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AI-Assisted Screening for Express Entry Immigration Applications

Border & Immigration

What it collects that can identify you

Sensitive personal information
Identifiable data
  • Express Entry application data about individual applicants — including personal details and immigration-related information submitted as part of the application process.

Government of Canada Algorithmic Impact Assessment Registry — FinDec (2526-IRCC-015)

Run by
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
Where
No fixed location
Kept
Not stated by the Helpful Places.
Shared with
Not stated by the Helpful Places.

What it is for

Border & Immigration

FinDec is a predictive modelling tool used by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to screen applications submitted through the Express Entry immigration system. The system is used by Government of Canada employees to support processing decisions. It directly affects people applying for permanent residence in Canada through Express Entry. Applicants should be aware that automated predictive modelling plays a role in how their applications are assessed.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

Sensitive personal information
Identifiable data
  • Express Entry application data about individual applicants — including personal details and immigration-related information submitted as part of the application process.

Government of Canada Algorithmic Impact Assessment Registry — FinDec (2526-IRCC-015)

Processing

Classification & Prediction
  • Predictive modelling is used to screen Express Entry applications, likely producing a score, classification, or risk signal that supports IRCC officer decision-making.

Government of Canada Algorithmic Impact Assessment Registry — FinDec (2526-IRCC-015)

What it does

Deciding (Analytical AI)
Human decides
  • FinDec uses predictive modelling to score or screen Express Entry applications. GC employees are the primary users, indicating the system advises human decision-makers rather than making final determinations autonomously.

Government of Canada Algorithmic Impact Assessment Registry — FinDec (2526-IRCC-015)

Outputs

A recommendation or prediction
Pseudonymous data
  • The system produces a screening result or predictive score for each Express Entry application, which GC employees use to inform their processing decisions.

Government of Canada Algorithmic Impact Assessment Registry — FinDec (2526-IRCC-015)

Run by

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
  • The federal department responsible for immigration and citizenship in Canada, which deploys and operates FinDec to screen Express Entry applications using predictive modelling.

Government of Canada Algorithmic Impact Assessment Registry — FinDec (2526-IRCC-015)

Built by

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Kept for

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Shared with

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Stored

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

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 UseApplicants have the right to be informed that automated predictive modelling is used in the screening of their Express Entry application. The Government of Canada publishes its AI register publicly at open.canada.ca, which discloses FinDec's existence and function.
  • Right to a Human ReviewGC employees are identified as the primary users of FinDec, suggesting that human review is part of the application processing workflow. The extent to which applicants can formally request a human review of the AI-assisted screening is not specified in the available register entry.

Risks and safeguards

  • Civil liberties harmAutomated predictive screening of immigration applications may produce discriminatory outcomes or restrict the right to a fair and individualized assessment for applicants seeking Canadian permanent residence.Safeguard: GC employees are identified as the primary users, suggesting human review is part of the process. However, no specific mitigation measures (auditing, bias testing, appeal mechanisms) are documented in the available register entry.