Biometrics not mandatory for Canadian immigration applicants

Canada will no longer ask permanent residence applicants to give their biometric information. However, there is a condition that you should be aware of. You must have submitted your biometrics in another application that you submitted in the last decade.

Canada is waiving the biometrics requirements for permanent residence applicants since the pandemic has presented many technical difficulties. As long as you can provide proof that you submitted your biometrics once in the last 10 years, you will be good to go.

Supporting foreign candidates

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has implemented many special measures because of the coronavirus pandemic so that candidates are not disheartened. They have allowed delays for biometric submissions already in case applicants cannot submit them.

There is no guarantee as to when all the biometric collection service points in the country and abroad will begin their functions as normal again. Ever since the Visa Application Centres (VACs) and service points have closed down, thousands of permanent residence applications have been in jeopardy.

A large number of these applicants had submitted their biometric information in a previous application, and hence IRCC has decided to get rid of these disruptions by waiving the biometrics requirement for them. IRCC mentioned in a statement that Canada is receiving an increasing number of permanent residence applications, and they are being put on hold because of the absence of biometrics.

Is it operational?

The policy was implemented on September 10, 2020, and started functioning on September 22, 2020. There is no deadline, and it will remain operational indefinitely as of now. If you want to know whether you are an eligible applicant who is exempt from biometrics collection requirements, you can check the website of IRCC for more information.