How it works

Travellers going home this December can feel assured that automated systematic fingerprint verification allows The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to process that large flow of holiday travellers quickly.

If you are one of the nearly three million international travellers entering Canada at our seaports and airports in December, you’ll experience a shorter wait experience at the border that keeps us safe, thanks to Biometrics technology.

Border security officials have used Biometrics to identify security risks and catch criminals at our points of entry since it first arrived in 2013. We can all feel secure that our identities are protected.

What are Biometrics

Biometrics measure your unique features. For example, in Canada, your fingerprint and a picture are analyzed by sensitive technology at the Canadian borders. Since each face, finger, and swirl on your fingerprint is unique, you can easily prove that you are who you say you are.

The Biometric Institute defines Biometric recognition/Biometrics as the automated recognition of individuals based on their biological and behavioural characteristics.

For those of you with insatiable curiosities, other Biometrics of identification includes the fingerprint, finger geometry, gait, hand geometry, heartbeat, keystrokes (typing), odour, signatures, vascular (vein), and voice. You'll probably encounter some of these when interacting with other Canadian institutions.

Who needs to give Biometrics

We all supply Biometrics when we apply for a passport in Canada. As an immigrant applicant, your visa application will only process if you provide the appropriate, valid Biometrics. You will be required to provide Biometrics when you apply for work or visitor visas, permanent residence, refugee or asylum status, a visitor record, or a work or study permit extension. You will also need to provide Biometrics if you hold an alien's passport.

Once you've entered your Biometrics, your identifiers are stored and valid for ten years. Some people, for example, temporary residents, will need to renew every decade. If you aren't sure if your Biometrics are up to date or need refreshing, you can check with the Check Status tool of the Canadian Government.

People who do not need to provide Biometrics while travelling include:

• Canadian citizens and citizen applicants

• children under the age of 14

• elders above the age of 79 and U.S. visa holders

To find out if you are required to give biometric Information, you can visit this link: need to give Biometrics.

How Biometrics is used

Once you arrive in Canada, Officials will verify your identity using Biometrics to ensure that the passport and the documents they approved are yours. A primary inspection kiosk is used at all major Canadian airports. If your visa or permit is clean, you'll experience streamlined entry. Kiosks and Border security scans catch stolen, borrowed, or altered visas or permits using Biometrics. Others may see your biometric Information if further scrutiny is required. For example, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) check your fingerprints for immigration data or criminal records. Your Information may also be shared with investigators from the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA). Not only are you in trouble if your documents are invalidated, but that information is disclosed to the appropriate authorities via Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) or INTERPOL's Stolen and Lost Travel Document (SLTD) database. For most of us, that's not a problem. When your Biometrics are approved upon entering Canada, a border services office will give you the green light for entry. They will stamp your passport and inform you of how long you can stay in Canada or welcome you home. Of course, if you haven't got a stamp on your passport, you can ask a border services office to provide you with one. However, primary inspection kiosks will not stamp your passport, so you will need to use this option by asking for a stamp from the nearest border service official after visiting the kiosk.

How to provide Biometrics as part of your application

Biometrics are a standard part of your visa or permit application that you must supply with your other documents. Your application will not process until all your Biometrics are included. Once the data is received, your Information is held in a Personal Information bank (PIB) to be accessed by officials as needed. After paying a fee of CAD $85.00 per individual and $170.00 for a family applying together, you will receive a letter from the Canadian Government letting you know which centre in your country to visit. A complete list of Biometric Collection Centers is available if you'd like to check. Sometimes, there are long waits for an appointment at designated biometric collection sites. If the delay is too long, it is possible to request an extension of your application to accommodate. However, you'll need to arrive at your appointment in person. If you want to learn more about the process, links on the Canada.ca website will show you how to give your Biometrics and provide you with an instruction guide. Since your biometric is a picture and fingerprint, you will need clean hands without henna when arriving. If there are cracks or cuts, allow them to heal before your appointment. This is because damaged fingerprints aren’t accepted. Collection centre authorities will need you to return for another session. For photos, wearing bright colours is encouraged rather than light colours, and your whole face must be visible. So, lift a finger! Although the process is a bit entailed at the beginning, we can all feel gratitude for the technological advancement of Biometrics that keeps us safe and shortens wait times at the Canadian borders.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/campaigns/biometrics/facts.html https://www.canada.ca/en/border-services-agency/services/arrivecan/canarrive-privacy-notice.html https://www.biometricsinstitute.org/what-is-biometrics/types-of-biometrics/ https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/security-securite/biometrics-biometrique-eng.html