Refugee Resettlement to Canada: Government-Assisted and Privately Sponsored Refugees

Resettlement is for refugees who have already fled their country and are living somewhere else, often in a refugee camp or a city in a neighboring country. Canada selects some of them to start new lives in Canada as permanent residents.

This is different from claiming asylum. Asylum is for people who are already in Canada or at its border; see asylum in Canada. Resettlement happens entirely from outside Canada.

To be resettled you must fit one of two classes:

• Convention refugee abroad: you have a well-founded fear of persecution because of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
• Country of asylum: you are seriously and personally affected by civil war or armed conflict, or have suffered massive violations of human rights. People in this class must be privately sponsored or able to support themselves.

You must also have no reasonable prospect of another lasting solution (such as returning safely home or settling permanently where you are) and pass medical, security, and criminal checks.

Government-assisted refugees are chosen from UNHCR referrals. You cannot ask to be added to this list by contacting IRCC.

IRCC's refugee sponsorship page lists three types of private sponsors:

• Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs): organizations, often faith groups, ethnic associations, or humanitarian groups, that have signed an agreement with the government to sponsor a set number of refugees each year.
• Groups of Five: at least 5 Canadian citizens or permanent residents who sponsor a refugee to their community. Paused, according to IRCC.
• Community Sponsors: organizations, associations, or corporations that sponsor a refugee to their community. Paused, according to IRCC.

With Groups of Five and Community Sponsors paused, most private sponsorship now runs through Sponsorship Agreement Holders, which receive a limited number of spaces each year. If you want to help a refugee relative or friend, contact SAHs in your area to ask whether they have space.

Resettled refugees become permanent residents when they land in Canada. That means they can live, work, and study anywhere in Canada, and later apply for citizenship.

They receive:

• Income support for about the first year, from the government (GARs) or their sponsors (PSRs), or both (BVOR).
• Help finding housing, enrolling children in school, and connecting to language classes and employment services.
• Temporary health coverage until they qualify for provincial health insurance.

Family left behind. Refugees can include immediate family members who are not with them in their application. Under the "one-year window" policy, family members who were declared in the original application can usually be processed without a new sponsorship if they apply within 1 year of the refugee's arrival.

Resettlement takes a long time, often more than a year and sometimes several years, depending on the country where the refugee lives and the program. IRCC publishes processing times for government-assisted and privately sponsored refugees by country on the processing times tool.

• No one can sell you a place. UNHCR and IRCC do not charge for referrals or resettlement. Anyone asking for money to "register" you for resettlement is running a scam. See scam protection.
• Sponsors take on a real obligation. Private sponsors commit to supporting the refugee for the full sponsorship period, usually 12 months.
• Complex cases need expert help. For inadmissibility concerns or family separation issues, talk to a lawyer or licensed consultant (RCIC), or a refugee legal clinic.