If your Social Insurance Number (SIN) begins with 9 and your SIN card does not have an expiry date, you need a new card by April 3, 2004.
SINs that begin with the number 9 are issued to people who are neither Canadian citizens nor permanent residents, who need a SIN for employment purposes or to comply with other authorized uses.
HRDC started adding expiry dates on 900-series SIN cards on March 30, 2003. Under the new regulation, these SIN cards will be valid until the end of the person's authorized stay in Canada, to a maximum of five years. Existing 900-series SIN holders have a one-year period ending on April 3, 2004 to re-apply for a SIN card before their cards are deactivated. They will keep the same number but they will receive a new card with an expiry date. There is no charge for this amended card.
The Government is pleased to respond to the Sixteenth Report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, which considered Chapter 1 of the 2002 Report of the Auditor General of Canada on The Integrity of the Social Insurance Number.
Report
Action Plan
Progress Report
HRDC began to issue a new version of the SIN card on September 12, 2003 which carries different messages on the back of the card and the signature strip has been removed. These changes will help to reinforce that the SIN card is a client account number for certain Government of Canada programs and services, and not an identity document.
News Release
The Government of Canada has responded to the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities: Taking the Necessary Measures to Enhance the Integrity of the Social Insurance Number: A Review of the action Plan, tabled in the House of Commons in July 2003.
Report
Response
Progress Report
Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) has announced changes to the Employment Insurance (EI) Regulations to introduce expiry dates on all 900-series Social Insurance Numbers (SINs). Starting March 30, 2003, these SINs will be valid until the end of the person’s authorized stay in Canada to a maximum of five years.
News Release
Background