Canada to Make Biometrics Mandatory for All Citizenship Applicants

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is advancing regulations that will require all citizenship grant applicants to provide biometric data, including fingerprints and a facial photograph, as part of a shift from the current practice of collecting biometrics only in exceptional cases. Proposed amendments to the Citizenship Regulations are targeted for pre-publication in the Canada Gazette, Part I, in 2026, with final implementation planned for 2027.

Legislative authority for the change was granted by Royal Assent in June 2023 under the Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1. IRCC states the initiative will “strengthen identity verification and reduce fraud or misrepresentation,” alongside providing program integrity improvements and processing efficiencies. All collected biometric data will be cross-checked against RCMP and Interpol databases and stored under Canada’s Privacy Act.

Applicants will provide biometrics at Service Canada locations domestically or at Visa Application Centres abroad. The biometrics service fee is CAD $85 per individual, with a CAD $170 maximum for families. Applicants who previously provided biometrics for an earlier immigration stream, such as a permanent residence application, must provide fresh biometrics and pay the fee again when applying for citizenship.

Canada processed more than 300,000 citizenship applications in 2024. The country already requires biometrics from most foreign nationals applying for temporary and permanent residence, making citizenship the remaining major gap in its systematic biometric collection framework. With the change, Canada joins the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia in requiring biometrics at the citizenship processing stage.

IRCC’s forward regulatory plan first signaled the intent in August 2025, when the department outlined the same draft regulation timeline and policy rationale. The citizenship biometric requirement is one element of IRCC’s broader modernization agenda, which also includes a digital visitor visa pilot for Moroccan travelers launched in late 2025. Canada’s Privacy Commissioner has previously scrutinized IRCC biometric programs, including a facial recognition passport renewal pilot, and that oversight is expected to extend to the citizenship regulation as it moves through the Canada Gazette process.

The public comment period following pre-publication in the Canada Gazette, Part I, is expected to last approximately 30 days before final regulations are issued.

Sources: IRCC Forward Regulatory Plan (canada.ca), IRCC COW Biometrics Briefing, June 2025 (canada.ca), Immigration News Canada

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By Cass Kennedy