Shared Services Canada supports the Biometrics Expansion Project

Biometrics Expansion Project

• Led by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada
• Partners: Canada Border Services Agency, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Shared Services Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada

When people from around the world apply for a visitor visa, study or work permit, or permanent residence, they need to give their fingerprints and a photo, known as biometrics.

Just recently, the Government of Canada (GC) made it easier for foreign nationals to provide biometrics when applying from within Canada to extend or renew their visitor visa or work or study permit.

What happens after people give their biometrics? How does the data get stored and shared among the different GC departments that play a role in this process?

That’s where Shared Services Canada (SSC) comes in. We support the underlying information technology (IT) infrastructure needed for the GC to manage biometric data. IT infrastructure is the blend of hardware, software, networks, facilities, resources and equipment needed to deliver, manage and secure IT services.

We’re proud to have worked with our GC partners to support the Biometrics Expansion Project, led by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) who manage biometrics collection services in Canada and across the globe.

Supporting our partners

Each partner manages different applications and networks that perform multiple activities, such as collecting, processing and sharing biometric data. SSC has improved speed, reliability and security of these infrastructures. This enhanced the overall performance of IRCC’s integrated system that processes immigration, refugee and citizenship applications from around the world.

SSC also boosted the network bandwidth – the amount of data that can be sent from one point to another – at 58 select Service Canada offices to help support the collection of new biometric data from within Canada.

Great collaboration

All of the departments involved in the Biometrics Expansion Project adopted a united and collaborative project management approach. This was important given the complex nature of managing biometric data with multiple partners.

“Enhancing the GC’s ability to establish and follow the identity of applicants throughout the immigration continuum was the ultimate project goal. SSC has carefully and successfully carried-out network infrastructure upgrades necessary to support increased volumes of data. We thank IRCC and its partners for their trust and great collaboration in our endeavors”.

“SSC was a true partner in enabling the success of the Biometrics Expansion Project. All teams were inspired and empowered to collaborate, innovate and do more as required, this was driven by strong leadership and was key to our joint success”.

Under SSC 3.0: An Enterprise approach, increasing network reliability and strengthening security are a GC priority to deliver the digital services Canadians need!