Traveling to Canada Before Your Canadian Passport Arrives

You just received your Canadian citizenship certificate in the mail. Your passport application is submitted but IRCC is running 20-plus business days for standard processing. You have a trip to Toronto booked in three weeks. What do you do?

For dual Canadian-American citizens, this scenario has a clear answer. You can fly to Canada on your valid US passport, no Canadian passport required. Carry your citizenship certificate as supporting identification, declare yourself a Canadian citizen at the border, and proceed. You will not be denied boarding and you will not be denied entry.

The general rule for dual Canadian citizens sounds alarming: to board a flight to Canada, you must use a valid Canadian passport. But IRCC's own guidance includes one explicit exception: if you are also a US citizen, a valid US passport qualifies you to board a flight to Canada without a Canadian passport, without an eTA, and without a visitor visa.

This exception exists because US citizens are already exempt from Canada's electronic travel authorization requirement. That exemption applies to you regardless of whether you also hold Canadian citizenship.

What you need to board and enter: - A valid US passport - Your Canadian citizenship certificate (carry it, do not leave it home)

The certificate is your proof of status. CBSA will expect you to present it when you declare yourself a Canadian citizen at the primary inspection point.

When the CBSA officer asks the purpose of your trip, say you are a Canadian citizen entering Canada. Present both your US passport and your citizenship certificate. This is the correct, factual answer: you are not a visitor, you are entering your own country.

Do not hand over only your US passport and wait to be processed as a visitor. Doing so creates unnecessary paperwork, may trigger a secondary inspection, and misrepresents your status. The citizenship certificate resolves the question immediately. CBSA agents can verify it in their system.

Land crossings are simpler. At any land port of entry, CBSA accepts a Canadian citizenship certificate plus a government-issued photo ID. Your US passport or passport card qualifies as photo ID, so the document set is the same: passport plus certificate. Declare Canadian citizenship and proceed.

The right of entry for Canadian citizens is unconditional. A CBSA officer cannot refuse you entry to Canada. Land crossings have none of the airline document-verification overhead, so friction is rare.

If you obtained a NEXUS card after your citizenship certificate was issued, your NEXUS profile will reflect Canadian status. In the NEXUS lane at a land or air crossing, you are processed as a citizen, not a visitor. Carry your citizenship certificate anyway until you have confirmed your NEXUS record is updated.

When you book a flight to Canada using your US passport, the airline system recognizes you as a US citizen and correctly notes no eTA is required. This is fine. You are not gaming the system.

The uncommon friction point: an airline agent at check-in may question why you are boarding to Canada without a Canadian passport. If this happens, explain that you are a dual Canadian-American citizen, show your citizenship certificate, and note that dual US-Canadian citizens may fly to Canada on a valid US passport per IRCC's published rules. Airlines face liability if they refuse boarding to a Canadian citizen entering their own country.

If you want to prevent any counter delay: call the airline 48 hours before departure, explain your dual status, and ask them to note it on the reservation.

If you have an urgent trip in fewer than 10 days and your Canadian passport has not arrived, IRCC offers a Special Authorization that allows you to board on a non-Canadian passport for one itinerary. You qualify if:

• You do not have a valid Canadian passport for the travel date
• Your departing flight leaves within 10 days
• You hold a valid passport from a visa-exempt country (a US passport qualifies)

Special Authorization is approved within days. Apply through the IRCC Help Centre online with your booking confirmation and citizenship certificate.

The cleanest long-term solution is submitting your Canadian passport application (PPTC 153 from the US) the same week you receive your citizenship certificate. Standard processing from the US runs 20 business days. Since April 2026, IRCC guarantees a full refund if a complete application takes longer than 30 business days.

For a trip 8 weeks out, submitting your passport application immediately gives comfortable margin. For a trip 3 weeks out, use your US passport and certificate together as described above. For a trip within 10 days, apply for Special Authorization.

Once your Canadian passport arrives, the process is straightforward: board as a Canadian, present your Canadian passport, no certificate juggling required. For the full passport application walkthrough, see the guide to applying for your first Canadian passport from the US.

If you are still working on the certificate stage, MaplePass walks you through the full CIT 0001 application for $199.