Identity management: Establishing date of birth records in IRCC systems

This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

This section provides guidance on the establishment of date of birth records in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) systems for the following IRCC lines of business: citizenship, permanent resident, temporary resident and refugees. Through these instructions, IRCC aims to:

  • identify and record a client’s known date of birth as accurately as possible
  • establish a consistent and transparent approach to documenting a client’s date of birth in IRCC’s system of record
  • enhance identity management to improve program integrity and improve client service

It is important to use the most reliable documentary evidence available when establishing the date of birth of an individual in IRCC systems, rather than using a date at the request of the client.

When developing or managing programs, processes and tools that impact identity management, or when identifying and recording a date of birth, the following principles will be considered:

  • A date of birth shall be recorded based on documentary evidence from the client.
  • Should documentary evidence not be available, officers shall use oral evidence, when possible, to identify a complete or incomplete date of birth.
  • If a complete date of birth is not available, an incomplete date of birth shall be recorded.
  • If a complete or incomplete date of birth is not available, an arbitrary date of birth will not be created and recorded.
  • The identification and recording of a client’s date of birth shall not impede travel to Canada.
  • A single and auditable client identity continuum should exist per client.

Given the nature of IRCC’s business, officers should seek to follow, where possible, the International Civil Aviation Organization guidelines contained in Doc 9303 on Machine Readable Travel Documents.

These instructions were effective as of January 2, 2015, and cannot be applied retroactively to cases that were closed prior to this date.

Determining date of birth

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