Citizenship and Immigration Canada Begins Biometrics Field Trial

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), in partnership with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), began a six-month operational Biometrics Field Trial on October 19, 2006. This limited field trial is taking place at two visa offices abroad (Hong Kong and Seattle), and at the following locations in Canada: the Vancouver International Airport, the Douglas/Pacific Highway land ports of entry, and the Etobicoke refugee processing centre.

The Field Trial involves the introduction of fingerprint and facial recognition technologies to the processing of temporary resident visa applicants (students, workers and visitors) and refugee claimants. The Field Trial will test the impact of these technologies on CIC and CBSA operations, as well as evaluate their usefulness in detecting fraud and facilitating legitimate travel. The Field Trial will also help CIC assess the merits of making significant technology investments to gather and verify biometric data at visa offices and ports of entry. Results of the Field Trial will be published in the fall of 2007.