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Canadian Passport Under UV Light Reveals a Beautiful ‘Secret’—and It Has a Deeper Meaning

Canadian passport encapsulates the different visuals that can be seen in the country during its four seasons

PUBLISHED APR 4, 2025

Canadian passport (Cover Image Source: Reddit/u/Vegetable-Mousse4405)

For many, passports are the way to reach beauty. However, in some cases, the passports themselves provide stunning glimpses, if people know how to look. A Reddit post by u/Vegetable-Mousse4405 has put many of these stunning visuals on display.

Canadian passports from old and new series. (Representative Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by Jusfiq) — Canadian passports from old and new series. (Representative Image Source: Wikimedia Commons | Photo by Jusfiq)

These glimpses are part of a Canadian passport. The user shows how the pages transform when put under UV lights. The first transformation was of pages 12 and 13. Under UV lights, the page had illustrations of butterflies, a sunflower, and a caterpillar. The following two pages showcase some children playing and people riding on boats under a bright sun. The next two pages are of people enjoying themselves on the beach.

The user shows how the blank pages transform into beautiful illustrations in a matter of seconds. The transformation changed the blank pages into an image featuring the parliament building with celebrations all over the sky. All of these images represent the various seasons of Canada, the Government of Canada stated. A page depicts an autumn setting in which children are shown holding pumpkins. The art has been incorporated as a protective measure against counterfeiting. The examples provided on the official website include designs featuring popular animals of Canada. One design has a mother bear and her cubs enjoying the spring season. The pages also feature campfires and beautiful birds, which are also important aspects of the country.

Designs on Canadian Passport (Image Source: Reddit/Photo by u/Vegetable-Mousse4405) — Designs on Canadian Passport (Image Source: Reddit | Photo by u/Vegetable-Mousse4405)

These art appear in neon colors under the UV light. The illustrations were a hit on Reddit. u/Nearby_Champion1189 was ready to take a massive step just to get this passport, "That’s enough to make me become a Canadian just for the passport." u/mamasemamasamusernam believes this makes the job of passport authorities very enjoyable and wrote, "If every passport were like this, passport control would be the funest job. I'd take like 15 min to go through 2 passports, looking at all the pages and lining up the stamp just right."

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) commissioned the Canadian Bank Note Company to come up with these designs, stated Design Week. Apart from the UV designs there are many more things that make the passport unique. The Canadian passport is one of the first travel documents to come from a Commonwealth country that references King Charles III. However, it will continue to feature the Queen’s Coat of Arms because the passport's design was complete before King Charles III's version was approved. On the right side of the cover, besides the Coat of Arms, there is an outline of a large yellow maple leaf. The left side features smaller red maple leaves enveloped by a larger engraved leaf outline. According to IRCC Minister Sean Fraser, the passport is "a representation of [Canada’s] national identity and values."

Along with the art, there are many other protective measures, such as "a custom see-through window with a secondary image of the passport holder, a variable laser image, and a temperature-sensitive ink feature," IRCC shared. There is also a polycarbonate data page that would help determine the passport's authenticity.