Before you fly to India: document checklist
Checked against official pages between 24 Sep 2026 and 29 Sep 2026.
Go through this list a few weeks before you book, while there’s still time to renew or update anything.
Your passport
- Check how long your passport has left
Many countries want 6 months left on a passport, which is another reason to start around 9 months before expiry.
Your OCI card
If you have a new passport since your OCI card was issued:
- Update your OCI with the new passport Within 90 days
Upload the new passport and a recent photo under Miscellaneous Services on the OCI portal: it’s free within 3 months, then it becomes a paid update through BLS in Canada (CAD 39 plus BLS charges) or VFS in the US (about US$47 in all). If you got your OCI at 20 or younger, your first new passport after turning 20 needs a one-time re-issue, so check your mission’s page.
Free within 3 months of the new passport’s issue date; after that it costs a fee and goes through BLS or VFS.
Your PR card, to come back to Canada
- Check your PR card is valid for your return
To fly back to Canada you need a valid PR card or a PR travel document, so renew before any trip abroad.
If you’re on a permit or a visa
- Check your Canadian work permit’s end date
A Canadian work permit’s expiry is tied to the passport it was issued against, so if the old passport was expiring your permit may end then too and you’d need to extend it. Keep the old passport and carry both when you travel.
- Keep the old passport if it holds a valid visa
A valid US or Canadian visa in the old passport can still be used if you travel with both passports; don’t try to move a US visa into the new one. Canada suggests getting a new visa in the new passport to avoid delays at the border.
Your time outside Canada
- Keep a record of trips outside Canada
To keep permanent resident status you must be in Canada for at least 730 days in every 5 years, and IRCC recommends noting each trip out. For citizenship you need 1,095 days in Canada in the last 5 years, and time before you became a permanent resident counts as half days, up to a limit.
Your bookings
- Update trips and airline profiles with the new number
Airlines send your passport number to border officials before you fly, and an eTA must match the passport you travel on, so update upcoming bookings and saved traveller profiles.
If you don’t have an OCI card
Indian e-Visa from Canada if you don’t have an OCI card: which e-Visa, the fee, how early to apply and when OCI fits better.
Sources
- FAQs on passport (Consulate General of India, San Francisco) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- New booklet or renewal, Toronto jurisdiction (BLS International, for the Consulate General of India, Toronto) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- Age 65+ travelers: check that travel documents are valid 6 months after you return (U.S. Department of State) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- Renewal of OCI card: uploading details (High Commission of India, Ottawa) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- Updation of OCI (Consulate General of India, Toronto) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- Advisory for OCI cardholders updating passport particulars after obtaining a new passport, June 16, 2026 (Consulate General of India, San Francisco) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- Miscellaneous FAQs (Online OCI Services, Ministry of Home Affairs) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- Get, renew or replace a permanent resident card (IRCC) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- What happens if my permanent resident card expires while I am outside Canada? (IRCC Help Centre) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- IRCC processing times data for applications made in Canada (updated September 22, 2026) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- Find out about electronic travel authorization (eTA) (IRCC) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- I got a new passport after coming to Canada but I still have a valid work permit in my old one (IRCC Help Centre) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- Extend or change the conditions on your work permit: How to apply (IRCC) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- About visas: the basics (U.S. Department of State) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- I got a new passport but I have a valid visa in my old one. Can I use the visa in my old passport? (IRCC Help Centre) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- Renew or replace your adult passport: unexpired visas (GOV.UK) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
- How long must I stay in Canada to keep my permanent resident status? (IRCC Help Centre) (checked 29 Sep 2026)
- Become a Canadian citizen: eligibility (IRCC) (checked 29 Sep 2026)
- Advance Passenger Information / Passenger Name Record data (CBSA) (checked 24 Sep 2026)
This is guidance only and isn’t guaranteed to be accurate. Deadlines and rules change from time to time, so check the official website for this document (use the link if there is one, or search for it on Google or ask an AI assistant) and your local municipality or ministry before you act.