3. Gather and send your documents

If you need to apply for Old Age Security (OAS), you’ll have to send in certain documents with your application.

If you were born in Canada

You don’t have to include proof of your date of birth or proof or legal status with your application. But if Service Canada asks for it later, you’ll have to send it.

If you were born outside of Canada

You don’t have to include proof of your date of birth with your application. But if Service Canada asks for it later, you’ll have to send it.

But you’ll have to provide proof of your legal status. This could be your:

• certificate of Canadian citizenship or Canadian passport issued in 1970 or later
• Canadian immigration documents, such as your record of landing, confirmation of permanent residence, or permanent resident card
• certificate of Indian Status
• Temporary Resident Permit

If you’ve lived outside Canada since you were 18

Documents that can prove when you lived in Canada include your:

• passports
• visas
• flight and other travel tickets
• job and school letters, for example, job offers, references from employers or teachers, or letters saying you’ve been accepted into a school program
• contracts
• mortgage and lease documents

If you’re married or in a common-law relationship

If you apply for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) when you apply for OAS, you have to include:

• an original or certified copy of your marriage certificate, or
• a Statutory Declaration of Common-law Union.

You don’t have to provide these if you’re applying only for OAS.

You also have to file your income taxes. This is because the amount of GIS you get is based on the net income of you and your spouse or common-law partner.