1 Air Division Miscellaneous

Documentation for Dependents



Extract from the "Be A Good Canadian Overseas" Booklet

Prior to departing for overseas, personnel are strongly advised to study the provisions of AFAO 20.00/01, F9.88 and F9.89.

Documents play an important role in French life. Your wife, if you have one, must have a Canadian Passport and an International Immunization Certificate for entry into France.

Dependents are issued a passport "gratis"; however, service personnel may travel on their "I" card and DND 12 (NATO countries only). As service personnel visit many countries during their tour, the possession of a passport is most desirable. It does away with the necessity of obtaining a DND 12 for each trip and simplifies border crossing procedures. Further, certain countries cannot be visited without a visa for which a passport is necessary. Experience has proven that a large percentage of service personnel who arrive overseas without a passport apply for one after arrival.

As passports can be more easily obtained (cost $5.00 in Canada), it is strongly recommended that service personnel obtain a passport prior to departure from Canada.

After arrival, dependents must make application at the French Liaison office, on the station, for a residence permit called a Carte de Séjour. A dependent's identification Card issued at the Guard House will permit dependents entry to station institute.


The Passport

Dependents are issued a passport "gratis"; however, service personnel may travel on their "I" card and DND 12 (NATO countries only). As service personnel visit many countries during their tour, the possession of a passport is most desirable. It does away with the necessity of obtaining a DND 12 for each trip and simplifies border crossing procedures. Further, certain countries cannot be visited without a visa for which a passport is necessary. Experience has proven that a large percentage of service personnel who arrive overseas without a passport apply for one after arrival.

As passports can be more easily obtained (cost $5.00 in Canada), it is strongly recommended that service personnel obtain a passport prior to departure from Canada.



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  1. Front cover of Canadian passport for Rejeanne Bernier - October 1953.
    Courtesy Claude Bernier.

  2. Inside cover and page 1 of passport for Rejeanne Bernier - October 1953.
    Courtesy Claude Bernier.

  3. Pages 2 and 3 of passport for Rejeanne Bernier - October 1953.
    Courtesy Claude Bernier.

  4. Pages 4 and 5 of passport for Rejeanne Bernier - October 1953.
    Courtesy Claude Bernier.

  5. Pages 6 and 7 of passport for Rejeanne Bernier - October 1953.
    Courtesy Claude Bernier.

  6. Pages 14 and 15 of passport for Rejeanne Bernier - October 1953.
    Courtesy Claude Bernier.



The Visa

In the early 1950s, a dependent wishing to travel to France would first have to obtain an appropriate visa from one of the two French Consulate offices in Canada. These were located in Montreal and Toronto. There were, at that time, a number of different types of visas available for the Canadian - depending on whether you were proceeding to France to write, research, work, paint, or play music. In most cases, the visas which we became familiar with were issued to dependent wives and families, proceeding to France to be with their husbands.



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  1. Entry Visa for Rejeanne Bernier issued by the French Consulate in Montreal - 6 November 1953.
    Courtesy Claude Bernier.



Carte de Séjour

The visa allowed access into France, but most of the visas which were issued had a maximum time period of one year. For those who were staying in France beyond this period of time, they were expected to obtain the carte de séjour. French administration was then, and still is today, famous for its own sense of logic, the long lines, the eternal delays, the mammoth frustrations, the dragon-breathing clerk. It was always useful to request a complete list of all necessary documents before making your demande (request) for the carte de séjour. Apparently this approach minimized the amount of trips to the préfecture or the French Liaison Office on the station, the time spent in lines, and the many frustrations one could expect.

Sometimes it was difficult getting your questions answered. Often to obtain one document on your list you had to provide six additional items, some of which you had already provided on a previous lists.

It was suggested to be as organized and efficient and as polite and pleasant as possible, even when you really wanted to scream and punch. You might not get very far by charming the clerk, but the entire procedure was slowed down if you managed to create an adversary relationship.



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  1. Front cover of the Carte De Séjour for Theresa Lind - 15 June 1962.
    Courtesy Bernie Lind.

  2. Interior of Carte De Séjour for Theresa Lind - 15 June 1962.
    Courtesy Bernie Lind.

  3. Front cover of the Carte De Séjour for Bernice Gill - 28 October 1957.
    Courtesy Archie Gill.

  4. Interior of Carte De Séjour for Bernice Gill - 28 October 1957.
    Courtesy Archie Gill.

  5. Exterior of Carte De Séjour for Rejeanne Bernier - 22 November 1954.
    Courtesy Claude Bernier.

  6. Interior of Carte De Séjour for Rejeanne Bernier - 22 November 1954.
    Courtesy Claude Bernier.



NATO Forces ID Card

Once you were at 1 Wing, you then had to be processed by the Military Police for a NATO identification card.



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  1. Front of NATO ID card for Phil Barber - 15 July 1959.
    Courtesy Phil Barber.

  2. Back of NATO ID card for Phil Barber - 15 July 1959.
    Courtesy Phil Barber.

  3. Front of NATO ID card for Mrs Hortense Jacob - 24 September 1957.
    Courtesy Francois Jacob.

  4. Back of NATO ID card for Mrs Hortense Jacob - 24 September 1957.
    Courtesy Francois Jacob.

  5. Front of NATO ID card for Brian Milne - 20 April 1954.
    Courtesy Brian Milne.

  6. Back of NATO ID card for Brian Milne - 20 April 1954.
    Courtesy Brian Milne.

  7. Front of NATO ID card for Rejeanne Bernier - 26 February 1954.
    Courtesy Claude Bernier.

  8. Back of NATO ID card for Rejeanne Bernier - 26 February 1954.
    Courtesy Claude Bernier.

  9. Front of NATO ID card for Eleri Anna Robinson - 28 January 1954.
    Courtesy Brian Milne.

  10. Back of NATO ID card for Eleri Anna Robinson - 28 January 1954.
    Courtesy Brian Milne.


Other Documentation

As can be expected, there were many other forms of assorted documentation for the RCAF dependents. We present the following in an attempt to bring back some memories of what we experienced.



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  1. Front of RCAF Dependent Identification card - 17 June 1965.
    Courtesy Gary Nichols.

  2. Front of the International Certificates of Vaccination booklet - 2 April 1965.
    Courtesy Dennis Rogers.

  3. Inside page in the International Certificates of Vaccination booklet - 2 April 1965.
    Courtesy Dennis Rogers.

  4. Front and back of RCAF Dependent Identification card - 27 July 1961.
    Courtesy Jim Anderson.

  5. Front of RCAF Dependent Identification card - 18 July 1961.
    Courtesy Diane "Dee" Stewart (Hammond).

  6. Back of RCAF Dependent Identification card - 18 July 1961.
    Courtesy Diane "Dee" Stewart (Hammond).

  7. Resident card for those living in Belgium - 17 April 1961.
    Courtesy Bernie Lind.

  8. Baptismal Certificate for Cynthia June Strawson - 23 June 1958.
    Courtesy Doris Strawson (now Campbell).

  9. French civil birth certificate of Michel Bernier - 26 October 1954.
    Courtesy Claude Bernier.

  10. Front of European Exchange System Ration card - 23 February 1954.
    Courtesy Brian Milne.

  11. Back of European Exchange System Ration card - 23 February 1954.
    Courtesy Brian Milne.


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Updated: September 24, 2004