Who identifies refugees for sponsorship?

The sponsoring group identifies refugees for sponsorship and submits the refugee’s name to the Centralized processing office in Winnipeg, using the sponsorship kit. These are known as sponsor-referred refugees. They are interviewed for eligibility by an officer from a Canadian visa office after the application is submitted.

Officers from a Canadian visa office identify refugees who have been referred for resettlement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. These are known as visa office-referred refugees. Officers interview them to find if they are eligible to be sponsored.

Before they are approved, all refugees must:

• meet the medical requirements, and
• have criminal and security clearance.