With the new development of the IRS handling of Certified True Copies of Canadian Passports, it has become more difficult for Canadians to validate their identity for Form W-7, Application for Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.
For most Canadians, mailing in your actual Passport document is not preferable. However, as per the IRS supporting documentation requirements table, you may submit alternatively a combination of both:
- Foreign Driver’s License
- Civil Birth Certificate
| Supporting Documentation | Can be used to establish: | |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign status | Identity | |
| Passport (the only stand-alone document*) | x | x |
| U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) photo identification | x | x |
| Visa issued by the U.S. Department of State | x | x |
| U.S. driver’s license | x | |
| U.S. military identification card | x | |
| Foreign driver’s license | x | |
| Foreign military identification card | x | x |
| National identification card (must contain name, photograph, address, date of birth, and expiration date) | x | x |
| U.S. state identification card | x | |
| Foreign voter’s registration card | x | x |
| Civil birth certificate | x** | x |
| Medical records (valid only for dependents under age 6) | x** | x |
| School records (valid only for a dependent under age 18, if a student) | x** | x |
| * Applicants claimed as dependents who need to prove U.S. residency must provide additional original documentation if the passport doesn’t have a date of entry into the United States. See Proof of U.S. residency for applicants who are dependents below. ** May be used to establish foreign status only if documents are foreign. | ||
Again, sending in the original documents will not be preferable for most Canadians. Instead, you may take the approach of sending in either Certified Copies of the documents (if they include a seal), or duplicate actual copies of the documents.
The method of getting these documents is outlined for each province in the table below.
| Province | Driver’s License | Birth Certificate | ||
| Cost | Link | Cost | Link | |
| Alberta | $28 | Alberta.ca | $20 | Alberta.ca |
| British Columbia | $17 | ICBC | $27 | BC.ca |
| Manitoba | $10 | In-person at Manitoba Public Insurance Autopac agent | $30 | Manitoba Vital Statistics |
| New Brunswick | $22 | GNB.ca | $40 | GNB.ca |
| Newfoundland & Labrador | $25 | Digital Government and Service NL | $30 | NL Vital Statistics |
| Nova Scotia | $25.10 | In-person at Registry of Motor Vehicles office | $33 | NovaScotia.ca |
| Ontario | $12 | Ontario Ministry of Transportation | $35 | ServiceOntario |
| Prince Edward Island | $20 | In-person at Access PEI locations | $25 | PrinceEdwardIsland.ca |
| Quebec | $14.80 | SAAQclic | $36.75 | QC.ca |
| Saskatchewan | $15 | MySGI | $55 | eHealth Saskatchewan |
In most cases, getting duplicate or replacement copies of the document is the most surefire approach. The cost for replacement documents across provinces is quite reasonable, often being less in combination than the $45 cost for Certified True Copies from Service Canada anyway.
Hopefully, this approach provides a useful alternative for verifying identity for Form W-7 applications for Canadians who can no longer utilize the Certified True Copy approach. On the other hand, our ITIN Application Services provide the ultimate convenience if you don’t want to go through the hassle of dealing with the IRS or mailing in documentation.
Click the Get Started button at the top of the page if you want to learn more.