Annex to the memorandum of arrangement between Canada and New Zealand on the exchange of information on an automated basis

Annex to the Memorandum of Arrangement between the Department of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency and the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (Immigration New Zealand) Concerning the Exchange of Information on an Automated Basis

Pursuant to the terms of the Memorandum of Arrangement between the Department of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency and the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (Immigration New Zealand) Regarding the Exchange of Information (the “MOA”), signed at Washington, DC on 6 September, 2016, the Department of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), on the one side, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment  Immigration New Zealand (Immigration New Zealand), on the other side, each side hereinafter referred to as a “Participant” and collectively as the “Participants”, have mutually come to the following understanding:

1. General

1. This Annex has been developed in accordance with paragraph 3(b) of the MOA.
2. Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex is subject to the terms, including any conditions included therein, of the MOA. Any guidance on the interpretation and application of this Annex is intended to be read in conjunction with the MOA.
3. This Annex is not intended to affect the exchange of Information between the Participants under other established exchange of information arrangements or agreements, including other Annexes to the MOA.

2. Purpose

Pursuant to paragraph 3(b) of the MOA, the purpose of this Annex is to describe the conditions under which an automated fingerprint Query will be initiated and, on the basis of a fingerprint match, the exchange and use of relevant Information to assist in the administration and enforcement of the Participants respective immigration laws, including those governing their Refugee Resettlement and Asylum Systems.

3. Definitions

1. The definitions in the MOA are incorporated by reference within this Annex.
2. For the purpose of this Annex:
   • “National of a Third Country” means a person who is not a citizen or permanent resident of Canada or a citizen of New Zealand, and includes a person not having a country of nationality;
   • “Providing Participant” means the Participant to this Annex that receives the initial Query from the Requesting Participant;
   • “Query” means a Participant’s request for Information through an automated search process requiring minimal human intervention which satisfies the In Writing requirement of the MOA; and
   • “Requesting Participant” means the Participant to this Annex that sends the initial Query.

4. Scope and Process for the Exchange of Information

1. If a Participant determines that the exchange of Information under this Annex is inconsistent with its domestic laws or international obligations, or may prejudice or cause harm to its national sovereignty, national security, public policy, or other important national interest, or could compromise an ongoing investigation, that Participant may decline to provide all or part of the Information or offer to provide all or part of the Information subject to the terms and conditions that it may specify.

Sending Queries:

2. The Participants intend to send Queries to each other on individuals believed to be Nationals of a Third Country who have applied for admission,  a visa or protected person status or any other form of immigration status, or  who are the subject of an immigration investigation in order to establish the basis of an individual’s admissibility, eligibility for a visa or protected person status or other immigration status, or their eligibility to remain in the territory of the Requesting Participant’s country, or for any other matter consistent with paragraph 2 of this Annex.
3. The Participants do not intend to send a Query pertaining to a person identified to be, on the basis of data such as application responses, identity documentation, or the nature of the application or investigation:
   1. A citizen of Canada, or a citizen of New Zealand; or
   2. For a Canadian Query, a Permanent Resident of Canada.
4. The Participants intend that a Query by a Requesting Participant include the following Information:
   1. Relevant  fingerprints; 
   2. A unique reference number ; and
   3. The case type of the Query. In no circumstance should the case type disclose an individual’s identity or their protected status.
5. The Participants intend to mutually establish In Writing the estimated maximum annual volume of Queries that may be initiated pursuant to this Annex. The Participants may adjust this estimated maximum volume at any time upon their mutual consent In Writing.

Responding to Queries:

6. Following receipt of a Query from the Requesting Participant and subject to paragraph 4(a) of this Annex, the Providing Participant intends to respond to a Query:
   1. When a fingerprint match is established and:
      1. the match is believed to be related to a National of a Third Country; and
      2. providing associated Information to the Requesting Participant may reveal details relevant to assisting in the effective administration and enforcement of the Requesting Participant’s immigration laws, consistent with paragraph 2 of this Annex  and the Providing Participant’s domestic law; or
   2. When no fingerprint match has been established, to indicate the absence of a match.
7. Following a fingerprint match, the Providing Participant intends to provide the Requesting Participant with the following data elements, subject to availability and practicability, in the Providing Participant’s applicable database or databases:
   1. Providing Participant subject specific reference number;
   2. Providing Participant event specific reference number;
   3. Name(s);
   4. Alias(es);
   5. Gender;
   6. Photograph / Facial image;
   7. Date of birth;
   8. Passport Nationality or nationalities;
   9. Country of birth;
   10. Travel document information, including scans of documents;
   11. Current and previous Immigration status;
   12. Location(s), date(s) and reason(s) fingerprinted;
   13. Country of Alleged Persecution;
   14. Reason for alert;
   15. Visa refusal code(s);
   16. Watchlist indicator;
   17. Date(s) and location(s) of arrival;
   18. Date(s) and location(s) of departure;
   19. Date removed;
   20. Status of a refugee claim;
   21. Date(s) of immigration application;
   22. Type(s) of immigration application;
   23. Date(s) of outcome of immigration application;
   24. Outcome of immigration application;
   25. Reason for outcome of immigration application;
   26. Expiry date of current leave/stay or visa.

Reciprocal Queries:

8. Consistent with paragraph 2 of this Annex, following the receipt of a match response with the available data elements listed in paragraph 4(g) of this Annex, the Providing Participant may request that the Requesting Participant provide the following data elements, subject to availability and practicability, in relation to the individual who was the subject of the initial Query:
   1. Requesting Participant subject specific reference number;
   2. Requesting participant event specific reference number;
   3. Name(s);
   4. Alias(es);
   5. Gender;
   6. Photograph / Facial image;
   7. Date of birth;
   8. Passport Nationality or nationalities;
   9. Country of birth;
   10. Travel document information, including scans of documents;
   11. Location, date and reason fingerprinted;
   12. Date removed;
   13. Current and previous Immigration status.

Managing Datasets

9. The data elements identified in paragraph 4(g) and 4(h) of this Annex are expected to be replicated in any technical documentation developed by the Participants to support this Annex.
10. The Participants acknowledge that the terms of this Annex, including the data elements outlined in paragraph 4(g) and 4(h) and any future modifications pursuant to paragraph 12(a) of this Annex, are intended to be applied should any discrepancy arise between this Annex and any other operational or technical documents drafted by the Participants to support this Annex.

Queries Requesting Additional Information:

11. After completing the automated exchange of Information described in paragraph 4(b) through 4(h) of this Annex, a Participant may request additional Information about the subject of the match pursuant to the terms of the Case-by-Case Annex to the MOA.

5. Exchange of Information on Refugee Resettlement Applicants and Asylum Claimants

1. Subject to their respective domestic laws, regulations and policies and paragraph 4(a) of this Annex, the Participants intend to use the Query and response process described in this Annex to exchange Information to support their respective Refugee Resettlement and Asylum Systems, including verification of identity and informed decision-making in these systems, except when the Information relates to an individual who is alleging persecution against the country of one of the Participants.
2. Despite paragraph 4(f) of this Annex, the Participants understand that responses provided to a Query related to an asylum claimant or refugee resettlement applicant will not be limited to Nationals of a Third Country and may contain Information pertaining to protected persons or permanent residents of Canada.

6. Use and Onward Disclosure of Information

1. The Participants intend to collect, use, and disclose any Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex in a manner consistent with the MOA and their respective domestic laws, regulations and policies.
2. Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex will only be disclosed for uses that are consistent with the purpose described in paragraph 2 of this Annex or in circumstances consistent with paragraph 6 of the MOA.
3. The Participants may disclose Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex to other institutions, including the Immigration and Refugee Board and the Federal Court of Canada for Canada and their counterparts in New Zealand, to assist their adjudication or review of claims or applications, as this is consistent with the purpose described in paragraph 2 of this Annex.
4. Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex, including Personal Information, will be appropriately classified and protected by appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards.

7. Retention and Disposal

1. The Providing Participant will not retain, in any form, the fingerprint submitted as part of the initial Query. The Providing Participant will only retain the unique reference number submitted as part of an initial Query, to be used for audit, correction, performance monitoring and quality assurance purposes.
2. The Participants understand that Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex that is recorded on an electronic or paper case file relating to the individual to whom the Information pertains may be retained as part of that file in accordance with the domestic laws and data retention policies of the Participant that has received it.
3. The Participants intend to mark Information exchanged and retained pursuant to this Annex as having been received from the other Participant.
4. The Participants intend to dispose of all Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex determined not to be of relevance or necessity to the administration and enforcement of their respective immigration laws in a timely manner and in accordance with their respective domestic laws, regulations and policies.

8. Access and Rectification

1. In accordance with paragraph 8(b) of the MOA, each Participant confirms that it has in place a framework that allows an individual to request access to Information about himself or herself that was exchanged pursuant to this Annex, and, where that Information is releasable to that individual, allows the individual to request a correction to, or annotation of, that Information.
2. In accordance with paragraph 8(c) of the MOA, each Participant confirms that it has a framework in place allowing individuals to seek a review when a Participant refuses a request to release Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex to an individual about whom the Information pertains.
3. The Participants understand that, in accordance with paragraph 6(d) of the MOA, any release of Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex to the individual to whom that Information pertains may occur without prior notice to the other Participant.

9. Compliance and Review

1. The Participants intend to protect the technical connection between their relevant systems through appropriate means, including mutually decided upon technical and physical safeguards.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 10 of the MOA, the Participants intend to review on an annual basis the volume of transactions, the outcomes, and the timeliness of the responses to Queries based on mutually decided measurements, which may include:
   1. The number of Queries sent and percentage of total application volume;
   2. The number and percentage of matches;
   3. The number of cases of identity discrepancies detected;
   4. The number of exchanges from which Information was provided to visa, immigration and border control decision makers before they made a decision;
   5. The number and severity of any security breaches of the Information sharing system, databases, or Personal Information shared under this Annex, as well as a summary of remedial actions taken; and
   6. The number and severity of any privacy breaches of the information sharing system, databases, or Personal Information shared under this Annex as well as a summary of remedial actions taken.
3. The Participants intend to carry out regular quality assurance activities, including a review of applicable privacy safeguards, using a mutually decided methodology to ensure that the activities carried out under this Annex are consistent with its terms. These activities may  include seeking to determine:
   1. Whether Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex has been retained when it should have been destroyed;
   2. Whether Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex has been marked as received from the other Participant;
   3. Whether Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex has been disclosed in a manner inconsistent with paragraph 6 of the MOA; and
   4. The number of correction requests and whether Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex has been corrected in a manner consistent with the MOA.
4. Pursuant to paragraph 11(d) of the MOA, the Participants understand that the usefulness of the Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex, and the limitations thereof, are subject to ongoing review and discussion.
5. The Participants intend to regularly carry out reviews to evaluate whether Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex continues to meet their requirements. The Participants intend that the first review is to occur no earlier than one year and no later than five years from the date this Annex comes into effect, and as mutually decided upon thereafter.

10. Points of Contact

• The Participants’ Points of Contact for the application and administration of this Annex are:
  • For the Department of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada: Director General, Immigration Program Guidance Branch, Operations Sector;
  • For CBSA: Director General, Traveller Programs, Programs Branch;
  • For the New Zealand Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment:  General Manager, Compliance, Risk and Intelligence Unit, Immigration New Zealand.

11. Financing

The Participants will pay their own costs and use their own equipment and personnel resources in performing their activities under this Annex.

12. Final Dispositions

1. The Participants may amend this Annex by their mutual consent In Writing.
2. Consistent with the MOA, a Participant may terminate its participation to this Annex by giving notice In Writing to the other Participant. Termination will become effective 90 days after receipt of such notice. It is understood that either the Department of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada or the CBSA may terminate its participation to this Annex and such termination will not affect the application of the Annex between the remaining Participants. The Participants may also mutually consent In Writing to terminate this Annex at any time. The Participants understand that paragraphs 6 through 10 of the MOA and paragraphs 6 through 9 of this Annex will continue to apply to any Information exchanged pursuant to this Annex, notwithstanding termination of the MOA.
3. This Annex to the MOA will take effect upon the date it is signed by all Participants or the date it is signed by the last Participant where the Participants do not sign the Annex on the same day.

Signed in triplicate, in the English and French languages, each version being equally valid.

For the department of citizenship and immigration of canada

For the canada border services agency

For the ministry of business, innovation and employment (immigration new zealand)