Terms and definitions related to biometrics and identity management

Currently CIC collects the following biometric information:

• biographical data
• fingerprints
• photograph

A COPR document is used as a proof of permanent resident status until clients receive a PR card.

The act of recording the name associated with a client is referred to as establishing a name record.

Field Operations Support System

Global Case Management System

International Civil Aviation Organization

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

A linking document is used to link the client’s old identity to their new identity, for example, a legal or administrative decision made by a provincial or territorial authority as evidence of a name change.

Local naming customs are the naming practices of the region or country where a passport was issued.

Machine Readable Chip embedded in a travel document.

Machine Readable Zone of a travel document.

A name consists of the series of letters in the Roman alphabet by which a client is identified. Usually, it has two parts: primary and secondary identifiers.

Operational Management and Coordination

Sometimes referred to as a “breeder” or “foundation” document, a primary document is an official document that shows evidence of an identity and from which other documents are derived. It can be said to show a person’s official name at time of issuance. Please see the list of documents used to establish name records by business line.

Family names are normally considered primary identifiers.

All components of a name that are not family names, normally given names, are considered secondary identifiers.

A supporting document is one that is issued on the basis of a primary document. It is used to verify elements of a person’s identity, such as a person’s use of a name, which could be different from the name shown on the primary document or the date of birth. Please see types of supporting documents issued by provinces and territories of Canada.

IRCC systems such as GCMS and FOSS are systems of record.

Transliteration is the process of converting the spelling of words from one writing system into the characters of another writing system. For IRCC purposes, the target writing system is always the Roman alphabet.

Transliteration is to change or transcribe the spelling of words or letters from one alphabet into corresponding words or letters in another alphabet; however, for CIC purposes, transliterations must be transcribed to the Roman alphabet.

Visual Inspection Zone(s) of a travel document.