Guidelines for the acceptable use of names, date of birth and sex

Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents

• Canadian birth certificate
• Canadian citizenship card. Copies of both sides of the card must be submitted.
• Canadian citizenship certificate. Copies of both sides of the certificate must be submitted.
• Canadian adoption order
• Canadian court order approving legal change of name
• Permanent resident card. Copies of both sides of the card must be submitted.
• Confirmation of Permanent Resident Status (IMM5292 or IMM 5688)
• Canadian Immigration RECORD OF LANDING (IMM1000)

Where there is variation among documents in the spelling or use of names, date of birth, or sex, the acceptable document which has the most recent date will be used.

International Students

• Study Permit
• Passport or birth certificate (with translation) only if a study permit has not been issued when a student submits his or her application.

If the above information is not available, then the name, date of birth and sex on the application is to be compared with documents such as transcripts and Concordia will record the data that appears most frequently. When the study permit is available then the name, date of birth and sex on the Student Information System will be revised to conform to the Study Permit.

• In Québec, married spouses keep their birth names after they marry. Even if you married outside Québec but you are domiciled in Québec, you must use the surname you were given at birth.  
• Women married in Quebec before April 2, 1981 may use their maiden name, or their husband's family name, either alone, or as a hyphenated part of their family name (in whichever order preferred), (e.g. Alice Smith married John Jones, acceptable family name would be either Smith, Smith-Jones, Jones or Jones-Smith). A copy of the marriage certificate is required as proof.

Students may use one or more of their given names. If more than one name is used they must respect the order in which they appear on official documents.  

Comments:

1. A familiar or shortened form of a proper name, such as Billy or Susie, is not allowed.
   
2. An assumed name with no legal basis - an alias - may not be used. Eg. Bill may not be used to replace William, Suzy may not be used to replace Suzanne.
   
3. Hyphenated given names are will be recorded as, one name (eg. Jean-François). If a student indicates one part of a hyphenated name, the complete name that is on the official document must be used.
   In situations where the hyphenated name is too long to fit in the name field the following procedure may be adopted.
   1. If the student has indicated the complete hyphenated name or the first part of the hyphenated name, use the complete first part of the name and the initial of the second part of the name, joined by a hyphen.
   2. If the student indicates the second part of the name, record the initial of the first part of the name and the name of the second part joined by a hyphen. For example if the student’s name is Josephinette-Antonionia, depending on the above, you could use J-Antonionia or Josephinette-A.
      
4. Continuous vs. hyphenated names. Sometimes the given name that students put on their application forms does not match the format of their name on the official document. For example the given names on the official document may be detached yet the student runs them together (Xiao Xin / Xiaoxin). Alternately, the given name may be run together and the student separates them on their application form (Xiaoxin / Xiao Xin). What is on the official document will be recorded, rather than what is written on the application form.

As International Students do not normally have a study permit when they apply, an alternate document must be used until the student presents the official study permit. If the student submits a passport, then the birth date on the passport may be used until the study permit has been submitted.

On the IMM 5292, the IMM 1000 and the Study Permit from Immigration Canada, the date of birth sometimes reads as */*/1957, for example. The Ministry considers this to be 01/01/1957 and it should be recorded as such rather than as what appears on application form, even if another document is available that shows the day and month of birth.

The sex should be recorded as it appears on the official document.

If information appearing on official documents is incorrect, it is the responsibility of the student to make arrangements with the authorities issuing the original documents to make the appropriate changes and issue official corrected information.

Until corrected official documents are received from the student, information on the Student Information System related to name, date of birth or sex may not be changed.

If incorrect information appears on documents issued by Immigration Canada, the student may find the necessary forms and procedures to request an official change on the Government of Canada web site.

Comments:

1. Requests for change of name, date of birth or sex will only be processed for the following reasons and under the following circumstances:
   • Information on an official immigration document was in error and has been corrected by Immigration Canada.
   • Name has officially been changed and student provides us with a court order approving legal change of name.
   • Name, date or birth, or sex was incorrectly entered by the university and does not reflect what is on the acceptable official document.
     
2. If a student who has previously attended Concordia (including graduated students) submits an application for admission or an authorization to register as a non-degree student and their name, date or birth or sex is recorded differently on the student information system, the information must be revised to conform to these current guidelines.
   
3. IMM 5688, IMM 5292 or IMM 1000 (record of Landing): Box 39 (remarks) sometimes has information printed in it. This information about names, dates of birth and sex supercedes the corresponding information appearing elsewhere on the form.