Canada Gets New Resident Card

Canada is now in the process of implementing a new identity card system for non-citizen residents of that country.

The country already has placed orders for 750,000 such cards for non-citizens. By December 31, 2003, the cards will be required for all "permanent residents" re-entering the country via commercial carrier. A permanent resident is someone who has completed the immigration process for a country, but is not a citizen.

The cards have a laser-engraved photograph and signature and a description of the physical characteristics of the cardholder. The cards also contain an optical stripe, a more-advanced form of technology than the magnetic stripe, with encrypted information on status of citizenship. The stripe can be accessed only by authorized officials, such as immigration officers, who need to confirm a person's residency status. The stripes work like compact disks in that information cannot be altered or added. The cards are being issued by Canadian Bank Note Company. Similar laser cards are used in the United States for high-security visas for Mexican people who frequently cross the border and for some "Green Cards" for non-citizens to work and live temporarily in the United States.

Copyright © 2003 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 13, No. 2, 4/30