Automated Approval of Ukraine Emergency Travel Visa Applications

Border & Immigration

What it collects that can identify you

Sensitive personal information

Identifiable data

Personal information submitted by applicants in their Temporary Resident Visa and Work Permit applications, including identity details, biometric enrolment records, and information linked to eligibility and admissibility criteria. Data is classified as Protected B and is collected by IRCC.

AIA — CUAET Automation

Run by: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
Where: No fixed location
Kept: Retained Up to three years (duration of visa), subject to standard IRCC records management
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 system automatically approves certain Temporary Resident Visa and Work Permit applications submitted by Ukrainian nationals under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) program, when all eligibility and admissibility criteria are met. It only makes positive (approval) decisions — all refusals continue to be made by human officers. Applications that cannot be approved automatically are sent to an officer for individual review.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

Sensitive personal information

Identifiable data

Personal information submitted by applicants in their Temporary Resident Visa and Work Permit applications, including identity details, biometric enrolment records, and information linked to eligibility and admissibility criteria. Data is classified as Protected B and is collected by IRCC.

AIA — CUAET Automation

Processing

Classification & Prediction

Rule-based classification against legislatively-defined eligibility and admissibility criteria. The system checks structured data elements from each application and classifies them as meeting or not meeting the automated approval threshold. The system uses no artificial intelligence or advanced analytics — it applies deterministic business rules.

AIA — CUAET Automation

What it does

Deciding (Analytical AI)

Human executes

The system evaluates structured data elements from each application against legislatively-defined eligibility and admissibility rules to produce a positive determination. When criteria are fully met, the system issues an approval and generates a visa. When they are not, the application is routed to a human officer for manual review and potential approval or refusal.

AIA — CUAET Automation

Outputs

A decision about you

Identifiable data

A positive approval determination for a Temporary Resident Visa or Work Permit, along with automatic generation of the visa document where applicable. The system only renders approvals — negative decisions are never produced by the system; all refusals are made by human officers.

AIA — CUAET Automation

Run by

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)

The federal department responsible for deploying and operating the CUAET automation system, processing Temporary Resident Visa and Work Permit applications for Ukrainian nationals.

Government of Canada AI Register — CUAET Automation

Built by

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Kept for

Retained Up to three years (duration of visa), subject to standard IRCC records management

Visas issued under the CUAET program are for a period of up to three years. The system maintains a full audit trail of all decisions, including version of the system used, authorized decision-maker identification, and all key decision points.
Duration: Up to three years (duration of visa), subject to standard IRCC records management

AIA — CUAET Automation — Section 3.1 Q17

Shared with

Available to the accountable organization

Output data (approvals, audit logs, decision records) is available to IRCC staff with authorized access. A process is in place to grant, monitor, and revoke access permissions. The system operates in a closed environment with no connections to the internet, intranet, or other systems.

AIA — CUAET Automation — Section 3.2 Q25, Q34

Not available to me

Individual applicants do not have direct access to the automated system's decision data or audit logs. Applicants receive the outcome of their application (approval or, via officer, refusal) through standard IRCC communication channels.

AIA — CUAET Automation — Section 3.2 Q34

Stored

Stored locally

The system operates within a closed environment — no connections to the Internet, intranet, or any other system. Data is stored under federal government control within the Canadian jurisdiction. The data is classified Protected B.
Duration: Up to three years (duration of visa), subject to standard IRCC records management

AIA — CUAET Automation — Section 3.2 Q34 and Section 3.1 Q30-31

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 UseA plain language notice is required to be posted through all service delivery channels in use (Internet, in person, mail, or telephone) informing applicants that automated decision-making is in use in the processing of their application.
Right to an Explanation of a DecisionIn addition to any applicable legal requirement, a meaningful explanation must be provided with any decision that resulted in the denial of a benefit, a service, or other regulatory action. Applicants whose applications are refused (by an officer, not by the system) are entitled to this explanation.
Right to a Human ReviewAny application that cannot be approved by the automated system is sent to an IRCC officer for manual review. An officer may still approve or refuse the application. All refusals are made by officers. The system enables human override of system decisions, and officers may approve applications that were removed from automation due to a rule being triggered.
Right to ContestA recourse process is established for clients who wish to challenge a decision. Decisions are reversible where warranted, and clients are able to reapply while the CUAET program remains open. All applications are subject to procedural fairness per standard IRCC practice.

Risks and safeguards

Civil liberties harmAutomated processing of immigration applications for a vulnerable population (Ukrainians fleeing conflict) may affect freedom of movement and access to safe refuge, particularly if rules are misconfigured.Safeguard: The system only automates positive decisions; all refusals are made by human officers. Rules were reviewed by policy, operations, legal, and privacy stakeholders. Regular monitoring and quality assurance measures are in place to identify unforeseen negative impacts such as bias or discrimination. The system operates within a closed environment with no internet connectivity.