November 2, 2018 – Ottawa, ON – Canada is expanding its biometrics collection program and is now taking steps to prepare for December 31, 2018, when nationals from countries in Asia, Asia Pacific and the Americas will need to give their biometrics (fingerprints and a photo) when applying for a visitor visa, study or work permit, or for permanent residence.

Collecting biometrics provides many benefits: It stops those who pose a risk to the safety and security of Canadians, while also helping officials better manage applicants’ identities, facilitating application processing, and simplifying entry for travellers with legitimate identities.

As most applicants need to give their biometrics before they come to Canada, the Government of Canada is expanding its worldwide network of Visa Application Centres (VACs) to make services more accessible to a wider audience. Today, new VACs have opened in the following locations:

• In Asia Pacific: Bali, Indonesia; Melbourne, Australia;
• In the Americas: Mendoza, Argentina; Porto Alegre and Recife, Brazil; Cali, Colombia; Santiago, Chile; and Bridgetown, Barbados;
• In Europe: Lyon, France; and Vienna, Austria.

Canada has successfully rolled out of the first phase of biometrics expansion for nationals from countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, who have been required to give their biometrics since July 31, 2018. Since this first phase of biometric expansion, Canada also opened the following VACs:

• Athens, Greece; Kigali, Rwanda; Stockholm, Sweden; Berlin, Germany; and Tel Aviv, Israel. Some of these VACs replace the temporary biometrics collection service locations that were opened in Europe to support the first phase of biometrics expansion.

By December 31, 2018, there will be 152 VACs in 103 countries, including a new VAC in Antananarivo, Madagascar, and Cape Town, South Africa. More VAC openings will be announced at a later date.

The Government of Canada will closely monitor the impact of the biometrics collection requirement to ensure that the level of service available meets the needs of applicants.

To make it as convenient as possible to give biometrics, Canada is allowing applicants to go to any VAC in any country they are legally allowed to enter, or, if already legally in the United States, to one of 135 U.S. Application Support Centers.

Canada is also increasing capacity at existing VACs, including the 12 VACs in China, 10 in India and 2 in the Philippines, to ensure they continue to meet the needs of biometrically-required applicants.

The Government of Canada takes its privacy obligations very seriously, and safeguards have been built into policies, procedures and technical systems. These policies are based on the best practices of international partners who are increasingly relying on biometrics.

Quick facts

• VACs are privately owned, third-party service providers located around the world that are authorized to provide Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) visa applicants with specific administrative support.
• VACs offer support to applicants before, during and after their temporary resident application is assessed by an IRCC officer. VAC service agents can be reached by phone and email, or in person, to answer questions in local languages. VACs are also authorized to collect biometrics from applicants.
• In order to better serve the needs of clients in countries in Asia, Asia Pacific and the Americas, applicants will need to make an appointment to give their biometrics at a local VAC. Appointments will be available within 5 business days from the date the request is made. This will allow applicants to select a time that is most convenient for them and reduce the wait time at the VAC.
• Some exemptions to biometrics expansion include:
  • Canadian citizens, citizenship applicants (including passport applicants), or existing permanent residents
  • Visa-exempt nationals coming to Canada as tourists;
  • Persons under 14 years old and over 79 years old (there is no upper age exemption for asylum claimants);
  • U.S. nationals making an application for a work, study or temporary resident permit;
  • Cabinet ministers and accredited diplomats of other countries and the United Nations, coming to Canada on official business; and
  • Heads of state and Heads of Government, regardless of purpose of travel.

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Migration Compact is the first, globally negotiated, cooperative framework to facilitate safe, orderly and regular migration.

December 10, 2018—Marrakech, Morocco – Canada believes that effective international cooperation is essential in order to address common challenges as well as harness the benefits of global migration.

Today, Canada announced it adopted the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), the first global framework on all aspects of international migration. The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, made the announcement at the Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in Marrakech, Morocco.

The GCM acknowledges the serious challenges that irregular migration poses, while emphasizing the positive contributions of migrants, and the benefits of regular pathways and well-managed migration systems. Migrant and refugee flows are a growing phenomenon around the world. According to the United Nations, there are currently about 258 million people on the move. Of these, 68.5 million are forcibly displaced people – including refugees and asylum seekers – who are forced to flee their homes in search of new ones due to violence, discrimination and war.

The Compact sets out 23 objectives, each focusing on one aspect of migration. Participating states are not expected to implement each action, but to view them as examples of best practices on how to achieve the objectives. It emphasizes state sovereignty as a guiding principle and that it is a state’s sovereign right to control its own borders.

Canada has been actively engaged in the development of the GCM. This includes the majority of the almost 200 action items, which reflect Canadian practices and are aligned with the compact’s objectives and commitments. Following more than a year of negotiations, this is an important milestone and represents the first multilateral framework for the global response to migration.

Quick facts

• In September 2016, the UN General Assembly adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants. That Declaration launched separate processes to create 2 non-legally binding Global Compacts: the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees.
• Canada’s engagement on the GCM has been co-led by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Global Affairs Canada.
  
• The number of international migrants worldwide has continued to grow and was estimated at 258 million in 2017. This constitutes a 49 percent increase compared to 2000.

Backgrounder

In response to the Syria refugee crisis and increasing movements of refugees and migrants, the UN General Assembly in 2016 adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants. That declaration launched separate processes to create 2 non-binding international agreements: one for refugees (Global Compact on Refugees) and one for migrants (the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration).

The number of international migrants continues to grow and was estimated at 258 million worldwide in 2017, a 49% increase compared to 2000. International migrants represent 3.3% of the world’s total population. Most international migration is conducted through regular channels without incident.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) was crafted based on a year of thematic, regional and multi-stakeholder discussions covering all aspects of migration, followed by 6 rounds of intergovernmental negotiations in New York. The text addresses a wide range of issues, sectors, actors and means of cooperation at global, regional, national and sub-national levels. It seeks to reconcile tensions underlying international migration, including national security concerns, human security, dignity and rights.

Considered a historic achievement and the first globally negotiated cooperative framework to cover all aspects of migration, the GCM aims to improve cooperation on international migration in order to ‘make migration work for all’. It draws attention to the challenges that irregular migration poses, while also emphasizing the positive contributions of migrants, and the benefits of regular pathways and well-managed migration systems.

The Compact sets out 23 objectives, each focusing on one aspect of migration. Each of the objectives is supported by a list of best practices that states can draw from to achieve the GCM’s objectives. The text includes mechanisms for follow-up, review and implementation that will increase migration’s visibility in regional and UN forums. It also endorses the creation of a UN Network on Migration coordinated by the International Organization for Migration.

Canada played an active role in the process to develop the GCM and worked closely and constructively with traditional and non-traditional partners to reach agreement on these important and complex issues. The successful negotiation of the GCM in the current global climate related to migration and sovereignty underscores the value of multilateral dialogue on critical global issues and the role the UN can play in supporting a rules-based international system.

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