Indian Registry
Program Overview
Indian Registry
The Indian Registry Program at the Northern Shuswap Tribal Council (NSTC) administers the Indian Registry for any First Nation within the region. The fees are as follows:
We accept Cash Only. No debit, credit cards or personal cheques.
| Community | Fee |
|---|---|
| Xatśūll First Nation | No Fee |
| Stswēceḿc Xget'tem First Nation | No Fee |
| Tsq̓éscen̓ First Nation | No Fee |
| All other First Nations and Affiliates | $20.00 |
| Secure Certificate of Indian Status | No Fee |
The function of the Indian Registry Program is to record any additions, changes and deletions to the Indian Registry. These include registering births, deaths, marriages, divorces, name changes, transfers from one Band to another, or correcting any existing errors on the Indian Registry.
The Indian Registry office at the Northern Shuswap Tribal Council also issues Certificates of Indian Status (status cards) and has applications for Indian Registry through Bill C-31. NSTC does not have the resources to do family tree researching.
Children
Child Registration
Child registration on the Indian Registry is entirely voluntary. Children are not automatically registered.
Requirements to Register a Child
- Birth Certificate – The birth certificate must have some inclusion of parentage. If the parentage is unknown or unstated on the birth certificate, other evidence may be utilized. This includes statutory declarations, census records, court documents, church, school and hospital records, and band council resolutions.
- Consent Form (available at NSTC) – The Consent form will indicate which parent the child will be registered with (a child cannot be registered with both parents). If one parent is non-native, they must still sign the consent form.
In order for your child to be eligible for Non-Insured Health Benefits (which includes medical services, dental care, prescription drugs, optometrist visits and vision care) you must be registered with the Indian Registry. If your child is not registered, you will have to pay for these services.
Processing your child's registration under the Indian Act typically takes 6 months for a complete and straightforward application. However, processing times can vary and take anywhere from 6 months to 2 years depending on the complexity of the file and if the government requires more information.
Once registration is approved, obtaining your child's physical Secure Certificate of Indian Status (secure status card) usually takes an additional 8 to 12 weeks. You can apply for both the registration and the status card simultaneously to speed up the overall timeline.
Identification
Status Card Information
NOTE: All Certificates of Indian Status now include a renewal date.
The purpose of issuing Status Cards is to verify that the cardholder is a registered Indian. Status Cards are only useful if the photographs are current. Some registered Indians have been denied services because some service providers have questioned whether their Status Cards are still valid. To remedy this situation, all status cards issued to individuals under the age of 18 will expire three years after being issued, and for those over the age of 18, cards must be renewed every five years.
To obtain a Status Card, One piece of Primary ID or Two pieces of Secondary ID – one with Digitized Photo:
Category 1 – Primary ID
- BC Driver's License (BCDL)
- BC Identification
- BC Services Card with Photo
- BC Service Card without a Photo (may be accepted accompanying a primary identification with a photo)
**All of the above will only be accepted up to the expiry date**
Category 2 – Secondary ID
- Certificate of Birth
- Certificate of Marriage or Divorce
- Provincial Health Card
- Provincial Identification Card
- Driver's License
- Employee ID with Digitized Photo
- Student ID with Digitized Photo
- Firearms License
- Current CIS Card (cannot be expired more than a month)
The above ID cards MUST be presented when applying for a Status Card. Photocopied ID or Certified Copies of ID WILL NOT be accepted.
For minor card ID, a Birth Certificate, Medical Card, Baptismal or student card may be used. The identification policy is strictly enforced.
There is a new policy for issuing Indian Registry numbers to children. Now, when a new number is generated it is independent of the parent's number; previously children's numbers were dependent numbers of their parents (02, 03 etc). Now the number a child receives is a permanent number and no new number is issued when the child turns 18. For those children currently with a number ending in 02, 03 etc., this is now their permanent number.
Frequently Asked Questions
Contact the Registry Office
For more information please contact: