AI-Assisted Fraud Risk Detection for Immigration Applications

Border & Immigration · Risk Assessment & Triage

What it collects that can identify you

Sensitive personal information

Identifiable data

Application data submitted by temporary resident applicants through IRCC's Global Case Management System (GCMS) and Integrated Payment Revenue Management System (IPRMS), including personal information from TR applications and supporting documents such as proof of funds and letters of acceptance. Classified up to Protected B.

Also collects operational data, which is anonymized data.

Run by: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
Where: No fixed location
Kept: Retained As per IRCC GCMS and IPRMS retention schedules (specific duration not disclosed in the AIA)
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

Risk Assessment & Triage

This system analyzes immigration application data to detect patterns associated with fraud and flag applications for manual verification by Risk Assessment Units. It does not make or recommend final decisions — processing officers retain full decision-making authority. Applicants whose files are flagged may experience additional verification steps, such as document authentication, before a human officer renders a decision.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

Sensitive personal information

Identifiable data

Application data submitted by temporary resident applicants through IRCC's Global Case Management System (GCMS) and Integrated Payment Revenue Management System (IPRMS), including personal information from TR applications and supporting documents such as proof of funds and letters of acceptance. Classified up to Protected B.

Operational data

Anonymized data

Information recorded in GCMS by CBSA and other government partners, as well as historical case outcome data (inadmissibility findings, enforcement actions under IRPA/IRPR) used to derive and train fraud risk patterns. IRCC does not use external data sources such as social media.

Processing

Anomaly Detection

ITAT detects combinations of application attributes that historically correlate with adverse outcomes (fraud, misrepresentation, inadmissibility). It flags new incoming applications that match these learned risk patterns for Risk Assessment Unit review, without disclosing the specific pattern criteria publicly.

Classification & Prediction

Historical application outcome data is used to train models that classify incoming temporary resident applications according to fraud risk patterns. The system predicts which applications exhibit characteristics associated with historically adverse outcomes such as criminality or misrepresentation findings.

What it does

Deciding (Analytical AI)

Human decides

ITAT predicts and scores fraud risk patterns in immigration applications from structured case management data. Risk Assessment Units decide whether to initiate a verification; processing officers make all final decisions independently. The system is two steps removed from any final determination.

Outputs

A recommendation or prediction

Identifiable data

ITAT generates flags on individual applications indicating that a risk pattern has been matched, which Risk Assessment Units use to prioritize verification activities. These flags are advisory — they trigger human-led verification but do not constitute a recommendation or decision on the application itself.

Run by

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)

IRCC deploys and operates ITAT within its Integrity Risk Management branch to support Risk Assessment Units in prioritizing temporary resident applications for fraud verification activities.

Government of Canada AI Register — ITAT

Built by

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Kept for

Retained As per IRCC GCMS and IPRMS retention schedules (specific duration not disclosed in the AIA)

Data is retained in IRCC's GCMS and IPRMS systems under existing Personal Information Bank schedules (PPU068, PPU051, PPU054). The AIA does not specify a precise retention duration for ITAT-generated outputs beyond existing case management retention policies.
Duration: As per IRCC GCMS and IPRMS retention schedules (specific duration not disclosed in the AIA)

Shared with

Available to the accountable organization

ITAT outputs (risk pattern flags) are available to IRCC Risk Assessment Units, who use them to prioritize verification activities. Processing officers see only the results of verification activities, not ITAT flags or pattern criteria. Access permissions are granted, monitored, and revoked through a documented process.

Not available to me

Individual applicants cannot access the risk pattern flags generated about their application. The specific patterns used by ITAT cannot be disclosed publicly to protect the integrity of immigration investigative techniques. Applicants are entitled to explanations of the role of the system in decisions affecting them, but not to the underlying pattern criteria.

Stored

Stored locally

Data is stored within the Canadian federal government's systems (GCMS and IPRMS), controlled by the federal government. The system operates within a closed environment with no internet connections. Data is classified up to Protected B.
Duration: As per IRCC GCMS and IPRMS 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 UseApplicants are informed through plain language notices posted via all service delivery channels (internet, in person, mail, telephone) that an automated decision system may be used in the processing of their application. AI use is disclosed per the register and per Canada's Directive on Automated Decision-Making. Contact IRCC via its official service channels for more information.
Right to ContestApplicants have the right to contest decisions resulting from the process, including requesting a meaningful explanation of the role of the automated system, the criteria used, and the output produced. Procedural fairness requires that a letter be sent to the applicant explaining any apparent documentation concerns before a final decision is made. Applicants may provide additional information in response. Recourse options are communicated with any decision that results in denial of a benefit or service.
Right to a Human ReviewAll final decisions on temporary resident applications are made by human processing officers, not by the automated system. Processing officers review applications and make final decisions consistent with procedural fairness and IRPA/IRPR requirements. The system is two steps removed from any final decision — it flags for Risk Assessment Unit review, which may initiate verification, the results of which are then considered by a human officer.
Right to Non-discriminationIRCC is committed to ensuring that ITAT risk patterns do not create actual or perceived bias related to Charter-protected characteristics such as gender, age, race, or religion. A Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) has been conducted. Applicants who believe they have been subject to discriminatory treatment may raise concerns through IRCC's complaint mechanisms and applicable human rights processes.

Risks and safeguards

Civil liberties harmApplicants from certain regions or with particular demographic profiles could be disproportionately flagged if risk patterns inadvertently correlate with Charter-protected characteristics (race, religion, gender, age), creating systemic bias in who receives additional scrutiny.Safeguard: IRCC conducts Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) of the data; risk patterns are designed to exclude Charter-protected factors explicitly; IRCC regularly shifts the time window for pattern assessment to prevent stale data bias; pattern derivation criteria are reviewed qualitatively; processing officers remain unaware of ITAT flags and make independent decisions, preserving procedural fairness.
Reputational harmApplicants flagged by ITAT may experience additional processing delays or scrutiny that could carry reputational consequences, even when the final decision is positive; false positives may stigmatize applicants through unnecessary verification.Safeguard: The 'Do No Harm' design ensures false-positive verifications with non-adverse findings are typically viewed positively or neutrally by officers; processing officers do not know whether a verification was ITAT-triggered; verification results with non-adverse findings do not negatively affect officer decisions; recourse mechanisms are established for applicants to challenge decisions.