Backgrounder - Temporary Resident Biometrics Project

The Government of Canada is moving to eventually use biometrics for all non-Canadians entering the country. At the moment, as a first step, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) in partnership with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is leading a five-year project to introduce biometrics into Canada’s temporary resident program.

Biometrics will significantly bolster Canada’s existing toolbox of measures to reduce identity fraud and enhance the safety and security of Canadians.

Biometric verification significantly reduces the chance that one individual could pose as or be mistaken for another individual. This will strengthen security at Canada’s borders. It also means applicants will benefit from a reduced risk that their identity will be fraudulently used by someone else to gain access into Canada.

Implementing biometrics will bring Canada in line with other countries—such as the United Kingdom and the United States—that already use biometrics for immigration and border security purposes. Several other countries are moving in the same direction as well.

When the current project is implemented, applicants requiring a visitor visa, a study permit or a work permit will be required to enrol 10 electronic fingerprints and have their photo taken before they arrive in Canada. When a visa holder arrives at a Canadian port of entry, the CBSA will verify that the visa holder is the same person as the one to whom the visa was issued.

The biometrics project currently in development covers those visitors who require visas or work or study permits. The project, announced in the 2008 budget, is scheduled to be rolled out between 2011 and 2013. A timetable for the expansion of biometrics to all other non-Canadians entering Canada has not yet been established.

A field trial in 2007 demonstrated that biometrics can be used to quickly and accurately confirm a person’s identity during travel and help to detect identity fraud while maintaining service standards.

CIC is conducting a comprehensive privacy analysis for the biometrics project to ensure that personal information continues to be protected in accordance with the Privacy Act. Privacy was an important consideration in the design and implementation of the field trial. The field trial demonstrated that biometrics can be implemented without compromising personal privacy.

This project is currently in the planning phase.