Private refugee sponsorship
What is private sponsorship
It is when an individual or a groups submit an application for a specific refugee family to the government of Canada. In this case, the individual or all the member of the group in Canada are responsible for covering the cost of the resettlement.
Application process
The refugee applicant should complete immigrations forms and include photos and any relevant supporting document. Then, the forms will be processed by the following offices (depending of the region where the refugee is, the process could take from 6 months to 2 years) :
- Ministry of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion (MIDI) of Québec
- Centralized Processing Office – Winnipeg (CPO-W)
- Visa office covering the region where the refugee is living
Where Refugee Sponsorship of the Greater Montreal can help
We help submit sponsorships forms and help at every step. We are only able to accept sponsors who are residents of the environs of Montreal (including Laval and the South Shore). We ask that anyone interested in sponsoring a refugee contact the office to get a detailed overview of the process and timelines.
Before accepting to submit a sponsorship we always evaluate the following criteria;
Is the sponsor in Canada able to commit the time, energy and money that are needed to resettle one or many refugees?
Is the refugee likely to meet the criteria of the definition used to determine refugee status by the Canadian government (click here for the definition).
Criterias to evaluate candidates
- Is the candidate in Canada?
- Can the candidate commit the time, energy and money that are needed to resettle one or many refugees?
- Is the refugee likely to meet the criteria of the definition used to determine refugee status by the Canadian government?
Services that we offer
Dependng of the number of volunteers and application that we have, this is a non-exhaustive list of service that we can offer:
- Explanation of the sponsorship program
- Assistance with the completion of all necessary immigration forms
- Follow up with the refugee applicant and the sponsor in Canada during the time that the application is in progress.
- Help to prepare the refugee applicant for the interview with the visa officer to determine if they are accepted or not.
- In the case that the refugee is refused, assistance pursuing all legal routes available to overturn the decision (please note that legal expenses are the responsibility of the sponsor to pay).
Once the refugee has arrived in Canada
- Help in orienting the refugee in their new life, as well as negotiating a new language and a new culture
- List resources for services available through governmental and community organizations.
- Follow ups as needed depending on the needs of the refugee.