The U.S. will soon photograph Canadians at the border — here's what travellers need to know

Canadian trips to the United States are about to involve a new mandatory step at the border. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently finalized a regulation that will require facial biometric collection from all non-U.S. citizens entering and leaving the country, including Canadians. The rule takes effect on December 26, 2025, and applies at airports, land ports, seaports and any other approved point of departure.

The move is part of a long-running American effort to build a complete biometric entry and exit system. According to DHS, the new rule allows U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to photograph travellers and compare the images to government records in order to verify identity more accurately. Once implemented, the system will be used whether someone is flying to Florida for vacation, driving across the Lacolle border for a day trip, or sailing into an American marina from the St. Lawrence River.

Canadians lose their exemption

For years, most Canadians avoided biometric checks that applied to other foreign nationals. The new rule explicitly removes that exemption. Diplomats, private aircraft passengers, vehicle travellers and even pedestrians crossing at land borders can now be photographed as part of the entry and exit process. CBP is also replacing earlier pilot programs with a permanent mandate that authorizes biometric collection at scale.

The government says the change closes a long-standing gap in border controls. Until now, biometric collection often happened at entry points, while departures were inconsistent. DHS says a complete record of who arrives and who departs is necessary to secure the United States and to ensure that people leave when they are supposed to.

Why the U.S. wants your face on file

Federal officials say biometric checks are meant to stop identity fraud, catch people who overstay their visas and prevent removed individuals from re-entering the country. DHS cites recommendations dating back to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, which called a biometric entry and exit system an essential national security investment.

To support this, CBP built the "Traveler Verification Service", which uses cloud-based facial matching to automate inspections. The agency says this technology can identify criminals, suspected terrorists and travellers using fraudulent documents more reliably than manual checks alone.

How long will your photo be kept?

Not all photos are treated equally. U.S. citizens who voluntarily use the system will have their images deleted within 12 hours. Noncitizens, which includes Canadians, are enrolled in the DHS Biometric Identity Management System. Those records can be kept for up to 75 years. DHS says it has published multiple privacy assessments and maintains policies on how the data is gathered, stored, shared and deleted.

Another layer on top of rising travel costs

This biometric expansion arrives shortly after the U.S. introduced a separate visa integrity fee for certain travellers from Canada. As reported by MTL Blog in October, some permanent residents and people applying for specific visas must now pay an extra US$250, roughly CA$350, on top of the standard U.S. visa charge. That cost is not refundable in most cases and could increase annually starting in 2026.

While most Canadian citizens travelling for short holidays will not owe the fee, they will be photographed when entering and leaving the country. The result is a border regime that is both more expensive for some travellers and more technologically invasive for everyone else.

What Canadian travellers should expect

Once the rule begins on December 26, Canadians will be photographed whether they are arriving or departing. Manual passport checks will continue, but biometric capture becomes part of the standard process for foreign visitors. U.S. citizens can opt out, but Canadians cannot.

Anyone who refuses the biometric step may be denied entry.