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My wife needs to get the passport numbers for passports that she's held for the past seven years, but the Canadian passport she had was only five years. She doesn't have her expired passport anymore, so she'll need to somehow obtain it from official records.

I've looked online, and I don't see any Canadian services or offices for providing information on expired passports. Does anyone know how to get a hold of this kind of information?

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    What is the reason she needs them? Mar 2, 2021 at 2:17
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    @DJClayworth She's applying for citizenship (not in the US) and it's one of the requirements.
    – Yehuda
    Mar 2, 2021 at 4:57
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    Is it a requirement to obtain it from the official records, i.e. need a official certification of some sorts? Can she find the number from any other document (visa application, ticket confirmation, etc.)? Was it a child passport?
    – xngtng
    Mar 2, 2021 at 9:31
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    If she just need a number and can't find anything from other sources, you might want to consider file an information request under the Privacy Act.
    – xngtng
    Mar 2, 2021 at 9:35
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    Most such forms ask for the information if you have it, there's usually a way to indicate you don't have the info (either by leaving the field blank or entering something such as "NA"). Check the documentation for the form for details.
    – jcaron
    Mar 2, 2021 at 10:44

2 Answers 2

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Not having the passport (and the number) anymore should be a perfectly fine reason to leave it blank.
The assumption is that passports usually are valid for ten years, so you would still have a valid passport - but if not, fine.

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If she has applied for an e-visa, or bought tickets on certain airlines she may find the full passport number in her e-mail cache, especially if she uses gmail and never deletes. Some foreign financial transactions might also require that info.

Sometimes filled out .pdf forms for visas etc. are also present on one's computer (I save mine in a dedicated folder).

For example, I found my ca. 2014 passport number in my email on reservations from Emirates, Hainan airlines and on a couple e-visas.

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