Access to Information and Privacy

How to make a request under the Access to Information Act

The following requests should be made to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) under the Access to Information Act:

• Requests that pertain to information about the CBSA;
• Requests for information that would have been created by the CBSA;
• Requests for personal information submitted by a representative where the client (with his/her authorization/consent) is or is not in Canada, not a Canadian Citizen or not a Permanent Resident.

Formal requests under the Access to Information Act must:

• Be in writing (email requests cannot be accepted);
• Be signed by the requester and dated;
• Include the name, Canadian address, and if possible, a telephone number and/or email address where the requester can be contacted between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays;
• Include a $5.00 application fee, which entitles the requester to five hours of search and preparation time.

Written requests may be submitted using the Access to Information Request form (TBS/SCT 350-57), or in a letter indicating that the request is made in accordance with the Access to Information Act. Payment can be made by cash, cheque or money order. Cheques and money orders must be made payable to the Receiver General for Canada. Please note that the request will not be processed until the application fee is received.

There may be additional fees associated with processing requests made under the Access to Information Act. Additional fees may be incurred for search and preparation time in excess of five hours and release packages in alternative formats. These fees are charged in accordance with section 11 of the Access to Information Act and described in the Access to Information Regulations. The CBSA’s practice is to waive the reproduction fees and provide the release package on a CD when appropriate.

Requests must include sufficient detail to enable an experienced employee of the CBSA, with a reasonable effort, to identify the records that are being requested. Examples include, but are not limited to, time periods, file numbers, client identifiers, file names, report titles, locations (office, port of entry or region/branch), names of individuals, dates of birth (if requesting traveller history or immigration files).

Requests for personal information that is not the requester’s must include signed, recent (less than one year old), written consent from the individual to whom the personal information belongs. To facilitate processing requests for personal information, we also recommend that the consent of all individuals who may have personal information included in the records sought be obtained and provided with the request. For example, in the case of immigration records – consent should be obtained from the spouse, sponsor, adult children or any other person appearing in the record. For Customs information consent should be obtained from the individuals accompanying the client or owner of the registered vehicle, with a copy of the registration for the vehicle. If the personal information is related to an immigration file, please fill out the Authority to Release Personal Information to a Designated Individual form (IMM 5475) found on the Citizenship and Immigration Web site.

Requests made pursuant to the Access to Information Act must be addressed as follows and sent by mail or fax (613-957-6408):

Canada Border Services Agency
Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
410 Laurier Avenue West, 11th floor
Ottawa, ON K1A 0L8

In addition, inquiries concerning the request process for Access to Information at the CBSA may be e-mailed to ATIP-AIPRP@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca. Please note that any inquiries related to the processing of a specific request should be directed to the officer handling your request, and should reference the request number assigned to it by our office in your correspondence.