Documents & Records
C.I.5 Certificate (Head Tax)
Basics
The head tax was introduced in 1885, as a means of controlling Chinese immigration. Immigrants paying the head tax were issued with a receipt by immigration officials, also known as a C.I.5 certificate. The C.I.5 certified that the head tax had been paid and the C.I.4 form completed. The form was in use from 1885-1949. At least four slightly different versions were issued.
The C.I.5 certificate initially did not include a photograph. Later, it was felt to be inadequate for identification purposes, and was re-drafted in 1912. When deemed necessary, people with pre-1912 head tax certificates that did not have photographs were issued with a substitute C.I.36 certificate.
Families that have retained copies of head tax certificates issued to their immigrant ancestors will find it a very useful link to Immigration Records.
Front
The following transcription represents information found on head tax certificates, based on a 1919 example:
| [Certificate number] | C.I.5 Series |
|
Dominion of Canada Immigration Branch - Department of the Interior |
|
|
[Name] whose photograph is attached hereto, on the date and at the place hereunder mentioned, the sum of Five Hundred Dollars being the head tax due under the provisions of the Chinese Immigration Act. The above mentioned party who claims to be a native of [City or Village ]in the [District] of [Name] of the age of [number] years who arrived or landed at [port of entry] on the [--] day of [month] 19 [--] on [name of vessel or other conveyance]. The declaration in this case is C.I.4 No. [----].
Dated at [port of arrival] on [day and month] 19[--] |
|
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[Signature]
Controller of Chinese Immigration |
|
Back
In 1923, after passage of the Chinese Immigration Act, C.I.5 certificates were stamped on the back in accordance with Section 18, which required the registration of all Chinese people living in Canada.
Finding the Records
C.I.5 certificates were issued to individuals, and have often remained in the possession of families. Examples may be found in archival repositories.
At Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) collections include 18 examples of C.I.5 certificates. Information about all 18 examples is found in LAC's online List of Head Tax Certificates Held at Library and Archives Canada.
The following fourteen C.I.5 certificates have been microfilmed:
| Certificate No. | Name | Date |
| 21942 | Set Jeung Jon | 1899 |
| 23333 | Jung Hang | 1899 |
| 35103 | Pan On | 1902 |
| 39445 | Lok King Chun | 1903 |
| 48837 | Jung Gin | 1908 |
| 62345 | Wing Sum | 1911 |
| 72304 | Lau Shong | 1912 |
| 78146 | Chan Ling Gong | 1913 |
| 78742 | Lee Shing Dok | 1913 |
| 86638 | Jung Song Gee | 1918 |
| 87231 | Lee Mee Yew | 1914 |
| 88103 | Jung Bak Hun | 1919 |
| [90618] | [receipt for certificate of] Gim Wing Hock |
[1952] |
| 91958 | Chin Kwock Gong | 1922 |
Image copies of the above certificates can be seen on the first part of Library and Archives Canada microfilm reel C-13421, together with examples of other Chinese immigration certificates. Two immigration certificates are available digitally through Library and Archives Canada's Sample Chinese immigration certificates record. One is the C.I.5 certificate for Lee Shing Dok. The other is a C.I.28 certificate.
Use the online inter-library loan form to borrow microfilm reel C-13421 from Library and Archives Canada.
The following two C.I.5 certificates have not been microfilmed:
| Certificate No. | Name | Date |
| 85422 | Kwok Chee Mark | 1918 |
| 1638 | Chong Do Dang | 1922 |
Additional information is provided in the archival descriptions of the record collections in which these two head tax certificates are found:
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Certificate of payment of head tax (Kwok Chee Mark)
Sam family fonds (Chong Do Dang)
Copies of these two certificates can be ordered from Library and Archives Canada. See How to Access Library and Archives Canada Records for more information.
Related records include:
- General Register of Chinese Immigration
- C.I.28 Register
- C.I.36 Register
- List of Persons to Whom C.I.9 Certificates Have Been Issued in Vancouver and Victoria
- List of Persons Readmitted to Canada at Victoria Under C.I.9 / 9A Certificates and Other Readmissions and Cancellations
- Register of Chinese Immigration - Port of New Westminster
All of the above records document C.I.5 numbers.
Online
Search for one of the 97,123 Chinese who were recorded in the Chinese Head Tax Register up to 1949 using the Chinese Canadian Stories' Head Tax Database. Search by personal name, village or county of birth, date of registration, port of arrival, vessel name, and more.
Photo banner: Detail from VPL Historical Photograph 8584
