Immigration and Passport

Strategic Objective

The strategic objective of the program is to combat and disrupt organized migrant smuggling and the trafficking of persons.

Mandate

The program mandate is to work in concert with domestic and foreign agencies, as well as the community at large, to protect and enhance Canadians' quality of life through education, prevention and enforcement.

Priorities

The national program priorities are:

  • to develop an integrated national intelligence framework to champion the timely acquisition, sharing and use of intelligence;
  • to ensure the highest priority is given to citizenship, immigration and passport related investigations, hearings and removals involving national security concerns;
  • to combat and disrupt criminals and terrorists who pose a threat to the public safety of Canadians through people smuggling and trafficking and those who aid and abet the illegal entry of migrants into Canada;
  • to arrest persons who are subject to a deportation order or warrant.

The program is primarily responsible for the investigation of violations against the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, Citizenship Act, Canadian Passport Order and the Criminal Code of Canada.

Key Partner Agencies

Partnerships with both domestic and international agencies are constantly being established, nurtured and utilized with the view of developing proactive initiatives that address the strategic objectives and mandate of the program.

These partnerships include both governmental and non-governmental organizations and exist at local, regional, national and international levels.

Established partnerships include:

Organized immigration crime comprises two main areas:

  • migrant smuggling - a form of illegal migration involving the organized transport of a person across the border, usually in exchange for a sum of money and sometimes in dangerous conditions, and
  • human trafficking - which involves the recruitment, transportation or harbouring of persons for the purpose of exploitation, typically in the sex industry or for forced labour.

The global community, including Canada, has identified the smuggling and the trafficking of persons as a very serious problem that often exploits vulnerable people.

The Immigration and Passport Program is ready to take the lead and initiate the planned and organized international effort that is required to successfully investigate the crimes.

Immigration and Passport Special Investigation Section

Through a unique MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), this section is responsible for investigations at Canadian missions abroad, and immigration fraud and corruption by public officials. This section is located in Ottawa.

Apart from investigations relating to Canadian passports, the RCMP works closely with the Government of Canada’s Passport Office on issues such as information and intelligence exchanges, the examination of passports that may have been altered, and in mutually training our respective employees.

The RCMP has Immigration and Passport units in most major centres across Canada. Each of these units works closely with the Government of Canada’s Passport Office to address issues relating to the integrity of Canadian passports.

Immigration and Passport Enforcement

The Immigration and Passport Enforcement Branch is responsible for overseeing policy and legislative development and program administration and evaluation. In cooperation with other internal RCMP partners, the branch also helps develop and oversee the training of Immigration and Passport members, Border Integrity members as well as both national and international partners.

The goal of the branch is to provide a high quality, proactive service, to detect and deter criminal enterprise in global migration affecting or involving Canada.

Date modified: