Krista Schofer
Partner
Article
Biometrics are unique physical characteristics including fingerprints and facial features. The Canadian government uses biometrics to verify a person's identity.
As soon as July 31, 2018, individuals from Europe, the Middle East and Africa applying for permanent residence or temporary status documents (including a work permit, study permit or visitor visa) will be required to provide biometrics before their applications are processed. Applicants from Asia, Asia Pacific and the Americas will be subject to the biometrics requirement as soon as December 31, 2018.
The purpose of the biometrics expansion is to help facilitate the entry of travelers with legitimate identities, prevent identity fraud and increase biometric-based information sharing between Canada and the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
The following individuals will be exempt from the biometrics requirement:
For an application made through an overseas consulate, a biometrics collection letter will be issued after the application is submitted. The applicant will then have 30 days to complete his or her biometrics. The processing time for the application will not start until biometrics are complete.
For port-of-entry applications, the Canadian government will be rolling out numerous biometric collection points across the country. Depending on the location of entry, biometrics will either be automatically conducted at primary inspection kiosks or collected by RCMP officers or border services officers upon referral to secondary inspection.
The information collected from biometrics will be used for the purposes of confirming if the applicant has applied to enter Canada before using the same or a different identity, has a previous Canadian criminal record or has been removed from Canada in the past.
Biometrics will be valid for 10 years. Accordingly, once biometrics are provided with initial applications, subsequent biometrics will not be required for extensions of status documents.
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