Lost Your Passport With a Canadian Visa Inside? Here's What to Do

Losing your passport is stressful under any circumstances. When it also has a valid Canadian visa attached to it — whether you're planning to travel to Canada or you're already there — it adds an extra layer that's worth understanding before you panic. The good news: this is a known, manageable situation with a fairly clear sequence of steps.

The key thing to understand up front is that a Canadian visa is physically tied to the passport it's stamped or affixed to. Once that passport is gone, the visa generally can't simply be transferred to a new one — you'll likely need to go through a replacement process for the visa as well as the passport itself.

Step 1: Report the Loss Immediately

As soon as you realize your passport is lost or stolen, report it to local police where you are, and get a copy of the police report if one is issued. This documentation is often required later, both for replacing your passport and for explaining the situation to Canadian authorities if needed.

If you're travelling, also notify your country's nearest embassy or consulate — they handle passport replacement and can advise on next steps specific to your nationality.

Step 2: Replace Your Passport

You'll need to apply for a replacement passport through your home country's government (embassy, consulate, or passport office, depending on where you are). This process, timeline, and any associated cost are set by your own country, not by Canada, so check with the relevant authority directly.

Keep any reference or file number from this process — you may need to reference it when dealing with the Canadian visa side.

Step 3: Deal With the Visa Itself

This is the part people most often get wrong. A Canadian visitor visa (TRV) is a physical marking in your passport. Once that passport is lost, stolen, or otherwise unusable, the visa in it is generally no longer usable either, even though the underlying approval decision may still exist on IRCC's records.

In most cases, this means you'll need to apply for a new visitor visa once you have your replacement passport, referencing your previous application where possible. You should generally expect this to involve the standard visitor visa application fee again, since it's effectively a new visa being issued into a new document — check current fee information before you apply, as fees can change.

Step 4: Notify IRCC

If your lost passport contained a valid Canadian visa, or if you were in the middle of another Canadian immigration process, contact IRCC to let them know. This helps ensure your records are accurate and can prevent confusion if the lost passport is later used fraudulently by someone else.

If You're Already Inside Canada When This Happens

Losing your passport while you're physically in Canada on a visitor visa raises a related but slightly different issue: proving your identity and status while you sort out the replacement. In this situation:

• Report the loss to local police and get a report if available
• Contact your country's nearest consulate or embassy in Canada for passport replacement
• Keep any other identity documents or copies you have accessible (a photo of your old passport's biodata page is genuinely useful here)
• If your Canadian status or an ongoing application is affected, contact IRCC to explain the situation

Documents Worth Having Ready

• [ ] A photo or scanned copy of your passport's biodata page, stored separately (cloud storage, email to yourself, or with a trusted contact)
• [ ] A photo or scan of your Canadian visa page or eTA confirmation
• [ ] Contact information for your country's nearest embassy or consulate
• [ ] Any IRCC application or reference numbers connected to your Canadian travel plans
• [ ] A police report, once obtained, for both the passport authority and IRCC if needed

Frequently asked questions