Parliamentary Committee Notes: RCMP Support to Immigration Refugee Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
Three Principles
- Collection
- Verification
- Information Sharing
RCMP Role Overview
The RCMP’s Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services (CCRTIS) is the steward of the National Repository of Criminal Records (NRCR), and also maintains the immigration fingerprint repository on behalf of Immigration Refugee Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
IRCC works with CCRTIS to conduct criminal record verification in support of two of their programs: Temporary Resident and Permanent Resident applications under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Citizenship applications under the Citizenship Act.
CCRITS publishes criminal record information submitted by law enforcement partners, including the FBI and INTERPOL, to the RCMP’s Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) system, which is used by IRCC in support of their immigration program screening process.
Enrolment / Searching
- Biometrics collected using Electronic Fingerprint Capture Devices (EFCDs) at Service Canada Centres (SCCs) and Visa Application Centres (VACs) overseas are transmitted to the RCMP for retention and automated query via the Real Time Identification (RTID) system.
- Fingerprints may also be collected by Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) for refugee claims.
- The RTID system searches all immigration and refugee prints against the NRCR to locate records of past interactions (if any) with the respective individual.
- Upon enrolment, fingerprints may also be sent by IRCC’s Global Case Management System (GCMS) to be checked against Migration Five partners’ immigration fingerprint holdings.
- IRCC or CBSA can request an FBI search and/or International search at the time of enrolment.
- For Temporary Residents (TRs) who enroll at a VAC overseas, fingerprints are taken again upon arrival to Canada and compared to those submitted with the original application, to ensure the identity of the traveller.
Search Results
All results are returned to IRCC’s Global Case Management System (GCMS) via the RTID system.
Positive identification to an Open Criminal record
RCMP sends electronic response, indicating that the search result is positive with the following criminal record information: name, date of birth, sex and criminal file number (FPS). *IRCC must use CPIC to query the criminal file number.
Positive identification to previously enrolled immigration fingerprints
RCMP sends electronic response, indicating that the search result is positive and provide the immigration reference number. *IRCC has access to all previous application information in GCMS (e.g. visa application) and its outcome (approved or refused).
Negative identification to criminal or immigration holdings
RCMP sends electronic response, indicating that the search result is an non-ident (i.e. negative)
Infographic description
Four sequential images with three arrows between them that include text boxes below.
First image is of a hand holding a physical visa, followed by an arrow to the second image of a Canadian flag with text below that reads “Individual application is received.” This second image is followed by an arrow to the third image of a fingerprint, under which is text that reads “individual is fingerprinted and prints are sent to the RCMP’s RTID system.” This is followed by the final arrow and final image of a computer monitor in front of a globe and the initials GCMS, with text below that reads “Fingerprint search results are returned to IRCC to complete screening.”
Monitoring
- If the individual is arrested after arriving in Canada, an automated system notification called an Unsolicited Criminal Notification (UCN) may be sent to IRCC, providing an opportunity to review the file and determine if this jeopardizes the applicant’s status in Canada.
- IRCC or CBSA officers may be able to access the notification depending on whether there is an open application (supports informed admissibility decision making) or if there are enforcement activities.
- If a Canadian law enforcement partner submits a criminal submission that results in a positive identification to an immigration fingerprint, they will be provided the name, DOB, and IRCC file number. They need to contact the CBSA warrant centre, who will determine what, if anything, can be shared.
- International exchanges of information may be requested by IRCC in two ways:
- An Image Request (IRQ) can be submitted by IRCC via the RTID system; the fingerprints are then used by IRCC to submit to one or more Migration Five countries for anonymous searching (no biographic data is used).
- An “ad-hoc” request can be submitted by IRCC to CCRTIS, either through an electronic workflow or via email, to have the prints submitted to one or more INTERPOL countries for searching; both types of ‘ad-hoc’ requests are processed manually by CCRTIS.
Citizenship
- When an individual applies to become a Canadian citizen, IRCC conducts a final name-based criminal records check against the National Repository of Criminal Records; a fingerprint-based check may be required if the name-based check is inconclusive, ensuring individual are eligible for citizenship and that no criminality was missed that would disqualify them for Canadian citizenship.
NB – IRCC is in the process of transitioning to a fully fingerprint-based citizenship screening process.
Purging
- When citizenship is granted, IRCC’s GCMS sends a purge notification to CCRTIS through the RTID systems and the immigration fingerprints are deleted (criminal holdings are retained , if any).
- There is no manual review of these transactions, and they are not monitored by employees at CCRTIS.
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