Dormant Social Insurance Number (SIN) - Options?

Finding a Job / Working
1

I’m trying to establish a My Service Canada Account, but need a Personal Access Code to do it.

And I have been told that I can’t get that code or establish the account until my Social Insurance Number has been reactivated.

How can I do this?

Where can I get the forms to fill out to get it done?

Many thanks.

2

Hello, I finally received my renewed PR card today and went to get a SIN. Was told that I had one when I lived in BC between 2006 and 2008 (do not remember applying for one as I worked in the US for a US company). I filled out the forms to reactive the SIN.

Can you give me any information about how long it normally takes? I have an employer waiting for me to start work and need to give them a realistic date.

Thanks!

SDI

3

[table][tr][tr][td]Hello,

Thanks for sharing your situation with us.

We have contacted the Service Canada - (Social Insurance Number line) directly for some information on this type of situation.

According to a Service Canada Representative, it may be that case that your SIN has a “dormant” flag in your file. In these cases, you can still use your SIN number however, you cannot use it for the online services.

They stated that SIN numbers may be flagged as dormant when there is no activity recorded with the number for more than 5 years.

In order to re-activate it, they suggested that you go into the nearest Service Canada office and complete a questionnaire from the SIN Registry that they will provide.

You will be asked to present some identification such as a Canadian Birth Certificate, Canadian Citizenship Card/Certificate, PR Card etc.

You may want to also contact Service Canada - (Social Insurance Number line) directly to verify this information and for some information on this your situation.

I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.

=====
Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org[tr][td][/table]

4

Hello,
I have been to Service Canada 3 times now and they have either sent my application to reactivate my SIN to the wrong office, or like this last time, didn’t bother to mail/fax my documents and application (the agent on the phone could tell me that I was at the Ottawa office, but the documents were never received). VERY FRUSTRATING!
Thank God I am able to work due to a great customer service representative advising me that as long as my new employer called, Service Canada would give them my SIN number…
Since the agents here in Ottawa and the surrounding areas do not seem to know how or care about helping me get my SIN reactivated from dormancy, is there an alternative? This would mean that I would have to send ORIGINAL documents and I am very hesitant to do this considering the individuals I have dealt with in person have no idea what happened to the copies they already made.
Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.

5

I am trying to request “PAC” code so I can create an “My Service Canada Account”. My SIN is probably in dormant, inactive since I have been living in Canada for over 20 years and now ready to get the CPP.

The form could not be submitted because 1 error was found.

  • Error 1:The information entered does not correspond to our records. Please check your information and try again. If this situation continues, please call us toll free at 1-866-279-5238 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., local time, Monday to Friday, except civic holidays. If you are calling from outside Canada, please call 1-506-548-7009 (long distance charges apply), from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. (Atlantic time). The error code is R001 if you would like to contact the administrator about this issue.
    (25001-PACR)

I have been calling the all the phone#s which are either busy, no is answering, held in the queue for hours.!!!
Not sure how can I contact them. [e-mail, address].
Any other avenues I can explore besides going to Canada in person.

6

Here is my findings for CPP and OAS application outside Canada.

  1. No real method of doing it online
  2. Don’t bother with calling anyone. No will answer your calls.

Here what I found from one of the contacts at SIN service:

go online to service.ca and search for form ISP1000 (CPP) and ISP3550 (OAS).
Fill and mail it

Good luck.

7

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your situation and experience with us.

We appreciate your experience and information you are sharing with us and other users who may be in a similar situation.

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Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS,CRS
Settlement.Org

8

Hello,

Does anyone know roughly how long it takes for a dormant SIN to be reactivated? I went to a Service Canada center first week of July and submitted the required forms. Although I looked all over their site for an estimated time frame I couldn’t find it.

Thanks.

Inayath

9

Hello Inayath,

Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.

We can appreciate that you would be interested in finding out the timeline regarding your SIN.

It is best that you contact Service Canada directly to see if they have any updates or estimated processing times for this specific type of application process.

I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.

=====
Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CRS,CRS-DC
Settlement.Org

10

I am also trying to get my sin reactivated so I can apply for my CPP. Cannot get thru to any one in service Canada tried many different numbers and told over 1-2 hrs wait time. Can I apply online to reactivate it?

11

Hello There,

Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.

Since Service Canada offices are closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it is best that you contact Service Canada directly using their service request form. “The online service request form is a temporary measure to ensure continuity of critical services.”

We received a similar question in the Settlement.Org discussion thread SIN, you may find the information in this thread useful. Here is an excerpt:

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to post them here.

Sincerely,

Your Settlement.Org Team

12

Can a friend of mine apply in person for my social insurance number? I’m in US and need the number asap.

13

Hello There,

Thank you for sharing your situation and question with us.

It is best that you submit your application yourself, and under the current circumstances, you may wish to apply online or by mail. You may also find helpful information in the Settlement.Org article, How do I get a Social Insurance Number (SIN)? If you have any additional questions, please feel free to post them here.

Sincerely,

Your Settlement.Org Team