No one is a refugee by choice and anyone could become a refugee. At the end of 2018 there were 70.8 million forcibly displaced people including 25.9 million refugees.1<\/sup><\/p>\n A refugee is someone who has a well founded fear of persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his\/her nationality and due to that fear is unable or unwilling to return.<\/p>\n The international community helps refugees to find lasting, or durable, solutions to refugee situations. The three durable solutions are:<\/p>\n The 1976 Immigration Act was a milestone in Canada\u2019s response to refugees, establishing refugees as a class separate from immigrants; soon after Canadians responded to The Boat People crisis of the late 70s and early 80s which allowed ordinary people from across the country to assist these refugees through private sponsorship.<\/p>\n Through the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Program over 327,000 refugees, who would not have otherwise been able to come to Canada, were resettled between 1979 and 2018.\u00a0Canada will welcome 59,000 privately sponsored refugees between 2019 and 2021.2\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Canada is one of the few countries in the world that annually offers resettlement places to thousands of government-sponsored refugees.<\/p>\n Additionally, Canada\u2019s private sponsorship program is unique as it allows private groups across Canada to sponsor qualifying refugees above the government numbers.<\/p>\n USEFUL LINKS<\/strong><\/p>\n www.cic.gc.ca<\/a><\/p>\n www.unhcr.org<\/a><\/p>\n www.amnesty.org<\/a><\/p>\n www.refworld.org<\/a><\/p>\n For more information please consult the RSTP Sponsoring Group Handbook available online at www.rstp.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program (PSR) is a partnership program administered by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the people of Canada to extend Canada’s capacity to resettle refugees from abroad.<\/p>\n Refugees who would qualify under the Convention Refugees Abroad and\/or members of the Country of Asylum Class (also known as the Humanitarian Protected Persons Abroad classes) may be sponsored.<\/p>\n A group may submit an undertaking to sponsor a particular refugee(s) from abroad (sponsor-referred refugee), a Blended Visa Office-referred (BVOR) refugee or, if a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH), can refer to IRCC\u2019s website for a Joint Assistance Sponsorship (JAS).<\/p>\n There are three ways in which refugees can be sponsored through PSR:<\/p>\n The sponsoring group is responsible for creating a settlement plan which outlines their plan for reception, care, lodging and settlement assistance for the sponsored refugees within the community of resettlement.<\/p>\n It is expected that at the time of application the sponsor will be able to prove, if required, financial resources for the 12 month sponsorship period.<\/p>\n After a PSR application is accepted by ROC-O, a visa officer will interview the applicant overseas. If accepted, the refugee will undergo a medical check while criminality and security checks are completed. BVOR refugees are referred by the UNHCR and are already approved by the Canadian government. BVOR refugees will arrive within 6 to 12 weeks of the receipt of the group’s application.<\/p>\n Generally the processing times of PSR cases vary; this is dependent on whether the person is a sponsor-referred or visa office-referred refugee, which country the person is coming from and the complexity of his or her immigration application. As well it should be noted that many visa posts have long processing times due to a large number of unprocessed cases.<\/p>\n For more information on the processing times of individual visa posts visit the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website at: http:\/\/www.cic.gc.ca\/english\/information\/times\/perm\/refprivate.asp<\/a><\/p>\n 1<\/sup> UNHCR Global<\/a> Trends 2010\u00a0<\/small><\/p>\nThe World\u2019s Response to Refugees<\/h2>\n
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Canada\u2019s Response to Refugees<\/h2>\n
History of the PSR Program<\/h2>\n
What is the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program?<\/h2>\n
Who Can Be Sponsored?<\/h2>\n
Who Can Sponsor a Refugee?<\/h2>\n
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What Responsibilities Do Sponsors Have?<\/h2>\n
What Is The Sponsorship Process?<\/h2>\n