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Immigration Cooperation

• Smart Border Declaration
• Immigration-related Action Items
• The Border Vision Cooperation Process
• Business Travel
• Personal Travel
• Facts & Figures

SMART BORDER DECLARATION

The Canada-US Smart Border Declaration that wassigned in Ottawa on December 12, 2001, states that public security and economic securityare mutually reinforcing. Measures designed to strengthen public security in turn increaseeconomic security, and vice versa. For this reason, Canada and the United States areworking together to develop a Smart Border that securely facilitates the flow ofpeople and commerce. While addressing various border issues, the Smart Border Declarationmakes several commitments specific to fostering the secure movement of people:

• implement systems to collaborate in identifying security risks while expediting the flow of low risk travellers;
• identify security threats before they arrive in North America through collaborative approaches to reviewing crew and passenger manifests, managing refugees, and visa policy coordination; and
• establish a secure system to allow low risk frequent travellers between our countries to move efficiently across the border.

IMMIGRATION-RELATED ACTION ITEMS

A 32-point Action Plan, announced inconjunction with the Smart Border Declaration, includes 13 action items which outline howthese immigration-related commitments will be implemented:

1) Biometric Identifiers: Jointly develop common biometric identifiers such as fingerprints and iris scans. These identifiers would be used in documentation such as permanent resident cards, NEXUS, and other travel documents to ensure greater security.

2) Permanent Resident Cards: Develop and deploy a permanent resident card to replace the existing paper record of a landing document. The new card will contain the most up-to-date security features and will be fraud resistant. For more information, visit CIC's fact sheet on this issue.

3) Single Alternative Inspection System: Resume NEXUS pilot project, with appropriate security measures, for two-way movement of pre-approved travellers at Sarnia-Port Huron, complete pilot project evaluation and expand a single program to other areas along the land border. Discuss expansion to air travel.

4) Refugee/Asylum Processing: Review refugee/asylum practices and procedures to ensure that applicants are thoroughly screened for security risks, and take necessary steps to share information on refugee and asylum claimants.

5) Managing of Refugee/Asylum Claims: Negotiate a safe third-country agreement to limit the access of asylum seekers, under appropriate circumstances, to the system of only one of the two countries. The proposed regulations for the Safe Third Country Agreement were pre-published in Part One of the Canada Gazette on October 26, 2002.

6) Visa Policy Coordination: Initiate joint review of respective visa waiver lists and share look-out lists at visa issuing offices. In their review of countries that do not require visas, CIC and US INS will determine whether visa exemptions are warranted and whether the visa waiver could impact either Canada or the United States. Since September 11th Canada has imposed visa requirements on an additional 10 countries. For more information, view the related news release.

7) Air Preclearance: Finalize plans and authority to implement the Preclearance Agreement signed in January 2001 and expand to other airports per Annex I of the Agreement. The in-transit preclearance pilot project was relaunched at Vancouver International Airport on February 14, 2002.

8) Advance Passenger Information / Passenger Name Record: Share Advance Passenger Information and agreed-to Passenger Name Records on flights between Canada and the United States, including in-transit flights. Explore means to identify risks posed by passengers on international flights arriving in each other's territory.

9) Joint Passenger Analysis Units: Establish joint units at key international airports in Canada and the United States.

10) Ferry Terminals: Review customs and immigration presence and practices at international ferry terminals.

11) Compatible Immigration Databases: Develop jointly an automated database, such as Canada's Support System for Intelligence, as a platform for information exchange, and enhance sharing of intelligence and trend analysis.

12) Immigration Officers Overseas: Increase number of Canadian and US immigration officers at airports overseas and enhance joint training of airline personnel.

13) International Cooperation: Undertake technical assistance to source and transit countries.

THE BORDER VISION COOPERATIONPROCESS

Cooperation on these immigration issues is conducted through the Border Visionprocess. Begun in 1997, its objective is to develop a joint regional approach to migrationthrough information and intelligence sharing, policy co-ordination, joint overseasoperations and border co-operation. Officials of the United States Immigration andNaturalization Service (USINS), the U.S. State Department, US Customs and US lawenforcement agencies, Citizenship and Immigration Canada(CIC), Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA)the Department of Foreign Affairs and InternationalTrade (DFAIT) and Canadian law enforcement agencies meet regularly to collaboratethrough five Border Vision working groups:

• Transborder Working Group
  Mandate: To improve entry processes at air, sea and land ports in line with the regional strategy, so that US and Canadian systems are mutually supported and to reduce unlawful movement of terrorists, criminals, illegal migrants and security threats across common and external borders.

• Intelligence and Enforcement Working Group
  Mandate: To achieve a joint intelligence led approach to the detection, prevention and deterrence of threats posed by illegal immigration and abuse of our systems by organized criminals and terrorists.

• Regional Strategies Working Group
  Mandate: To develop a long-term strategy which clearly identifies the stages, framework, and objectives of a regional approach to migration issues. Includes the Visa Coordination and Security Sub-Group which aims to improve coordination of migration policies related to visa exemptions and visa issuance by synchronizing program criteria and converging country lists.

• Asylum Working Group
  Mandate: To review respective processes and standards in order to explore and exploit opportunities for the exchange of information and data gathering.

• Business Facilitation Working Group
  Mandate: To identify new mechanisms that facilitate the temporary movement of business people. Solutions may be found in reviewing existing immigration laws, regulations and procedures to develop ways to improve compliance and reduce or eliminate unnecessary obstacles to trade.

BUSINESS TRAVEL

The movement of certain categories of business people is regulated under Chapter 16 ofthe North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Both Canada and the United States havepublished explanatory materiel on cross border requirements for business purposes. DFAIT,in cooperation with CIC, prepared a guide entitled Cross Border Movement of BusinessPersons and The NAFTA. On its website,the U.S. Embassy in Canada has posted a document outlining " Whatyou Should Know to Make Business Travel Easier ".

PERSONAL TRAVEL

For comprehensive advice on travelling to the United States, consult the DFAIT produced publication entitled U.S.A Bound. Since U.S. entry requirements and procedures could change or in case you have an unusualsituation concerning entry into the United States, you should obtain information from theU.S. authorities before your visit. For more information, consult the U.S. Embassy Web site and select "Travelingto the U.S.?" from the menu.