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Frequently Asked Questions: e-Channel & MyCIC

1. What are e-Services?  e-Services are electronic services designed to enable applicants to transact, communicate and interact with CIC online.
2. What is the e-Channel?  The e-Channel is an electronic experience that includes 3 e-Services, the e-Application, the Electronic Notification System (ENS) and MyCIC.
3. What is the e-Application?  The e-Application is an online application that enables applicants to complete, sign, pay for, and submit their CIC application online, in a secure manner. Applicants can also scan and attach the required documents electronically. The system will only allow applications to be submitted once all the questions are answered, the correct fees have been paid and the required documents have been attached. This will eliminate incomplete applications.  The e-Application will first be deployed to the Off-Campus Work Permit Program and will eventually include virtually all CIC business lines, both inside and outside of Canada.
4. What is the Electronic Notification System (ENS)?  ENS is a secure system that allows external partners to communicate and exchange information with CIC in support of immigration processes. ENS will first be released to support the Off-Campus Work Permit Program and will be accessible to CIC applicants through MyCIC and to Designated Institutional Representatives (DIRs) and provincial/territorial governments through a partner portal. Direct communication between CIC and external partners via ENS will eliminate the use of paper forms thus minimizing the risk of tampering with the information while improving service to students and institutions alike.
5. Who can use the Electronic Notification System (ENS)?  For this first release, ENS is available to select pilot educational institutions and their students, in support of the Off-Campus Work Permit Program. Students attending one of the 16 participating pilot institutions will no longer be able to request confirmation of their full–time study status and satisfactory academic standing through paper forms. Instead, they will need to request an Eligibility Verification Number (EVN) online through ENS. The request for an EVN will require applicants to use epass to access MyCIC, where they will be able to complete a set of streamlining questions and start the verification request. Designated Institutional Representatives (DIR) working at the participating educational institutions will use ENS to provide CIC with the confirmed verification requests. DIR access to ENS will require them or their signatories to use epass to access the partner portal.
6. What is MyCIC?  MyCIC is the applicant’s secure portal to CIC’s online services and tools that require authentication. With a single, safe, and secure login, applicants can access a personalized MyCIC page with information specific to their needs. The first release of MyCIC will be available to students applying for an off-campus work permit, offering them access from their MyCIC page to the e-Application, ENS and a message box enabling applicants to receive information from CIC.
7. What is the Client Service Page?  The Client Service Page will replace the current ‘Online Services’ page on the CIC website. The future vision of the page will provide applicants access to various CIC services and e-Services that do not require the applicant to log in. However, for the first deployment, the Client Service Page will have some existing e-Services which do require log-in but do not require the secure transaction environment provided by MyCIC.
8. When will the new e-Services be launched?  The first release of the e-Application, the Electronic Notification System (ENS) and MyCIC to the Off-Campus Work Permit Program was launched recently, on June 25, 2008.
9. Why is the first pilot with the Off-Campus Work Permit Program?  The Off-Campus Work Permit Program was selected as the pilot program for the first release of the e-Channel for 4 main reasons. 
1. Applicants in this category are students, who are often techno-savvy and will likely feel comfortable using online tools, such as the Online Application, ENS and MyCIC.
   
2. Off-campus work permits are processed at the Case Processing Centre in Vegreville, where the technology to process online applications was installed and staff were trained to process the applications in this new way. 
3. The Off-Campus Work Permit Program is a small business line with known applicants (this means that have already submitted at least one application with CIC – study permit). 
4. The application for an off-campus work permit can be completely processed electronically because there are no requirements for original documents.
10. Who was consulted when creating the e-Channel?  The e-Services that fall under the e-Channel were created in extensive consultations with groups across CIC, such as CPC Vegreville, the Call Centre, International Region, Legal Services and more. External partners such as university representatives and provincial partners were also consulted.
11. Was usability testing conducted for the e-Application? What were the results?  Yes -- Usability testing was conducted in both French and English with domestic and international audiences to ensure that the e-Application had intuitive labeling and was user-friendly. The usability testing report showed that the participants were willing to attach documents electronically as well as complete, sign, pay for and submit their application online. Participants also confirmed that the “one question at a time” approach had a great appeal. As a result of the usability testing, some of the wording was updated to ensure that applicants understood the language used in the e-Application.
12. Why is CIC creating an e-Application?  CIC is committed to creating online tools and services that are accessible and easy to use. CIC is leveraging technology in order to create e-Services, such as the e-Application, that will facilitate the application process.  The e-Application will give students who are applying for an off-campus work permit the option and convenience of submitting their application online.
13. How can CIC guarantee that the e-Channel is secure?  Preliminary Privacy Impact Assessments (PPIA), a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) and a Threat Risk Assessment (TRA) have been conducted and appropriate actions have been taken to mitigate any privacy risks identified. CIC is committed to protecting the personal information of applicants. As such, appropriate safeguards have been put in place using the Government of Canada secure channel.
14. Who will be processing the e-Application?  The Off-Campus Work Permit pilot will be processed at CPC Vegreville by the same staff who currently process paper applications for OCWP. They have been trained accordingly. As additional lines of business are deployed with future releases, it is envisioned that all offices/missions will be trained and equipped to process online applications.
15. Is there an increased risk in accepting scanned documents?  The Off-Campus Work Permit Program application does not require any original documents, which means that, for this business line, documents that were previously accepted as photocopies are now accepted as scanned documents. Overall, there is no increased risk in accepting scanned documents. In the current paper process, CIC accepts photocopies. If there are any doubts regarding the legitimacy of these photocopies, the processor can request to see the original. This will hold true for scanned documents in the new process. That is, if a processor has any doubt regarding a submitted scanned document, they will be able to request to see the original.
16. Who is responsible for maintaining e-Services?  The e-Channel and the e-Services are a CIC endeavour. The Service Improvement Office (SIO), in partnership with IMTB, is currently responsible for the development and maintenance of the e-Channel. It is envisioned that once all systems are in place, the responsibilities will be transferred to Operations.
17. How will the e-Channel improve service delivery for CIC?  e-Services are accessible anywhere, anytime! Applicants will have the option and convenience of applying online, using e-Services that have been developed with them in mind. The e-Application will reduce the use of paper, reduce the need for repeated data entry and help applicants submit a complete application. MyCIC will provide applicants access to all of the tools and services that require identity proving in one location, and allow applicants to receive direct messages from CIC in a secure environment. The Electronic Notification System (ENS) is a tool that will generate accurate, clear and better reports for our partners. By eliminating the applicant’s role in sharing information between CIC and its partners, there is a decreased reliance on exchange of documents that are susceptible to tampering.
18. What is the relationship between the e-Application and GCMS?  It is envisioned that the e-Application system will interface with GCMS in the future. This interface would allow the e-Application to load automatically to GCMS based on specific criteria reducing the need for data entry from a CIC staff perspective and allowing staff to place greater emphasis on quality assurance.
19. Were other countries consulted?  Yes -- Australia was consulted extensively. The US, Great Britain and Sweden were also considered.
20. What’s next for the e-Channel?  The Online Application offers a brief survey allowing applicants to provide feedback on their e-Channel experience. The survey results will be evaluated and the Designated Institutional Representatives (DIRs) as well as our provincial partners will be consulted to also share their e-Channel experience.The success of the pilot will be evaluated based on several factors such as survey results, feedback from partners and statistical results.  Anticipated future releases will be to other in-Canada processes such as the in-Canada study and work permits.