The Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Program

The Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program is a pioneering Canadian refugee resettlement program. Through the PSR program, Canadian citizens and permanent residents can engage in the resettlement of refugees from abroad. As members of organizations, associations and groups, citizens and residents can sponsor refugees overseas as any of the following:

A Group of Five

This is a group of at least five adult Canadian citizens/permanent residents who gather in order to sponsor a refugee to become resettled in their local community. This group provides the refugee with a settlement plan and sponsors them financially for up to one year

A Community Sponsor

This group includes organizations, associations, or corporations that sponsor refugees. Like the Groups of Five, they also give the refugee a settlement plan and can financially support them for up to one year. These types of private sponsorship groups can find refugees to sponsor in one of two ways: Through the Blended Visa Office-Referred (BVOR) Program, which partners refugees that the UNHCR has identified with a sponsor in Canada. Or, they can find refugees through people in their local community, churches, community groups, or ethnocultural groups.

A Sponsorship Agreement Holder

These are organizations (religious, ethnic, community or service organizations) that have signed agreements of sponsorship with the Canadian Government to support refugees. They either sponsor the refugees themselves or work with other members of the community.

The PSR program does not rely on public resources but rather taps the energy and funds of faith communities, ethnic groups, families, and other benevolent associations. These groups and organizations typically raise funds or use their personal income to provide for and support the sponsored individual or family for their first year in Canada.

They initiate the process by submitting a refugee sponsorship application package to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Their commitment lasts until the end of the sponsorship period, typically 12 months from the date of the sponsored person’s arrival in Canada.

Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program

Through this program, refugees living abroad can be resettled in Canada.

In order for a refugee to be eligible to enter Canada as a refugee, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), another referral organization, or a private sponsor has to identify them for resettlement. This means that the refugee cannot apply for his own resettlement directly to Canadian authorities.

The (UNHCR) identifies refugees for resettlement based on priority levels: Emergency (if they have a medical or security issue that requires immediate attention), Urgent (if they have a medical risk that requires resettlement within six weeks), or Normal (if there are no medical or security risks). The speed through which their application is processed depends on the priority level.

The UNHCR selects individuals from countries where they have asked for refuge and resettles them to a third country that has agreed to accept refugees, Canada included. Canada accepted 7,700 refugees through UNHCR in 2018 alone.

The In-Canada Asylum Program

The In-Canada Asylum Program allows people who are already in Canada to apply for refugee status. This program provides refugee protection to people who cannot return to their country of nationality due to fear of prosecution or because they may be tortured or punished.

To qualify for the In-Canada Asylum program, a person has to be:

• A conventional refugees – meaning they are outside their country because they may be prosecuted due to their race, religion, political stance, or because they belong to a particular social group.
• A person in need of protection – meaning they cannot return to their country because they could be tortured, have their lives at risk or face other forms of unusual and cruel punishment.

Whether or not a person meets these conditions is decided by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). The Canadian officers who review the application for the In-Canada Asylum Program decide if it is eligible to refer it to the IRB.

Pre-Removal Risk Assessment

How might a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment help me? The PRRA is an opportunity for people who are facing removal from Canada to seek protection by describing, in writing, the risks they believe they would face if removed. Persons whose PRRA applications are approved may stay in Canada.