Features of the passport

Since July 1, 2013, all new Canadian passports are issued as electronic passports, or ePassports. Adult applicants have the option of a 5- or 10-year ePassport for both first-time applications and renewals, while children's ePassports are issued for a maximum of 5 years.

The personal information pages (pages 2 and 3) include:

1. Digital photo
   The passport holder’s photo is digitally printed and embedded into the page. It also appears on the electronic chip.
2. Digitally-printed information
   The personal data is digitally printed and embedded in the page and cannot be removed or erased. The information shown on page 2 is also stored on the electronic chip (except for the place of birth).
3. Laminate
   Holographic images are embossed in the thin-film laminate used to secure the information page. These images can be viewed by tilting the booklet in reflected light.
4. Special ink
   There is "Optically variable ink" that changes colour under different lighting.
5. ePassport symbol
   This symbol represents that this is an ePassport, which means it contains an embedded electronic chip.
6. Secondary photo
   A copy of the passport holder’s photo appears in greyscale.
7. See-through register
   The letters "CAN" appear when looking through the page.
8. Machine-readable zone
   The last two lines at the bottom of the page are the machine-readable zone, which repeats the passport holder’s personal information and passport details in a special format.