Program delivery update: DNA testing for Immigration Purposes within Testing Laboratories
Action required
Revised requirements from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to be adopted IMMEDIATELY
Affected customers
SCC accredited testing laboratories within the field of DNA Relationship testing
Background
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) accepts DNA test results for immigration and citizenship applications as evidence of a genetic link between a parent and a child or between brothers and sisters. Further IRCC only recognizes DNA results from laboratories accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC).
On July 31, 2018, IRCC clarified its requirements for the process of collecting DNA samples and reporting results as evidence of a genetic link between a parent and a child or between brothers and sisters.
New requirements
The program delivery instructions (PDI) on DNA testing have been updated to include the following new instructions for laboratories accredited by the Standards Council of Canada:
- DNA sample collection procedures for tests within Canada
- Requirements for reporting DNA test results
The instructions were also updated to include a request that the applicant provide 2 pieces of identification at the time of DNA sample collection, one of which must be a government issued photo ID.
In addition, the PDI language was simplified and duplicate instructions were eliminated.
The instructions can be found here: DNA Testing with the updates focused in the following sections
Deadline
The update clarifies requirements to be adopted immediately
Questions?
Please contact John Davey, Program Manager Quality, Accreditation Services, at john.davey@scc.ca or 613-238-3222 for more information.