidence, guarantor and supporting documents prepared to specification the first time.
03
Handle family applications
Children and dependants filed alongside you so your family can travel together.
04
Plan for citizenship
Where you are eligible or close, we map the route to a Canadian passport so this becomes a one-time problem.
Travel document help
Travel without risking your status.
Tell us your status and when you need to travel, and a licensed RCIC will confirm the right document and realistic timing.
Questions about refugee travel documents?
We keep every common question — eligibility, documents, timing, fees and processing — answered and updated in one place.
Related services
Explore your other options.
Canadian CitizenshipPresence planning & filing
PR Card & Travel DocumentsRenewals, PRTD & obligation
Humanitarian & CompassionatePR on H&C grounds
Refugee Claimant Work PermitWork while your claim is decided
Temporary Resident PermitEnter despite inadmissibility
Resource LibraryChecklists & deadline tools
General information only, not legal advice, and current as of July 2026. Rules, fees and processing times change — confirm current requirements on canada.ca before filing. Contacting us does not create a client–consultant relationship until a written retainer is signed. IRCC makes all final decisions.
Document review
Need a refugee travel document?
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.