e-4048 (Citizenship and immigration)

Canada has a long history of providing protection to people fleeing persecution in their homeland or displaced by conflicts. The objectives of Canada’s refugee program are to save lives, offer protection to the displaced and persecuted, meet Canada’s international legal obligations with respect to refugees, and respond to international crises by providing assistance to those in need of resettlement. Canada provides a haven for refugees for resettlement on the basis of need, and without discrimination based on religion.

Canada recognizes the atrocities that the Yazidi community has suffered at the hands of Daesh, and is proud to have been able to provide many with the opportunity to start new lives in this country. As of July 31, 2022, Canada has welcomed almost 1,500 Yazidis and survivors of Daesh and their family members to Canada.

A hallmark of the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program is that it allows private sponsors in Canada to identify, or “name” refugees overseas who are in need of resettlement. The Department does not, in general, designate specific populations for resettlement through the PSR program. 

In 2012, Immigration, Refuges and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) introduced the refugee status document (RSD) requirement for private sponsorship applications under the Groups of Five (G5) and Community Sponsors streams as a means to better manage application intake and improve application approval rates. Issued by a foreign state or the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the RSD certifies that the applicant is recognized as a refugee in their country of asylum. This document provides proof that these applicants already meet Canada’s legal definition of a refugee and therefore IRCC can more quickly process their applications, so eligible refugees can get access to protection as soon as possible.

The Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs) stream of the PSR Program is exempt from the RSD requirement as they are organizations with significant expertise and experience in selecting eligible refugees. Groups interested in sponsoring a refugee without an RSD may partner with a SAH to bring the refugee to Canada.

Canada’s Blended Visa Office-Referred Program (BVOR) and Joint Assistance Sponsorship Programs resettle refugees who are identified by designated referral partners, particularly UNHCR, as being in need of protection through resettlement. These candidates are pre-screened and deemed eligible and admissible by Canadian visa officers before they are referred to these Programs. As such, neither program allows for “named” refugee referrals from private sponsors or organizations as the program is designed to provide additional resettlement space for refugees identified as most in need of resettlement by the UNHCR.

IRCC recognizes there is great interest in the PSR Program, and our high immigration targets in this program, established through the Immigration Levels Plan, is a reflection of this demand. Annual targets enable the Department and its partners to allocate resources accordingly. Similarly, SAH caps are set on an annual basis in order to allow SAHs time to plan and prepare for the year ahead. Increasing annual caps for a specific population does not guarantee that SAHs will have the resources at hand to sponsor more cases over and above their allocated caps. However, SAHs always have the discretion to submit applications for any refugee population under their existing SAH cap.

Canada is a global leader in refugee resettlement. While border restrictions and other pandemic related factors have led to increased processing times for many applicants, the department continues to work hard to strengthen Canada’s immigration system, shorten wait times, and reduce application backlogs. As part of this plan, IRCC will have hired up to 1,250 new employees by the end of the fall to increase processing capacity. The focus of IRCC is on reducing existing backlogs, which are the applications that have been in our inventories longer than our service standards. IRCC is aiming to process 80% of all new applications within these standards, accounting for expected delays in complex cases.  

The world is facing an unprecedented global refugee crisis. The UNHCR estimates 100 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes, among them are 27.1 million refugees. Canada is increasing targets year after year for our resettlement programs, to accommodate as many newcomers as possible.

Currently, individuals who are not eligible for resettlement to Canada as refugees can apply for permanent residence to Canada under other immigration programs, including the Family Class and Economic Class. In addition, individuals who would not normally be eligible to become permanent residents of Canada under existing immigration programs may be able to apply for permanent residence in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. More information about this avenue can be found on the IRCC Website.