Philippine Consular Procedures in Canada

Eleven guides, one per procedure, written for the Philippine posts in Canada: Canadian-dollar fees, the eight-to-ten-week passport timeline and the 2024 apostille change are all here. The two biggest procedures, the NBI clearance and PSA certificates, never require a consulate at all.

The eleven guides

Passport

The passport is printed in Manila and takes eight to ten weeks in Canada: these guides explain the timeline and the one-way alternative when it cannot wait.

• Philippine passport renewal in Canada: CAD 93, printed in Manila and back in eight to ten weeks. Why you must appear in person at your own consulate and why nine months' notice is the real deadline.
• Philippine travel document: the one-way emergency paper: CAD 46.50 when a passport is lost or expired and the flight home cannot wait eight weeks. One way, to the Philippines only.

Civil documents

The two biggest procedures here are ones no consulate performs: PSA certificates and the NBI clearance are issued in the Philippines and ordered from Canada.

• NBI clearance from Canada: The consulate does not issue it: it notarises your fingerprint card for CAD 38.75. The prints are taken locally and the application goes to the NBI in the Philippines by mail.
• PSA birth certificate and CENOMAR from Canada: The consulate does not issue them. The PSA does, and you order them online from Canada. Why every other procedure asks for a security-paper copy.
• Report of Birth and Report of Marriage in Canada: How to register a child born in Canada or a marriage celebrated here in the Philippine civil registry. Four typed forms, CAD 38.75, and only at your own consulate.

Citizenship

Reacquiring Philippine citizenship under RA 9225 and the vote that comes with it.

• Philippine dual citizenship under RA 9225 in Canada: CAD 77.50 for the principal, 38.75 per child, and the oath does not require giving up Canadian citizenship. Toronto even accepts the application by mail.
• Overseas voting for Filipinos in Canada: Registering with your consulate to vote in Philippine national elections. Free, and the register closes months before election day.

Notarials

What the consulate notarises, what Canada apostilles since 2024, and which office takes which document.

• Apostille for Canadian documents used in the Philippines: Canada joined the Apostille Convention on 11 January 2024: the consulate no longer authenticates apostilled documents. Where each province issues it.
• Consular notarials and the Special Power of Attorney: CAD 38.75 per document, personal appearance required, and the consulate will neither draft your SPA nor act as witness.

Travel

Visa-free entry, the 9(a) visa for longer stays and the balikbayan year.

• Philippine visa for Canadian travellers: Canadian passport holders enter visa-free for 30 days and balikbayans stay a year. The 9(a) visa only matters for longer stays, from CAD 46.50.
• The balikbayan privilege for Filipino-Canadians: One year in the Philippines without a visa, not thirty days. Who qualifies, and why your Canadian family must land on the same flight.