Use of biometrics in Canada

Fingerprints are recognized internationally as one of the most reliable identification tools and are used by immigration and law enforcement agencies around the world.

Fingerprints have been required from refugee claimants, detainees and individuals ordered to be deported from Canada since 1993. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has been collecting fingerprints from detainees and people under removal order from Canada since 1993.

The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority has required fingerprints and iris scans for staff working in secure areas at major airports since 2006. The CBSA also offers voluntary trusted traveller programs (such as NEXUS and CANPASS) that use iris capture technology to confirm the identity of low-risk air travellers who are members of these programs.

Biometrics in the immigration system

In 2006, CIC and the CBSA conducted an operational field trial to explore how biometrics could be used in Canada’s temporary resident visa process to facilitate entry into Canada and enhance program integrity. The field trial demonstrated that using biometrics is highly effective in detecting identity fraud.

Case example: A clear case of fraud was detected during the 2006 field trial. A person had two separate applications under two different identities: one in the temporary visa program and one in the refugee protection program. The biometric system enabled CIC to make a link between the two identities that would otherwise have been impossible.

Beginning in 2013 with the implementation of the Temporary Resident Biometrics Project, certain foreign nationals seeking visas to enter Canada will be required to give their fingerprints and have their photograph taken as part of their application.