Applying for Canadian passport with wild hair color?

June 7, 2017 11:14 PM

What do I put on a Canadian passport application if I have an unnatural hair color?

I currently have dyed green hair (naturally dark blonde). The application asks for my "Current hair color". Would putting down "green" be weird? Will they look askance of a photo of a green-haired person? Should I just dye my hair brown before I get my photo taken?

posted by Orca to Travel & Transportation (13 answers total)

Best answer: What colour are your eyebrows?

FWIW I renewed my (Canadian) passport with purple hair and photo of the same, while listing my natural hair colour (black) and no one commented on it. (Somewhat disappointingly the purple colour didn't show up very dramatically on the final passport photo :( )
posted by btfreek at 11:41 PM on June 7, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: They'd expect you to put your natural hair color.
posted by sebastienbailard at 1:50 AM on June 8, 2017 [4 favorites]

Best answer: They'd expect you to put your natural hair color.

That's contrary to my experience. I found them to be irritatingly specific with the photos. My 3 year old had her mouth open .00003 inches and they rejected it. So we went back and her head was titlted .0007 inches and they rejected it again.

I would dye your hair a natural color and check the box, take the photo and then go back to the fun color.
posted by chasles at 5:30 AM on June 8, 2017

Don't subject your hair to unnecessary dye - put your natural colour down and get the picture done in black and white :)
posted by cotton dress sock at 5:41 AM on June 8, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Oh man my Canadian passport picture has blue hair :( I regret it every time I have to show someone my passport. (I put blonde on the form – this was like two years ago – because that's my natural color, but if I had to do it again I'd have waited until my hair was some normal color.)
posted by goodbyewaffles at 8:04 AM on June 8, 2017

Response by poster: Thanks guys! Will have to contemplate what to do with my hair before I get my photo taken but it seems listing my natural hair color on the form is a safe bet.
posted by Orca at 8:31 AM on June 8, 2017

Don't change your hair colour. Keep it and put your natural colour. People dye their hair and border guards and the passport office are used to it. It's your face they're looking at and not your hair.

I haven't had my natural hair colour since I was 12 and I travel quite a bit. My passport usually has the wrong hair colour listed in it. No one has ever blinked an eye.
posted by urbanlenny at 11:03 AM on June 8, 2017 [1 favorite]

Here's Passport Canada's answer to that question.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:20 AM on June 8, 2017 [5 favorites]

i've taken passport photos for a number of countries - yes they will reject for things like mouth and head position but everything i've ever seen both in that job and in having lots of unnatural hair colors while filling out official forms, they want your natural hair color. the only time this isn't the right advice, ime, is if you're like tori amos and have dyed your hair a mostly natural same color for decades.
posted by radiopaste at 12:59 PM on June 8, 2017

Put your natural hair colour and then get a black and white photo taken.

This is what I do, and I have had purple hair for my last two passports.
posted by keeo at 1:52 PM on June 8, 2017

jacquilynne, the answer doesn't show up if you don't have a facebook account, could you copy it over here?
posted by Aleyn at 5:32 PM on June 8, 2017

Q. Quick question when the form asks for your current hair color do u put your natural hair color or if your hair is died do u put the died hair color? Just curious because I'm renewing my passport

A. [Passport Canada] The hair colour indicated on the application form must be your hair colour at the time you submit the passport application form and must match the passport photo that you will include with your application.
posted by oceano at 5:45 PM on June 8, 2017 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Followup for anyone searching for this question in the future:

I applied for my passport in person with the green hair (so a person looked over my application while I was there) and wrote down "blonde" as my hair color. They didn't question it at all.
posted by Orca at 7:21 PM on July 8, 2017