SECU – Security Screenings During Crises – September 19, 2024

Key Facts and Figures

All individuals seeking to come to Canada are subject to eligibility and admissibility assessments and screening. When responding to crises, requirements may be adapted to unique crisis circumstances, while maintaining the same rigorous standards to protect the safety and security of Canadians.

Crisis situations often present challenges to established procedures, including security screening. In these unique situations, the Government of Canada may adapt screening processes to ensure that applicants are carefully screened before being allowed to enter Canada.
In recent situations, the Government of Canada has implemented a multi-stage security screening process to allow Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and our public safety partners to initiate security screening in advance of applicants’ exit from their country of origin, and before completing biometric screening in a third country.
In this model, applicants are initially screened based on biographic data as part of a preliminary assessment. Those who pass this preliminary assessment are then required to provide biometric information, which includes fingerprint and photograph collection, in a third country.
The multi-stage security screening process has been designed in response to the lack of in-country biometric screening capacity in certain countries such as Afghanistan. We are also using this approach for those who are applying to the temporary family-based pathway for Palestinians in Gaza with Canadian citizen or permanent resident family members.
Biometric and security screening are still required before applicants can be approved for onward travel to Canada.

Beginning in January 2022, a multi-stage security screening approach was implemented for applicants inside Afghanistan, given the lack of Government of Canada presence in the country to conduct biometric screening.
Under this approach, enhanced biographic forms are used to start the screening process in advance of exiting Afghanistan. Applicants are then required to submit biometric information once they are in a third country before their applications are finalized.

Similar to Afghanistan, the Government of Canada has no presence in Gaza. As a result, a multi-stage security screening approach is being used to initiate screening of Palestinian applicants in advance of their departure from Gaza.
Under this approach, enhanced biographic forms are used to start the screening process. Following this initial screening, the Government of Canada puts forward the names of people who passed preliminary admissibility reviews based on biographic information to local authorities for approval to exit Gaza. Applicants who were able to leave Gaza then submit biometric information (fingerprints and photographs) in a third country, and undergo any other security screening necessary, before their applications are finalized and they are able to come to Canada.
Canada does not ultimately decide who can exit Gaza. The Rafah border crossing has been closed since May 7.

For privacy and security reasons, the Government of Canada does not provide details about client security screening.

We request identity documents from all clients and, to date, have been able to obtain such documents (e.g., Palestinian ID cards, birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce certificates, family registration documents, school documents, etc.).

The Gaza special measures do not provide applicants with a Refugee Travel Document to replace their origin-country passport. Canada only issues Refugee Travel Documents to individuals who have been found to be refugees through a separate assessment process, and who will arrive in Canada as permanent residents. Successful applicants under the Gaza special measures enter Canada as temporary residents.

The Gaza temporary public policy is intended to provide temporary safe haven for Palestinians directly affected by the crisis in Gaza who have Canadian citizen or permanent resident family members in Canada.
Applicants to the temporary public policy are not eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship while they are temporary residents in Canada.
Applicants for citizenship must be permanent residents and must have resided in Canada for three of the preceding five years, among other conditions. All successful applicants to our program receive either a temporary resident visa (TRV) or a temporary resident permit (TRP), which is valid for a defined period of time and which does not provide a path to permanent residency or citizenship.

Under the Temporary Public Policy, successful applicants are issued either a TRV or TRP, which are only valid for entry to Canada, not the United States. Like all temporary residents, extended family members from Gaza would be subject to entry requirements and documentation when entering the United States as per their legislation and policies.

IRCC carefully assesses and balances security, operational and humanitarian considerations when making decisions on exempting certain visa requirements, including the collection of biometrics. [For information only: The decision to exempt the biometrics requirement for certain Ukrainian nationals was made based on an assessment of risk unique to the region and situation.