How Canada border control uses your personal data

Canada's Entry/Exit program enables the Canadian border services to share travelers' information with Immigration Canada. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) look out for overstaying immigrants. Estimated overstaying for temporary residents will be displayed in the search results of Entry/Exit from November 2022. Since February 2019, the Entry/Exit Program has allowed the Canadian border services to collect essential traveler information. It uses the data to identify foreign nationals living past their duration of permit to stay. *Check your eligibility to Canada, through Canada Immigration Points Calculator.

The use of traveler data

IRCC uses the information provided by the Canadian border services to verify the requirements needed for residency in Canada. It proves applications for study and work permits, permanent residency, and Canadian citizenship. It accesses the information from Canadian Border Service Agency. It gets the data via Global Case Management System (GCMS), which IRCC uses to proceed with immigration applications. Need assistance to travel Canada, Y-Axis is here to guide you.

What information is available to the IRCC

The Entry/Exit program is available for people coming to Canada exclusively by land or air. It is not available for travelers' information about people arriving by sea routes or railway network. The information available is

• Family names
• Given names
• Aliases
• Date of birth
• Gender
• Country of Origin
• Country of Citizenship
• Details in the passport
• Date of entry/exit

The GMCS of the Canadian border services stores the data and can be accessed by IRCC when needed. It is used to administer the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), the Citizenship Act, and the Canadian Passport Order.

Use of Entry/Exit data

According to the official website of the Canadian government, IRCC can use Entry/Exit data for:

• Verification of residency requirements, with the applications for grants of citizenship (CIT)
• For permanent resident cards
• Confirmation of temporary residence applicant stay
• For any help in investigation of an individual's Canadian travel document
• Verification of sponsors residing in Canada
• Proof of the residency of partners or spouse (under the spouse or common law partner in Canada category)
• Validation of a refugee claimant entering Canada through their travel documents
• To aid investigations of possible fraud concerning immigration, citizenship, and passport or travel document programs.

IRCC is authorized to access the traveler's data without the traveler's consent. They can make use of the existing data and record important information related to the particular program. The officers of IRCC are not allowed to disclose the data concerning the entry/exit of the person. Any disclosure not covered under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) or any other information-sharing agreement must be governed by CBSA. Do you require any assistance to study in Canada or work in Canada? Feel free to contact Y-Axis. If you found this blog interesting, check out Canadian PNP: Provincial Draws in January 2022