If you are applying for a Canadian visitor visa, study or work permit, permanent residence, or refugee protection, you almost certainly have to meet the Canada biometrics requirements: an CAD $85 fee, a fifteen-minute appointment for fingerprints and a photo, and a 30-day window to complete it after Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issues your instruction letter.1Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Biometrics Once collected, your biometrics stay valid for ten years if you hold temporary status. The rules below cover who is in, who is out, what you pay, and how the appointment works.
Who Has to Give Biometrics
The requirement covers three broad application streams:
- Temporary residence, including visitor visas, work permits, study permits, and extensions
- Permanent residence, for every applicant
- Refugee or asylum claims, whether made at a port of entry or from inside Canada
Nationality does not change the requirement for most applicants, and the country you apply from does not matter either.1Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Biometrics One catch trips up a lot of Americans: U.S. citizens do not give biometrics for temporary applications, but they do have to give them when applying for permanent residence.2Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Biometrics – Who Needs to Give Their Fingerprints and Photo If you are moving to Canada for good, plan for the appointment.
Who Is Exempt
Several groups do not have to give biometrics:
- Children under 14
- Adults over 79, except asylum claimants over 79, who still must provide them
- U.S. nationals applying for temporary residence only
- Heads of state and government, accredited diplomats on official travel, and their families
- eTA applicants visiting Canada under an Electronic Travel Authorization
- U.S. visa holders transiting Canada to another destination, with no biometrics fee for a transit visa
Canadian citizens and current permanent residents also do not give biometrics when renewing or replacing their documents.3Justice Laws Website. Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations If you are unsure whether your situation qualifies, IRCC has an online questionnaire that gives a definitive answer.4Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Find Out if You Need to Give Biometrics
What It Costs
You pay the biometrics fee during the application, before IRCC sends the letter that lets you book your appointment.
- Individual applicant: CAD $85
- Family of two or more applying together: CAD $170 maximum, covering a spouse or common-law partner, dependent children, and their dependents
- Group of three or more performing artists and staff applying for work permits at the same time: CAD $255 maximum
- Transit visa: no biometrics fee
The family cap is a real saving for larger households. Two dependents or six, the total stays at CAD $170.1Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Biometrics The performing-artists rate only applies when everyone files together at the same place and time.5Government of Canada. Pay Your Application Fees Online
The Biometric Instruction Letter and the 30-Day Window
After you submit your application and pay the fee, IRCC sends a Biometric Instruction Letter (BIL). This letter authorizes you to book the collection appointment, and no site will process you without it. It carries a unique identifier that ties the appointment to your file.6Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Biometrics – How to Give Your Fingerprints and Photo
You then have 30 days from the letter’s date to give your biometrics. If you cannot meet that deadline, contact IRCC through the web form and explain, including proof of any appointment already booked.7Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Where to Give Your Fingerprints and Photo Missing the window without explanation can stall your application. Book as soon as the letter arrives.
Where to Go
Inside Canada
Applicants already in Canada use a designated Service Canada office, by appointment only through the eServiceCanada booking tool. Walk-ins are not processed.7Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Where to Give Your Fingerprints and Photo
An important exception: Service Canada does not accept fingerprints for citizenship applications. Citizenship fingerprints must be taken electronically by a local police service, the RCMP, or an RCMP-accredited fingerprinting company. Prints given at Service Canada by mistake will be deleted, and you will have to start again at an approved location.
Outside Canada
Outside Canada, you go to a Visa Application Centre (VAC). In the United States, the equivalent is an Application Support Center (ASC). Locations are listed on the IRCC website. Bring the printed instruction letter and a valid passport whose name and details match the letter exactly. A mismatch can get your appointment cancelled.6Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Biometrics – How to Give Your Fingerprints and Photo
What Happens at the Appointment
The visit takes about fifteen minutes. An electronic scanner captures all ten fingerprints, and a digital camera takes a photo of your face. Your face must be fully visible without shadows, so hats, sunglasses, and non-essential head coverings come off. Head coverings worn daily for religious or medical reasons stay on, as long as your face remains fully visible and shadow-free.6Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Biometrics – How to Give Your Fingerprints and Photo
If the scanner cannot get a clean read from worn or scarred fingertips, you may be asked to return and try again. Once captured, the data is encrypted and sent to IRCC, and the collection site deletes its copy.8Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. What We Do After You Give Us Your Fingerprints and Photo
How Long Biometrics Stay Valid
For temporary residents, biometrics are valid for ten years from the date they were given. During that window, IRCC automatically links your existing biometrics to any new visitor visa, work permit, or study permit application, and you do not need a fresh appointment.9Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. When to Give Your Biometrics – Temporary Resident Applicants
One rule catches applicants off guard: IRCC will not issue a visa or permit that extends past your biometrics expiry date. If your biometrics expire in 2028 but you want a work permit valid until 2030, you have to give a new set with that application, even though your current biometrics are still technically valid. Giving fresh biometrics as your expiry approaches avoids ending up with a shorter permit than you applied for.9Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. When to Give Your Biometrics – Temporary Resident Applicants
Permanent residence applicants always give new biometrics, regardless of what IRCC already has from a previous temporary application.1Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Biometrics
How Long IRCC Keeps Your Data
Retention depends on your status:
- Standard retention: 15 years from your most recent biometrics collection
- Permanent residents, refugee claimants, and people found inadmissible: until age 100
- Applicants granted Canadian citizenship: biometrics deleted within two weeks of the signed oath
If you were in a longer-retention category and no longer are — for example, you withdrew a refugee claim — IRCC keeps the data for the longer of 15 years from collection or 5 years past your exit from that category.10Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. How Long Will You Keep My Fingerprints and Photo (Biometrics)?
Canada also shares biometric immigration data with Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom under formal agreements that allow automated exchange.11Government of Canada. Regulations for Automated Biometric-Based Information Sharing – Australia, New Zealand, UK In practice, an immigration violation or criminal record flagged in a partner country’s biometric database can surface during your Canadian application review.