General Registers of Chinese Immigration

The General Registers of Chinese Immigration is a very important resource for Chinese Canadian genealogical research.

The register was created in Ottawa, and was based on records submitted by immigration officials at various ports. It spans the period from 1885-1949, and theoretically lists all immigrants of Chinese ancestry who arrived in Canada during that period. There are some entries for arrivals dating back as early as 1860.

Although the Register is sometimes known as the "head tax" records, not every individual documented in the registers paid head tax. In some cases, Chinese migrants were travelling through Canada to an onward destination, or returning following an absence and therefore not required to pay.

In total, this series of records includes eighteen ledgers documenting the arrival of about 97,000 immigrants. The records are arranged in numerical order, based on a Serial Number assigned by Ottawa.

The records are also in rough chronological order according to the year of the immigrant's arrival in Canada. Since the General Register was derived from port registers submitted by immigration officials at various ports of entry, sometimes the register from one port was entered into the General Register before that of another port with records compiled at earlier dates but not received by Ottawa until later. The records are similarly in rough order by the declaration number assigned at the port and the number of any certificate that was issued such as the head tax receipt.

Detailed information was recorded about each individual. Column numbers and headings used in the General Register varied slightly over time but the following, from 1885, is typical:

Serial No.
2. Port No. of Statement and Declaration
3. Names
4. Port or Place Where Registered
5. Date of Registration
Certificate Issued
6. C.I.5
7. C.I.6
8. Fee Paid - Amount
9. Sex
10. Age
Place of Birth
11. City or Village
12. District
13. Province &c.
14. Title, Official Rank, Profession or Occupation
15. Last Place of Domicile
Arrival in Canada
16. Port or Place of
17. Name of Vessel, Railway or Other Conveyance
18. Date of
19. Physical Marks or Peculiarities
20. Remarks

Beginning February 2, 1910, the "Remarks" column included a new heading, "Expects to reside in". From this date in the record each entry in the register indicates the immigrant's intended eventual destination in Canada.

Researchers must keep in mind that entries in the General Registers of Chinese Immigration were created by federal officials, who were unfamiliar with Chinese names, and probably wrote them down simply as they heard them. Moreover, film quality is sometimes poor, making the records difficult to read.

For more details see the archival record of the General Registers of Chinese Immigration through Collection Search on the Library and Archives Canada website.

FINDING THE RECORDS

Online

Library and Archives Canada has digitized the records for and created a searchable online index to the General Registers of Chinese Immigration in its Immigrants from China, 1885-1949 database

At the Vancouver Public Library

The General Registers of Chinese Immigration has been microfilmed by Library and Archives Canada and is on 7 reels of microfilm, which are available at the Vancouver Public Library.

Records are arranged on the films in rough chronological order. There are two series of films, C-9510 to C-9513 (4 reels) and T-3484 to T-3486 (3 reels). Sections are less clearly delineated in the "T" series.

The following film notes may be helpful:

C-SERIES

T-SERIES

Films in the "T" series include several pages of retakes. Retakes immediately follow originals and are clearly indicated.