Resource library

Refugee Status and Refugee Status Documents

Blended Visa Office-Referred (BVOR) Program

Visa Office Referrals (VOR)

What are VORs? Visa Office Referrals (VORs) refers to refugees who have been identified by the Canadian Visa Officers overseas for resettlement to Canada. Their cases have not been initiated by private sponsors in Canada, but are referred by Officers from abroad. Refugees, who are referred as VORs, have been interviewed by the Canadian visa officers,

All About Submitting Forms

In order to sponsor a refugee or refugee family, the Canadian sponsor must complete and submit paperwork, which allows both the Resettlement Operations Centre in Ottawa (ROC-O) and the Canadian Visa Post overseas to process the case. The main application forms are the same for Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs), Community Sponsors (CS) and Groups of Five (G5) however some forms are different depending on the type of sponsoring group,

Sponsorship Cost Table

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has developed a Sponsorship Cost Table to provide sponsoring groups with an estimate of the financial resources required to support a refugee family for twelve months. Recognizing varying levels of cost of living in different regions across Canada, this table serves as a financial guideline and is roughly based on the rates of social assistance.

Case Assessment Chart

Q1: Is the person outside of his/her country of origin and outside of Canada? YES. Go to Q2 NO. Applicant will not qualify for refugee sponsorship. Refer to other immigration streams, if applicable. Q2: Does the applicant qualify as a member of the Convention Refugee Abroad Class? Does the applicant have a well-founded fear of persecution on one of the Convention grounds?

Interview Preparation

Preparing refugee sponsorship applicants for an interview The interview is an important part of the refugee sponsorship application process. Applicants are invited to an interview at a Visa Office abroad via email or by phone. The purpose of the interview is to establish whether the applicant is eligible and admissible for resettlement to Canada under the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Program and whether resettlement to Canada is the best solution to the applicant’s situation.

All About Refusals

Procedural Fairness Before making a final decision, the applicant should be made aware of the Visa Officer’s concerns and provided with a reasonable opportunity to address those concerns (i.e., the right to be heard). Procedural fairness can occur during the interview, where the Officer verbally provides the applicant with an opportunity to respond,

FAQ on 2017 Amendment to Age of Dependent Children

Cultural Awareness

Culture can be seen as a collection of customs, beliefs, values and institutions that create a general identity and ways of behaving for a given people. Culture provides a history that describes who we are and, for each person, it reflects his or her own unique form of identity. Our behaviours and interactions with others are generally seen as forms of expressing culture.