New to Canada and authorized to work? Your Social Insurance Number is the 9-digit number you need to work, get paid, and file taxes. This guide covers the primary and secondary documents for permanent and temporary residents, the online, mail, and in-person routes, and what to do when a temporary SIN expires.
Applies in: across Canada
A Social Insurance Number (SIN) is a 9-digit number you need to work in Canada or access government programs and benefits. For a newcomer, it is usually the first number you need after arrival: your employer needs it to pay you and report your income, and the Canada Revenue Agency needs it when you file taxes. Service Canada issues it, there is no fee to apply, and Service Canada no longer issues plastic SIN cards — you receive a Confirmation of SIN letter in paper or digital format instead, and you can view and print your SIN through My Service Canada Account.
There is no provincial version of a SIN. The rules are federal, the issuer is Service Canada, and the same document list applies wherever in Canada you live. What changes is your status: a permanent resident gets a permanent SIN that does not expire, while a temporary resident gets a SIN that starts with 9 and expires on the same date as the immigration document that authorizes work. This guide follows the newcomer cases — permanent residents and temporary residents authorized to work — and states plainly where a case needs the Apply tool's exact list rather than this guide's summary.
Service Canada's main SIN page sorts applicants by status, and the sort matters:
Two timing rules belong in this step. First, anyone 12 years or older can apply for their own SIN. For children under the age of majority in their province or territory, a parent or legal guardian applies on their behalf, and a legal guardian or representative can also apply for adults in their care. Second, you must apply and provide all required documents, even if you already have a SIN, when you need a first-time SIN, want to confirm a SIN, need to update information or correct an error, need to extend a temporary SIN that starts with 9, or are applying for a newborn in a Territory. If you already know your SIN, do not apply again — sign in to My Service Canada Account to view and print it.
Your primary document is the main document that proves who you are and your status in Canada. You need one, and it must match your status:
Permanent residents — one of:
Temporary residents — one of:
The wording on the permit is the whole test for temporary residents. Email messages from IRCC are not accepted as the document — you must provide the valid permit or record itself. If your study permit or visitor record does not mention the right to work, contact IRCC to verify whether you are eligible for an amended permit, and do not apply until the wording is fixed. If you do not hold a work permit, or you have issues with your study permit requirements, the same instruction applies: contact IRCC first.
Canadian citizens — a Canadian birth certificate or certificate of birth, a certificate of Canadian Citizenship, or a Registration of Birth Abroad issued before 1977. Two cautions from the required-documents page: some older Canadian birth certificates may not meet the requirement, in which case you will receive an email or letter explaining what to do next; and Quebec proof-of-birth documents issued before 1994 are not accepted. A Canadian birth certificate must be issued by the province or territory of birth.
One rule covers every status: if the details on your application, such as spelling, do not match what is on your primary identity document, your SIN record will be entered as it appears on the primary document. If there is an error on one of your documents, contact the issuing source to correct the error before applying.
The primary document is not enough on its own. You also need one secondary identity document that confirms your identity. It must be valid, show your full legal name (given name and family name) and date of birth, and be issued by a Canadian government or be a foreign passport. Acceptable examples are:
For most newcomers the passport does this job: it is the secondary document you already hold, and it is the one document that is valid for every status. If you are applying on behalf of a child or another person, do not assume the same secondary list — use the Apply tool on the Service Canada page, which tells you the exact documents for your situation and the person you are applying for.
Name changes. If your name has changed since your primary document was issued, you also need supporting documents: a legal document that shows the link between the name on your primary document and your current legal name, showing both names. If you changed your name more than once, provide a supporting document for each change, so the chain from the original name to the current name is complete. Examples Service Canada lists include a marriage certificate, marriage statement, or marriage solemnization (not valid for Quebec residents married after April 1, 1981, regardless of where the marriage took place), a divorce decree or certificate of divorce, a legal change-of-name certificate or court order, an adoption order certified by a Canadian court, a notarial certificate proving adoption abroad, and a request to amend a Record of Landing used to amend a Record of Landing or a COPR.
Translations. If any document is not in English or French, it must be translated, and all application documents must be in English or French. Provide the original document plus a translated copy in English or French. Family members cannot translate documents. The translation must come from either a Canadian certified translator — a member of a recognized translators' and interpreters' organization in Canada, who provides the translation with a seal or stamp showing their membership number and an attestation that the translation is accurate — or a non-certified translator who works for or belongs to an official organization such as a translation agency or government office, or is fluent in both languages, and provides the translation plus an affidavit sworn before a person authorized to administer oaths, confirming the translation is accurate. In Canada, the affidavit can be witnessed by a notary public, a commissioner for oaths, or a commissioner for affidavits.
The Apply page offers all three routes for every status — Canadian citizen, permanent resident, temporary resident, and the other listed statuses — and the Apply tool tells you the exact documents and submission method for your situation. The temporary-residents page names online as the fastest option. The routes differ in what you send and how long they take:
If you do not hear back within the stated processing time, the temporary-residents page points to the application-status and receiving-your-SIN information. And if you made a mistake or forgot a document in an online application, you cannot go back and edit it: submit a new application with all required documents again.
Working. You can start working as soon as you apply — you do not need to wait for the number. That rule is stated for temporary residents, and it is the rule that lets a newcomer accept a job offer before the confirmation letter arrives. Give your employer the number once you receive it; your employer needs it for income tax and benefit purposes, and the confirmation letter itself is not an identity document.
Protecting it. Your SIN is confidential, and you are responsible for protecting it. Limit who has access to it, keep the confirmation letter and any document carrying the number somewhere safe rather than carrying it with you, and use My Service Canada Account to view and print it securely. Before you share it, ask whether it is legally required, why it is needed, how it will be used, and who will have access. If it is not legally required, the choice is yours — share it only if you understand the fraud and identity-theft risk and are prepared to accept it. Never share it in response to an unsolicited message, and never provide it by phone unless you made the call and know it is legally required.
Keeping the record current. A temporary SIN expires on the same date as your work permit, study permit, or visitor record. Keep your SIN record up to date so it matches your current permit: apply to update it when you receive a new permit with a new expiration date, when your immigration status changes, when your legal name changes, or when you need to correct an error. After extending your SIN, destroy the old SIN document — it is no longer valid. If your SIN expires while you applied to extend your permit and are in maintained status, you can continue working with the expired SIN until IRCC makes a decision, and once IRCC authorizes you to continue working, you must apply to Service Canada with the new immigration document so the expiry dates match. A permanent SIN, by contrast, does not expire and needs no renewal: once a permanent resident or citizen holds one, only a name change, an error correction, or a lost-number confirmation brings them back to Service Canada.
First, read the wording on your permit: "may work" or "may accept employment" for a study permit, authorized-to-work wording for a visitor record. A permit without that wording is an IRCC amendment first, not a SIN application. Second, check the spelling of your name on the primary document against the name you will put on the application — the record follows the primary document, and a mismatch is fixed at the issuing source, not at Service Canada. Third, assemble the secondary document and any name-change or translation documents before you choose a route, because an online mistake cannot be edited and a mail application travels with your originals. Fourth, if you are applying by mail, weigh the lost-mail warning: Service Canada returns documents by mail and disclaims responsibility for documents lost in transit, so the online or in-person route avoids putting originals in the post. Fifth, if your SIN starts with 9, note the permit expiry date: the SIN expires with it, and the update is your responsibility, not an automatic renewal.
Not on that permit as it stands. Service Canada requires a work permit, a study permit that indicates you may accept employment or may work in Canada, or a visitor record showing you are authorized to work, and email messages from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada are not accepted as the document. The required-documents page says that if your study permit or visitor record does not mention the right to work, you should contact Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to verify whether you are eligible for an amended permit. Get the permit wording fixed first, then apply with the amended document, rather than applying with a permit Service Canada cannot accept.
Yes. Service Canada's temporary-residents page states it plainly: you can start working as soon as you apply for a SIN, and you do not need to wait for the number. Give your employer the number once you receive it. The same page covers the other end of the process: if your SIN expires but you applied to extend your permit and are in maintained status, you can continue working with your expired SIN until Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada makes a decision. Once your new immigration document authorizes you to continue working, apply to Service Canada with it to update the expiry date on your SIN record, because the expiry date on the SIN record and the expiry date on the immigration document must match.
Apply to update your SIN record with the new immigration document, so the SIN expiry date matches the new permit expiry date. Service Canada's temporary-residents page says that after extending your SIN, you should destroy your old SIN document, because it is no longer valid. Do not keep using the old confirmation letter as proof of the number: the number itself stays the same, but the document carrying the old expiry date is superseded. If your status changes instead — for example, from temporary resident to permanent resident — the same update duty applies: apply or update your SIN record when your immigration status changes, when you receive a new permit with a new expiration date, when your legal name changes, or when you need to correct an error.
No, not by editing it. Service Canada's apply page states that if you made a mistake or forgot a document, you cannot go back to your application: you must submit a new application and include all required documents again. That is why the document check matters before you submit, not after. For an online application, every document must be a digital copy of the original, valid and unexpired, clear, legible, and complete, showing the entire document including the borders, and in English or French or accompanied by an accepted translation. A partial scan or a cropped photo is a second application, not a correction, so check both sides of each document and the full borders before you send it.
The name as it appears on your primary identity document. Service Canada states that if the details on your application, such as spelling, do not match what is on your primary identity document, the information on your SIN record will be entered as it appears on that document. If you have more than one given name, you can choose which ones appear, but the name you choose must be on the primary document; if it is not, provide a supporting document. For a name change, you need a legal document that shows the link between the name on your primary document and your current legal name, showing both names, and if you changed your name more than once, a supporting document for each change, tracing how the original name became the current one. Examples Service Canada lists include a marriage certificate, a divorce decree, a legal change-of-name certificate or court order, and an adoption order. If there is an error on one of your documents, contact the issuing source to correct it before applying, rather than asking Service Canada to record a name your documents do not support.
Give it only where it is legally required or you are satisfied it is necessary and you understand the risk. Your SIN is confidential, and Service Canada's temporary-residents page puts the responsibility for protecting it on you. You need it to work legally, to get paid and pay taxes, to access government programs such as Employment Insurance and the Canada Pension Plan, and to file income taxes, so your employer and the Canada Revenue Agency are legitimate recipients for those purposes. Before sharing it anywhere else, ask whether it is legally required, why it is needed, how it will be used, and who will have access to it. If it is not required by law, sharing is your choice, and you should only do so if you understand and accept the fraud and identity-theft risk. Never share it in response to an unsolicited call, text, or email, and never provide it by phone unless you made the call and know it is legally required.
No in-person processing time is stated in this guide, because Service Canada states none. No airport or on-arrival SIN service is described, because no official page describes one: apply through the online, mail, or in-person routes Service Canada publishes. No fee figure beyond "no fee to apply" is stated, and no processing time beyond the online and mail figures above is stated. Re-check the Apply tool on the day you apply: it gives the exact document list for your status and situation, and it governs over any summary, including this guide.