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Travel advice and advisories by destination

***IMPORTANT NOTICE***
The XXX naming policy no longer applies to future passport applicants. Please contact Service Canada – Passport Services for futher details.

Important information on how to interpret the XXX in the given name field of a Canadian passport. 

Passport Canada is aware that their naming policy may pose an issue for individuals with a single name. When an individual has a single name, whether it is a given name or names, a surname or just a single name, it is always inscribed in the surname (last name / family name) field.

According to Passport Canada, this practice aligns with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements and standards, put in place to facilitate international travel. Since a system limitation prevents the Passport Program from printing a travel document with a blank space in the given name(s) field, “XXX” is entered in the given name(s) field as a placeholder. Therefore, the “XXX” inscribed in the given name(s) field on Canadian passports should be interpreted as blank.

Be sure to make all of your travel bookings, such as tickets and hotels, in the name you have on your passport. For more information on Canadian travel document requirements, please visit Canada.ca/passport.

Solution

At this moment, the passport office has no intention to change their XXX name policy on single names. Therefore, the best option is to apply to a name change certificate based on your province of residence. Once you have obtained your name change certificate, you can re-apply to your Canadian password with the name that appears properly on the given name and family name field.

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