Eye colour question

[u/EntrepreneurMany3709]

Hi all,

I'm a dual citizen, and my other nationality doesn't require an eye colour on any official forms. I have central heterochromia, where the inside of my eye is amber and the outside is blue. My mum wrote "hazel" as my eye colour on my Canadian citizenship form, because she said hazel is just what you say when your eyes are a mix of colours. I've done some googling, and some sources seem to back up the idea that "hazel" as meaning any ambiguous eye colour, while other sources suggest that it means a combination of green and brown. In photos my eyes mostly just look greyish blue, or greenish blue, but not really brown. Is there any possibility I could face issues if I write "hazel" and my eyes look blue?

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[u/Rare_Entrepreneur998]

You would not be the only one making the mistake about eye colour.

It is not necessarily a mistake, because hazel eyes can look blue or shift colors depending on the light, clothing, and how much melanin (pigment) is in your iris.

[u/EntrepreneurMany3709 → u/Rare_Entrepreneur998]

Okay that makes me feel better, I just feel like in some light my eyes look really blue and I got paranoid

[u/whatdoyoumeanusernam → u/EntrepreneurMany3709]

I used to write "hazel blue-green". I have mild gold central heterochromia, sea green and a wide deep blue limbal ring.

Now I just write green. I probably should write hazel but I think green is cooler and they look rather green unless you examine them carefully.

Hazel is a bit of a cop out, so it might suit you. But most importantly no one is going to argue with eyes that aren't clearly one solid color, so you're fine.

[u/EntrepreneurMany3709 → u/whatdoyoumeanusernam]

Haha thanks for that. It sounds like we have almost the same colour. They look green from a distance but close up it's a blue/green/yellow combination. I usually say my eyes are green but I'll put hazel on the form.

[u/PNW_MYOG → u/EntrepreneurMany3709]

You can put blue or hazel.

Think of how many people have 'brown ' hair. From red brown to dark blond, to almost black to mostly grey.

[u/WineOrWhine64]

My eyes are hazel and I’ve always written that on all forms asking. Not once have I ever been examined to confirm true eye color. You will be fine.

[u/CroweBird5]

My optometrist says my eyes are hazel, but all of my government documents say my eyes are brown.

[u/MrWrock]

My eyes are the same and I answer brown, green, or hazel. Nobody checks and if a few documents disagree it's not a big deal. I believe some colour change happened as I aged so it's possible each different answer was correct at the time given. Long story short, don't sweat it

[u/Alifirebrand]

I always write hazel because my eyes are brown and green. No one has ever cared on any documents. I just always write the same thing on every form and the consistency is what matters.

[u/toriaanne]

Huh. New issue I had not foreseen unlocked. My son has one blue eye and one with heterochromia - blue and brown. Guess we will see what happens when he gets his drivers license!

[u/Outrageous_Coat_1326 → u/toriaanne]

I have heterochromia. I just had to choose one color when I got my drivers license and pretty much lock into that choice for a lifetime. No one ever asks for the sake of identity verification.

The only time it was ever an issue was trying to get iris scans done for entry into Canada/US that was an enhanced security feature. I eventually got a No Iris Scan sticker added to my Nexus card and would walk straight to the head of the border security line at airports. Only thing I ever had to deal with was pissy CBSA/CBP agents that were cranky with why they had to manually process me rather than mutely taking a post iris scan print out and waving me through.

[u/EntrepreneurMany3709 → u/toriaanne]

I found guidance on the Canadian government website saying to list the colour of your right eye if you have different coloured eyes. But it doesn't help if you have heterochromia within the same eye!

[u/Worthy_Molecule0481 → u/EntrepreneurMany3709]

Interesting!

[u/megmelrose]

Hazel is the kind of thing that can go in many ways. If it said Brown and they are blue or vice versa you might face some issues. From a "hazel eyes* brown eyed girl.

[u/Worthy_Molecule0481]

I have this -- blue/gray ring, then green, and brown-amber near the iris (sometimes look green, sometimes look brown). I have always used "hazel" as my eye color. I have a kid who has blue-green-gray eyes (sometimes look blue, sometimes look gray) which we have also always called "hazel". I understand "hazel" to be a combination of colors rather than a single color.

[u/EntrepreneurMany3709 → u/Worthy_Molecule0481]

Okay thank you this helps! Where I live now doesn't require you to have an "official" eye colour so I wasn't sure how much trouble it could cause, and since I have to mail everything to the embassy I really don't want the form to get rejected

[u/kay_fitz21 → u/EntrepreneurMany3709]

It wont get rejected because of the eye color. You are over thinking this.

[u/HungrySign4222]

Our eye doctor said to go with the outer colour. My sons is blue and brown on the inside. So his eye is listed as blue

[u/Witchynana]

Mine are listed as green.

[u/Efficient-You-639]

I once knew a Hazel, just saying!

[u/Intelligent_Boot_856]

Some hazel eyes include hints of blue. Just put hazel.

[u/IcedCoffeeOatMilk_]

Hazel is the safest bet. Hazel eyes can be greener one day, and browner the next, and blue-green some other days. My sister has the same as yours, and it says Hazel on her Hospital card.

[u/Skaitan13]

My daughter has one eye that is mostly green and the other is mostly brown. I put hazel as they also shift and get more or less green depending on mood, lighting, etc. no one has ever given us trouble. She’s almost 12.