Canada launches tender to upgrade immigration biometrics system

The Government of Canada has posted a tender notice for a biometric immigration system, inviting industry engagement and feedback on both front and back-end solutions.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada will use the Canadian Immigration Biometric Identification System (CIBIDS) for registrations and applications by prospective immigrants. It may be used at Visa Application Centers, though a parallel process is exploring the feasibility of VAC service providers supplying their own biometric capabilities.

Bids will be accepted for both biometrics collection solutions and orchestration engines, along with associated services, according to the Letter of Interest posting. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is looking to replace a “suite of custom and off the shelf software packages and hardware peripherals that enable the collection of biographic information, live facial capture and fingerprint collection” for front-end biometrics collection, with the current version deployed to approximately 850 endpoints in 270 locations around the world.

For the upgraded CIBIDS, IRCC will consider touch and touchless fingerprint biometrics, machine-readable travel document (MRTD) devices, biometric kiosks, photo capture and all-in-one devices. Workflow management, user interfaces, and spoof detection will be among features considered for the orchestration engines (the document uses the plural).

The government may hold one-on-one sessions with interested parties, attend workshops or conferences, or hold an industry day. The engagement period closes on November 1, 2021.

Canada’s Border Services Agency also recently requested bids to help it develop an Office of Biometrics and Identity Management.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  border management  |  Canada  |  digital identity  |  government purchasing  |  identity verification  |  immigration  |  tender