Permanent residents, not Canadian citizens, are now required to have a plastic identity card for international travel. The cards were brought in as an enchanced security measure.

As of Jan. 1, permanent residents who do not have the new card will not be allowed on airplanes, in part because the airlines could face stiff fines. Maria Iadinardi, spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, says some travellers in Asia, hoping to return to Canada, have been denied boarding passes.Travellers who are turned away at the ticket counter are required to go to the nearest Canadian consulate to apply for a temporary travel document.

So far 855,000 of Canada's 1.5 million landed immigrants have cards.