Syrian refugees

Who can sponsor a refugee?

These people or groups can sponsor a refugee:

• Sponsorship agreement holders: These groups have a formal agreement with the department to sponsor refugees.
• Groups of five: This is a group of five or more Canadian citizens or permanent residents who live in the community where the refugees will settle.
• Community sponsors: This is an organization, an association or a corporation based in the community where the refugees will settle.

You can find out more about each group in the Guide to the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program.

Can I make a refugee claim from within Syria?

To make a refugee claim, you must be outside your home country. Refugee claims cannot be made at the Embassy of Canada.

Find out how you can make a refugee claim in Canada or how you can resettle to Canada from abroad.

How can Canadians help in our response to the Syrian crisis?

Canada has a rich history of supporting those in need of protection and safety. This is a time for Canadians to come together as we open our hearts and communities to welcome refugees to their new home.

You can help make a difference in their lives in a number of different ways:

• Volunteer with an organization that works with newcomers in your area
• Work with thrift stores, food banks and charities
• Donate funds locally or internationally
• Sponsoring a refugee.

Visit How Canadians can help for more information.

How do I find a refugee to sponsor?

There are two ways to achieve a match between a sponsoring group and a refugee.

Canadians can identify refugees in need of sponsorship through local family members, community groups, churches or ethno-cultural groups. Refugees in need may have been identified from an overseas contact, a friend, a relative of a member of the organization or elsewhere.

Refugees may also be identified in a three-way partnership among the Government of Canada, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and private sponsors. Under the Blended Visa Office-Referred Program (BVOR), we work to find a private sponsor to match with the refugee identified initially by the UNHCR.

The Government of Canada has expanded the BVOR program so that Sponsorship Agreement Holders, Groups of Five and Community Sponsors can all access Syrian refugee files currently in the inventory as part of this program.

Visit Sponsoring a refugee for more information.

How do I find a SAH I can volunteer to work with or otherwise contribute to?

A list of the SAHs in Canada is updated regularly to reflect all groups/organizations which have signed sponsorship agreements with the Government of Canada.

Does this means that Syrians and Iraqi from anywhere in the world can be resettled to Canada as refugees?

The refugees Canada will resettle will primarily come from those who are currently in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. However, there will also be some Syrians and Iraqis who will be resettled from outside the Middle East.

What are the responsibilities of a sponsoring group?

A group sponsoring refugees must do the following.

• Complete a settlement plan for the refugees. The plan shows how the group will directly or indirectly help the sponsored refugees settle into their life in Canada. These include helping them to:
  • find housing that meets their needs
  • find English or French language training
  • find a job and make friends
  • learn about Canadian culture and values
  • learn about the services in their community
• Financially support the refugees. Sponsoring groups must pay for all of the refugees’ needs. These can include housing, food, medical expenses, personal products and more. The groups must do this for whichever comes first:
  • one year after the refugees arrive in Canada
  • until the refugees are self-supporting

  In rare cases, sponsoring groups may provide this help for longer. Service provider organizations also provide some services.

• Live in the community where the refugee(s) will settle and provide support as needed.

Learn more:

• Guide to the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program
• Responsibilities of Sponsors & Availability of IRCC-funded Services for PSRs and BVORs (PDF, 254 KB)

Who is eligible for sponsorship under the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program?

To be eligible for sponsorship, a refugee applicant must:

• be outside Canada, and
• meet the definition of one of the refugee classes of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Two classes of refugees are eligible under the program:

• Convention Refugee Abroad Class and
• Country of Asylum Class.

Find out more about resettlement from outside Canada.

Who decides if a refugee can be sponsored and resettled?

Sponsorship

The sponsor will present the name of a refugee or refugee family it would like to sponsor. One of our officers will decide if a group has set up the supports it needs to be a sponsor.

Resettlement

The United Nations Refugee Agency, other referral organizations and private sponsorship groups identify and refer refugees to be resettled in Canada.

A Canadian visa officer will then decide if the person identified

• meets the requirements to be resettled, and
• will be admitted to Canada.

Who cannot be sponsored under the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program?

The following people do not qualify for private sponsorship:

• people already in Canada,
• people who have applied for resettlement before and who have been refused, unless
  • their circumstances have changed,
  • new information that was not sent with the previous application has come to light or
  • Canadian laws affecting the case have changed,
• people who have been given permission to live permanently in another country and
• people who fled persecution or civil war some time ago, but who can now integrate into the country where they live or can return home safely.

Where can I find more information about applying to sponsor a refugee?

For more information:

• see the Guide to the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program, or
• consult the Refugee Sponsorship Training Program's sponsoring handbooks.

Are there any fees for applying to sponsor a refugee?

No, there are no processing fees for private sponsorship applications. Applications forms are also available for free online.

How is the Blended Visa Office-Referred Program different from the regular Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program?

Under the Blended Visa Office-Referred (BVOR) Program, refugees are referred to Canadian visa offices abroad directly by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Many of the refugees sponsored under this program will be travel-ready and will arrive in Canada quickly, normally within 1-4 months.

The Government of Canada will generally provide up to six months of income support through the Resettlement Assistance Program, while private sponsors will provide another six months of financial support and up to a year of social and emotional support. Refugees are also covered under the Interim Federal Health Program for the duration of the sponsorship (one year), in addition to provincial health coverage.

What is a government-assisted refugee?

“Government-assisted refugees” are refugees from the Convention Refugees Abroad Class. The Government of Canada or the Government of Quebec supports their initial resettlement in Canada.

Why does Canada resettle refugees?

Canada resettles refugees to save lives and to provide stability to those fleeing persecution with no hope of relief.

Through its refugee protection system, Canada offers a safe haven to:

• people with a well-founded fear of persecution, and
• people who are outside of their country and cannot return because of that fear of persecution.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) leads and coordinates international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its main purpose is to protect the rights and well-being of refugees.

As part of its activities, the UNHCR refers refugees to Canada when resettlement is the best solution.

Learn more about the refugee system in Canada and our tradition of humanitarian action

Should I book flights to Canada for refugees I’m sponsoring?

We will issue permanent resident visas to refugees who we accept to be resettled to Canada.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) usually arranges commercial flights to Canada, as they first need to get any exit permits required by the host country.

You should not book flights from countries that require exit permits. The IOM is our recognized partner and is best placed to complete this process.

The IOM also gives an orientation to Canada and will give Canadian border services details about the refugees and their flights. This makes the refugees’ arrival in Canada go more smoothly.

Why can’t you fly Syrian refugees to Canada faster?

When we resettled the first 25,000 Syrian refugees, we chartered flights to bring them here quickly.

That effort taught us that refugees need time to get their affairs in order after their interview and health/security screening. This helps them be ready to leave.

We also learned that refugees benefit from orientation information before they leave. We give this standard information to most refugees to prepare them for life in Canada.

The new timeframe lets us do both of these things. We no longer need government-organized charter flights.

We expect Syrian refugees with private sponsorship applications received before March 31, 2016 to arrive about 3-6 months after the interview.

This is a reasonable amount of time to complete all steps set out above. We must also factor in time to get exit permissions and for travel documents to be in order.

This plan addresses refugees’ needs and gives sponsors a predictable pace of arrivals.