Express Entry Guide · Updated October 2026
Passport for Express Entry: Renewing Before, During or After You Apply (Real Cases)
A passport that expires mid-process will not sink your application. A passport change you did not report can slow it badly. Here is when to renew, how to tell IRCC, and what applicants did at each stage.
Your passport for Express Entry is the identity document behind your whole file: the profile, the application and the final visa all point to its number. IRCC’s guidance is short. If your passport expires within 6 months from the day you apply, you should renew it. And if you get a new passport after you have applied, you must tell IRCC.
Renewal itself is not the problem. The problem is timing. A new passport means a new number, and that number sits in your profile, your forms and, at the end, your Confirmation of Permanent Residence.
We checked IRCC’s current pages and read forum threads from 2017 to 2021 where applicants renewed at every possible stage: before the profile, during the 60 days, after submitting, and even after approval. Here is what the rules say and what those applicants learned.
Quick answer: passports and Express Entry
Renew before you apply if your passport has less than 6 months left. If you renew while in the pool, update your profile with the new number. If you renew after submitting, report it through the IRCC web form with a scan of the new passport. Keep the old passport too, because it holds your travel stamps. Check that your final documents show the same details as the passport you will travel on.
Key takeaways
What IRCC Asks For
A passport or travel document is the first item on IRCC’s list of documents for an Express Entry profile. You enter its number, country of issue and dates. After an invitation you upload a copy of it.
The Express Entry documents page carries one piece of timing advice: if your passport expires within 6 months from the day you apply, you should renew it. It is advice, not a bar. But it exists for a reason. Processing takes months, and the last steps of the process depend on a valid passport.
Point | What IRCC says | Source |
|---|---|---|
Needed for the profile? | Yes, a passport or travel document | Express Entry documents page |
Short validity | If it expires within 6 months of the day you apply, renew it | Express Entry documents page |
New passport after applying | You must report it | Update your application page |
How to report | Use the web form | Update your application page |
Final document | COPR details should match your passport | Application approved page |
IRCC pages modified October 2, 2026 (documents), September 3, 2026 (updates) and June 22, 2026 (approval).
When to Renew Your Passport
The best moment depends on where you are in the process. Earlier is easier.
Stage | What to do | Effort |
|---|---|---|
Before creating a profile | Renew first, then enter the new details | Lowest |
In the pool | Renew, then update your profile with the new number and dates | Low |
After the invitation, before submitting | Renew if you can within the 60 days. Upload the new passport, and keep the old one | Medium |
After submitting | Report the new passport through the web form with a scan | Medium |
After approval | Check the COPR against the passport you will travel on. Contact IRCC if they differ | Highest |
Our summary of IRCC’s rules and applicant experience.
If you already know your passport will run out within the next year or so, the first row is the one to aim for. A renewal done before the profile exists touches nothing else.
Renewing After an Invitation
Sometimes the invitation arrives first.
Real case: invited with a passport expiring in five months
In June 2017, a worker in Canada received an invitation while holding a passport and work permit that both expired that November. The deadline to submit was 90 days at that time. A member advised renewing before submitting, uploading both the old and new passports, and adding a letter noting the renewal and pointing to the visa stamps in the old one.
The advice still holds, though the deadline is now 60 days. Whether you can renew in time depends on your country’s passport office. Some turn a renewal around in a week. Others take months.
If you renew during the 60 days
If the new passport will not arrive in time, submit with the valid passport you have. A passport that is valid on the day you apply is a complete document. You can report the new one afterward. See our guide to the letter of explanation for Express Entry for the note.
Renewing After You Submit
This is the stage people fear most, and the one with the clearest rule. IRCC’s page on updating an application lists a new passport among the changes you must report, and names the tool: use the web form to update your application or submit a new document.
Real case: renewed while waiting for the medical result
In September 2019, an applicant with 11 months left on their passport chose to renew it during processing so it would not run short at the visa stage. They asked how to tell IRCC. Members described the web form route: attach a scan of the new passport. One reported their record was updated in 10 to 15 days. Others confirmed in December 2019 that renewing after submission caused them no trouble.
Report it once, clearly, and keep the confirmation. A web form message should give your full name, date of birth, application number, the old passport number, the new passport number with issue and expiry dates, and a scan of the new biographical page.
What goes wrong
Keep the Old Passport
Your application lists where you have travelled and lived for the past ten years. The stamps and visas that back that up are in your old passports. Most countries return the cancelled passport after renewal if you ask. Ask.
If your country keeps the old one, scan every page that has a stamp or visa before you hand it over. Those scans may be the only evidence you have for a trip an officer asks about later.
At the Finish Line: COPR and Travel
When an application is approved, IRCC issues a Confirmation of Permanent Residence, and a permanent resident visa if you are from a country that needs one. IRCC tells you to check that the information is correct and adds that it should be the same as the information on your passport.
It also gives a firm warning: it cannot extend your COPR, so you should make sure to travel to Canada before it expires.
Real case: new passport, COPR about to expire
In June 2021, an applicant who received a COPR in December could not travel because of pandemic restrictions. Their passport expired in the meantime and they renewed it. The COPR was due to run out on August 4. A forum advisor said that a person in that position can travel carrying both the old and the new passport, and suggested a web form to IRCC about the expiry.
That case came from an unusual period, and the advisor’s view was experience, not policy. The current IRCC position is the one quoted above. Treat the COPR date as fixed, and sort out passport questions well before it.
Before you travel or confirm your status
Passports for Your Family
Every family member in the application has a passport on file, including a spouse or child who is not coming with you. The same rules apply to each one. A child’s passport often has a shorter validity than an adult’s, so check those dates first. For the rest of the family paperwork, see the Express Entry document checklist and our guide to a non-accompanying spouse.
A passport is one of several documents with an expiry date. Line it up with the others: the medical exam, the ECA and the police certificate each have their own clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long must my passport be valid for Express Entry?
IRCC does not set a fixed minimum, but says that if your passport expires within 6 months from the day you apply, you should renew it.
Can I renew my passport after submitting my Express Entry application?
Yes. A new passport must be reported to IRCC. Use the web form and attach a scan of the new passport.
Do I need to update my Express Entry profile with a new passport?
Yes. If you renew while in the pool, update the profile with the new number and dates so it matches the passport you will use when you apply.
Will renewing my passport delay my application?
Applicants generally report no delay when the change is reported promptly through the web form. Problems arise when the change is not reported.
Should I keep my old passport?
Yes. It holds the stamps and visas that support your travel history. If it must be surrendered, scan every stamped page first.
Can IRCC extend my COPR if my passport renewal is late?
IRCC states that it cannot extend your COPR and that you should travel to Canada before it expires.
Passport sorted? Check your score
See how your CRS score compares with the latest cutoffs while your documents are in order.
Final Thoughts
The passport for Express Entry is a simple document with a long reach. Renew it early if it is running short, and the rest of the process never notices. Renew it late, and every form that carries the old number needs to hear about the new one.
Report changes through the web form, keep the old passport or scans of it, and check your final documents against the one you will travel on. With those three habits, a renewal is paperwork, not a setback.
