What documents do I absolutely need on arrival in Canada?

Your passport and immigration document (COPR, PR card, work permit or study permit) are the only ones a border officer will ask for. Everything else on this list is needed later, for jobs, schools, benefits and licences — but replacing it from inside Canada is far harder than packing it.

Should I bring originals or copies?

Bring originals. Many Canadian processes accept a photocopy or scan, but some — credential assessments, professional licensing, some school registrations — require the original or a notarized copy. You cannot make an original from a copy after you arrive.

What if I lose a document after arriving in Canada?

Replacing a foreign document from Canada usually means contacting your home country's embassy or consulate, and it can take months. This is why a full set of scans, stored somewhere you can reach from any device, matters as much as the paper.

Do my children need their own documents?

Yes. Each child needs their own passport and immigration document, birth certificate, vaccination record and school records. School registration and child benefit applications all ask for proof of birth and, often, proof of custody or guardianship.

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Documents to bring when you move to Canada

Last updated: August 17, 2026

Documents to bring when you move to Canada

Almost everything you will do in your first year in Canada — getting a Social Insurance Number, registering for health coverage, enrolling your children in school, applying for a job, renting an apartment, opening a bank account — asks you to prove something about your past. And almost all of that proof was issued by an institution in a country you no longer live in.

That asymmetry is the whole reason this checklist exists. Getting a replacement birth certificate from your home country while you are sitting in Toronto can take months. Getting it before you fly takes an afternoon.

The short version

Pack originals of anything that:

identifies you (passport, national ID, birth certificate),
proves a qualification (degrees, transcripts, licences, trade certificates),
records a life event (marriage, divorce, custody, name change, death of a spouse), or
documents your history (employment letters, medical records, driving record, rental references).

Then scan every page before you leave, and keep those scans somewhere you can reach from any device — not only on the laptop in your checked luggage.

Identity and immigration

These travel in your carry-on, never in checked baggage.

Passports — yours and every family member's, valid well beyond your arrival date.
Your immigration document — Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR), PR card, work permit, study permit, visitor record, or your port-of-entry letter.
Visa foils / eTA confirmation, if applicable.
National identity card from your home country.
Birth certificates — long-form where your country issues one, because Canadian processes frequently ask for parents' names, which short-form certificates often omit.
Police certificates obtained for your application, if you still hold copies.

Practical note: the border officer will look at your passport and your immigration document. Nothing else on this page is checked on arrival. Everything else is for the twelve months that follow.

Family and civil-status records

Canada asks about family status constantly — on benefit applications, on tax returns, on school registration, on sponsorship, on insurance.

Marriage certificate (and, if applicable, divorce decree or annulment).
Death certificate for a deceased spouse — needed to establish marital status.
Custody or guardianship orders for children not travelling with both parents.
Adoption papers.
Legal name-change documents — if the name on your degree does not match the name on your passport, you will be asked to bridge the gap, and only the original order does that.

Education and professional credentials

If you plan to work in a regulated profession, or to have your degree assessed, this section is the one that costs the most to get wrong.

Diplomas and degree certificates — originals.
Full academic transcripts, ideally sealed by the issuing institution. Many Canadian assessment bodies only accept transcripts sent directly from the school or received in a sealed envelope.
Professional licences and registration certificates (medicine, nursing, engineering, teaching, law, accounting, trades).
Course descriptions or syllabi for the programs you completed — regulators sometimes request these to compare curricula, and they are much harder to obtain years later.
Contact details for your institutions' registrar offices, since assessment bodies often verify directly with the school.

If you may need an Educational Credential Assessment, read Getting your foreign degree, licence or trade recognized before you pack — it explains which documents go to which body.

Employment history

Canadian employers, and the regulators who license newcomers, verify experience differently than you may be used to.

Reference letters on company letterhead, stating your job title, dates of employment, hours per week, duties, and salary — signed, with the writer's contact details. This exact format is what IRCC and most licensing bodies expect, and it is nearly impossible to obtain from a former manager two years and one continent later.
Employment contracts, pay slips, tax statements.
A copy of your CV in its original language, plus the English version.
Portfolio or work samples, if your field uses them.

Health records

Vaccination records for every family member. Ontario schools are legally required to have children's immunizations reported to the local public health unit, so this one is time-sensitive.
Medical history summary — chronic conditions, surgeries, allergies.
Prescriptions, written with the generic drug name, since brand names differ between countries.
Eyeglass or contact-lens prescriptions.
Dental records and recent X-rays.
Records for any ongoing treatment, so a Canadian doctor can continue it without restarting diagnostics.

Driving

Your driver's licence — bring it even if it is close to expiring.
A driving record / letter of experience from the authority that issued your licence, stating how many years you have been licensed. In Ontario this is what lets you skip ahead in the graduated licensing system, and getting it after you arrive is significantly harder. See Exchanging a foreign driver's licence in Ontario.
International Driving Permit, if you obtained one.

Financial and housing history

Bank statements and proof of funds (required for some immigration categories).
A reference letter from your bank, confirming account history — occasionally useful when opening a Canadian account.
Credit report or reference letters from landlords/utilities — you arrive in Canada with no credit history at all, and any documented payment record can help. See Renting your first apartment with no Canadian credit history.
Insurance policies — life, property, vehicle — and any no-claims record from your auto insurer, which some Canadian insurers will recognize.
Pension and social security statements, particularly if your country has a social security agreement with Canada.

What needs translation

Any document not in English or French will eventually need a certified translation. You do not need one at the border, but you will need it for credential assessment, licensing, some school registrations, and many legal processes.

Translations done in your home country are usually cheaper and faster than translations done in Canada. Prioritize:

birth certificates
marriage / divorce certificates
degrees and transcripts
professional licences
driving record
police certificates

What "certified" means in Canada is specific, and it is not the same as "translated by someone who speaks both languages". Read Certified translations and notarized copies in Canada before you pay for anything.

Scan everything before you fly

This is the step people skip, and it is the one that saves entire weeks.

Scan or photograph every page of every document above — including the blank-looking backs, which often carry stamps or registration numbers. Then store the set somewhere that is:

reachable from any device, including a phone at a government office counter,
not dependent on the laptop in your suitcase, and
not a shared family email inbox, which is the single most common way newcomers' identity documents leak.

Keep the paper originals together in one folder, in your carry-on. Consider leaving a second physical set with a trusted person in your home country.

Quick packing checklist

Carry-on, never checked:

Passports (all family members)
Immigration documents (COPR / permits / PR cards)
Birth certificates
Marriage / divorce certificates
Driver's licence + driving record letter
Vaccination records
Prescriptions

Main luggage:

Degrees, transcripts (sealed where possible)
Professional licences, course descriptions
Employment reference letters + contracts
Medical and dental records
Financial statements, insurance policies, pension records

Digital, before you leave:

Every page above, scanned
Stored somewhere reachable from a phone
A second copy left with someone you trust

How my-id.ca helps

Look again at the list above and notice what happens to it after you land: each of those documents gets typed into a form. Your name, date of birth, passport number, immigration document number, addresses, employment dates, and your spouse's and children's details get retyped on the SIN application, the health card form, the school registration, the bank account opening, the rental application, the benefit claims — dozens of times.

my-id.ca is a free Canadian vault for exactly this. You store your documents and the details inside them once, and then autofill them into web forms with the Chrome extension or into PDFs directly in the app. Your files are encrypted and stored on Canadian servers, and the AI that searches them runs on my-id.ca's own machines — your passport scan is never sent to a third-party AI provider. See What my-id.ca can store and Add your spouse, kids and emergency contacts.

Next steps

First 90 days in Ontario: a newcomer's checklist — the order to do everything in
How to get a Social Insurance Number (SIN) — your first task after arrival
Certified translations and notarized copies in Canada
Keeping your immigration documents safe

Important: this is general information, not legal advice

This article is general information to help you get organized — it is not legal, immigration, tax, or financial advice, and my-id.ca does not provide legal or professional consultation. my-id.ca is not a government agency, law firm, or licensed advisor, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, IRCC, the Canada Revenue Agency, Service Canada, or ServiceOntario.

Rules, forms, fees, eligibility, processing times, and required documents change often and depend on your specific situation and immigration status. Always confirm the current details on the official government sources (canada.ca and ontario.ca) before you act, and complete and submit every application yourself. For advice about your individual circumstances, consult a qualified professional or a government-funded settlement agency. If anything in this guide differs from an official source, the official source is correct.

Frequently asked questions

What documents do I absolutely need on arrival in Canada?: Your passport and immigration document (COPR, PR card, work permit or study permit) are the only ones a border officer will ask for. Everything else on this list is needed later, for jobs, schools, benefits and licences — but replacing it from inside Canada is far harder than packing it.
Do my documents need to be translated before I arrive?: Any document not in English or French will eventually need a certified translation. You do not need it at the border, but translations done in your home country are usually cheaper and faster, so do the important ones — birth certificate, marriage certificate, degrees, driving record — before you leave.
Should I bring originals or copies?: Bring originals. Many Canadian processes accept a photocopy or scan, but some — credential assessments, professional licensing, some school registrations — require the original or a notarized copy. You cannot make an original from a copy after you arrive.
What if I lose a document after arriving in Canada?: Replacing a foreign document from Canada usually means contacting your home country's embassy or consulate, and it can take months. This is why a full set of scans, stored somewhere you can reach from any device, matters as much as the paper.
Do my children need their own documents?: Yes. Each child needs their own passport and immigration document, birth certificate, vaccination record and school records. School registration and child benefit applications all ask for proof of birth and, often, proof of custody or guardianship.