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Helpful Places

Government of Canada – DTPR AI Register

AI-Assisted Matching of Biometric and Medical Records for Immigration

Border & Immigration

What it collects that can identify you

Sensitive personal information
Identifiable data
  • Basic biographic details of immigration applicants (name, date of birth, and similar identifiers) exported from the Global Case Management System for both open applications with pending assessments and unassociated biometric enrolments or medical examinations.
Biometric
Identifiable data
  • Client photographs and fingerprints collected at Visa Application Centres (VACs) and IRCC offices using Government of Canada software and hardware. Biographic details derived from these enrolments are entered into the Biometric Module in AAST.
Sensitive personal information
Identifiable data
  • Immigration medical examination data submitted electronically by Panel Physicians to IRCC. Biographic details from these examinations are entered into the Medical Module in AAST. This data is classified at Protected B or higher.
Run by
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
Where
No fixed location
Kept
Retained Not specified in public documentation; governed by IRCC retention schedules and applicable privacy legislation
Shared with
Accountable organization
Your copy
You cannot see the data it holds about you. What you can do

What it is for

Border & Immigration

This tool helps Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada staff match biometric enrolments (photos and fingerprints) and immigration medical examination results to the correct immigration applications. It uses biographical data comparison to score and rank potential matches, presenting recommendations to officers who make the final decisions. No immigration decision is made automatically — a human officer reviews all matches before any action is taken on an application.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

Sensitive personal information
Identifiable data
  • Basic biographic details of immigration applicants (name, date of birth, and similar identifiers) exported from the Global Case Management System for both open applications with pending assessments and unassociated biometric enrolments or medical examinations.
Biometric
Identifiable data
  • Client photographs and fingerprints collected at Visa Application Centres (VACs) and IRCC offices using Government of Canada software and hardware. Biographic details derived from these enrolments are entered into the Biometric Module in AAST.
Sensitive personal information
Identifiable data
  • Immigration medical examination data submitted electronically by Panel Physicians to IRCC. Biographic details from these examinations are entered into the Medical Module in AAST. This data is classified at Protected B or higher.

Processing

Classification & Prediction
  • String comparison of biographic data fields (names, dates of birth, and similar identifiers) between open immigration applications and unassociated biometric enrolments or medical examinations, producing a score for perfect matches and partial matches.

What it does

Deciding (Analytical AI)
Human decides
  • The Biometric and Medical modules score and rank potential matches between unassociated biometric enrolments or medical examinations and pending immigration applications using biographical string comparison. A human officer reviews and confirms all matches before they are entered into GCMS.

Outputs

A recommendation or prediction
Anonymized data
  • Three spreadsheets per module listing applicant biographic information from GCMS side-by-side with information from the immigration medical examination or biometric enrolment, scored and ranked as perfect or partial matches for staff review. These are advisory outputs; no decision is applied to GCMS without human confirmation.

Run by

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
  • IRCC is the federal department responsible for deploying and operating the Administrative Activities Support Tool. Staff at IRCC offices and Visa Application Centres use the tool to process immigration applications.

Administrative Activities Support Tool — Government of Canada AI Register

Built by

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Kept for

Retained Not specified in public documentation; governed by IRCC retention schedules and applicable privacy legislation
  • Match recommendation outputs (spreadsheets) are retained as part of IRCC's administrative records. The underlying biometric and medical data is retained in the Global Case Management System per IRCC's standard retention practices. A current and up-to-date log of changes to the model is maintained.
  • Duration: Not specified in public documentation; governed by IRCC retention schedules and applicable privacy legislation

Shared with

Available to the accountable organization
  • Output data (match recommendation spreadsheets) is available to IRCC staff (GC employees) who use them to update the Global Case Management System. Access is controlled through a process to grant, monitor, and revoke permissions.
Not available to me
  • Immigration applicants do not have direct access to the match recommendation outputs produced by AAST. The system is an internal processing aid used only by GC employees.

Stored

Stored locally
  • Data is controlled by the federal government and processed within a closed system with no connections to the Internet or other external systems. The Global Case Management System serves as IRCC's system of record within Canadian federal government infrastructure.
  • Duration: Per IRCC retention schedules
How to read the colours

Can it identify you?

Anonymized data
Data about people with the link to who is broken. Stripped of identifiers, blurred, aggregated, or noised so this system can’t reasonably tie a record back to an individual.
Pseudonymous data
Each person’s data is tied to a token (hash, ID, template) that lets this system recognise the same person across events, but the token itself doesn’t reveal a name. Reidentification is possible with extra information.
Identifiable data
The data either contains a direct identifier (name, address, account name, recognisable face or voice, plate number) or carries a token this system uses to look up legal identity during processing.

Who completes the loop?

Human decides
This mode suggests; a person decides what to do next. The AI is always advisory — a human is in the loop on every decision. Example: a triage tool ranks cases for a clinician who chooses which to see first.
Human executes
This mode decides; a person carries out the result. Example: an optimizer plans the day’s trash-collection routes, and drivers run them.
Autonomous
This mode decides and acts on its own. No person reviews each decision or carries out the resulting action.

Definitions from the DTPR standard. Amber is about your data, violet about who decides. The fuller the shape and the deeper the colour, the more identifying the data or the less a person is involved.

What you can do

Ask about this system

Questions go to the Helpful Places, not the vendor.

Your rights

  • Right to Be Informed of AI UseImmigration applicants are entitled to know that automated tools assist in processing their applications. The Algorithmic Impact Assessment for this system is publicly available via the Government of Canada Open Data portal, providing transparency about the system's role and limitations.
  • Right to a Human ReviewAll match recommendations produced by AAST are reviewed by an immigration officer before being entered into GCMS or acted upon. AAST does not make immigration decisions; the officer retains full decision-making authority.
  • Right to ContestA recourse process is established for clients who wish to challenge decisions made on their immigration applications. Because AAST only recommends matches (not final decisions), challenges are directed at the immigration decision rendered by the officer, not at the automated matching tool itself.

Risks and safeguards

  • Reputational harmIncorrect match recommendations could associate a biometric enrolment or medical examination to the wrong applicant, potentially causing delays or inaccuracies in their immigration record.Safeguard: all recommendations require human officer review before entry into GCMS; the system produces audit trails of all recommendations; the impacts are assessed as reversible and officers can override system outputs.
  • Civil liberties harmThe system processes biometric and immigration medical data about individuals subject to immigration decisions, raising potential concerns about surveillance and data use.Safeguard: use of personal information is limited to immigration application processing in accordance with the Privacy Act; a Privacy Needs Consultation has been submitted; data is controlled by the federal government within a closed system; information sharing agreements with appropriate safeguards are in place.