The Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program (PSR) is a Canadian government initiative that allows for refugees to resettle in Canada with support and funding from private or joint government-private sponsorship. The government also offers semi-private sponsorship through the Blended Visa Office-Referred (BVOR) program, which connects private sponsors with pre-screened and pre-interviewed refugees."Blended Visa Office-Referred (BVOR) Program." Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. 2020 November 24. Retrieved 2020 December 30.
The PSR program is part of the larger Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative (GRSI), launched in Ottawa in December 2016, led by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Open Society Foundations, the Giustra Foundation, and the University of Ottawa."The Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative." Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. 2020 January 21. Retrieved 2020 December 30.
Established in 1978 under Operation Lifeline,Zyfi, Jona. 2016. "Syrian refugee resettlement in Canada: an auto-ethnographic account of sponsorship." Working Paper Series 8, Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies. University of Toronto. Retrieved 2018-03-29. the program has since resettled and provided support for over 200,000 refugees under various initiatives and with fluctuating annual intakes. As of January 2020, the Canadian Government has resettled nearly 300,000 refugees through the PSR program since 1979. The Canadian system is constantly under reform to increase the involvement of refugees to shape their own resettlement experience; this program has influenced refugee policy in other Commonwealth countries as well, such as the UK and Australia.
History The origins of the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Program are in the 1970s' Indochina refugee crisis. Established in 1978, the program was initiated after the appropriate legal framework had been provided through the 1976 Immigration Act. +TimelineTime periodNotable event197929,269 Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian refugees settled under the initiative, and more throughout the early 1980s.1994 – 19981,800 Afghan Ismaili refugees resettled through Project FOCUS, whereby the government sponsored refugees for three months, and fundraisers supported the following nine months. These cases were technically counted as Government Assisted Refugees (GARs) in a 3/9 joint sponsorship model.Government Assisted Refugees2001The Canadian Government piloted a 4/8 joint sponsorship model.2001 – 2008PSR numbers fluctuated around 3,000 per annum.2009 – 2011PSR intake increased to around 5,000 per annum.2011The government introduced a blended 3/9 program for Iraqi refugees, and another with Rainbow Refugee Committee to support LGBTQ refugees. New restrictions were also introduced, including limits on PSRs, caps the number of refugees who could be sponsored by missions abroad and on applications for sponsorships by Sponsorship Agreement Holders in order to improve management. Regulatory changes were implemented to formalise applications, which limited the eligibility for Groups of Five and Community Sponsors."Groups of Five" and "Community Sponsors." IRCC. March 2019. The age of dependency was reduced from 22 to 19, which made fewer refugee families eligible for sponsorship.2012Intake of PSRs dropped by 24% from 2011 levels.2013The government pledged to resettle 1,300 Syrian refugees by the end of 2014.2015PSR numbers exceeded that of GARs.2015 JunLifeline Syria was launched as a result of the humanitarian crisis resulting from the Syrian Civil War. Its main aim was to aid the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the GTA, including aiding assisting sponsorship groups with sponsorship applications.2015 OctLiberals pledged to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada before 2016.2015 Nov Around 69,000 Syrian refugees were resettled to Canada in total as of this date. More than 42,000 non-Syrian refugees came to Canada through private sponsorship during the same period.2016 JulUK Government launches its first Community Sponsorship scheme.2016 Dec In partnership with the UNHCR and the Open Society Foundations, the Government of Canada launched a major initiative in order to globally promote the PSR Program.2017 Jan – 2018 AugQuebec froze the intake of new private sponsorship applications due to the high number of applications already in the system, with the processing time for submitted applications between 8 and 18 months.2018Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada aims to facilitate the resettlement of 18,000 PSRs by the end of 2018.2019 JunThe Rainbow Refugees Assistance Partnership was announced by the Government of Canada, officially launching in 2020.2020 JanAs of this date, the Canadian Government resettled nearly 300,000 refugees through the PSR program since 1979.
Results As of January 2020, the Canadian Government has resettled nearly 300,000 refugees through the PSR program since 1979, while also helping with family reunification. Around 69,000 Syrian refugees have been resettled to Canada since November 2015. More than 42,000 non-Syrian refugees came to Canada through private sponsorship during the same period.
Of all refugees resettled in 2018, a total of 18,763 were privately sponsored, while 8,156 were government-assisted and 1,157 were admitted under the Blended Visa Office-Referred refugee (BVOR) program. The planned and actual admissions of PSRs in 2016 represented a significant increase over historical levels. That year, among a total of 27,957 resettled refugees, 4,434 resettled as BVOR refugees; while 18,362 were privately sponsored refugees, which slightly exceeded the planned admissions range of 15,000–18,000. +Privately sponsored refugees and Blended visa office-referred refugees admitted in 2018 and 2019 by destinationProvince / territory20192018PSRBVORPSRBVOR 771766112612552589823113164848133,61004,28907,7483938,3136041,1041559316955822496624,1131703,015801,5641251,3361690411080530000Not stated13070Total19,14399318,7631,15720,13619,920 +Permanent residents admitted by genderGenderPrivately Sponsored RefugeesBlended Visa Office-Referred refugees201920182016201920182016Female8,7468,73218,3624805984,434Male10,39710,0318,7345135592,168Other0N/AN/A0N/AN/ATotal19,14318,7639,6289931,1572,266
Sponsorship A sponsorship group must support their privately sponsored refugee for one year upon their arrive or until the PSR can support themselves, whichever comes first.
Sponsors must meet the criteria for sponsorship, which includes being able to provide social and emotional support, as well as residential and financial support, food, and clothing. The sponsors are legally bound to provide income support, which generally ends after 12 months. Private funds provide for the first year of resettlement; while government covers health care/children's education. In the second year of resettlement, if the refugees become permanent residents when they arrive, they will be able to apply for means-tested governmental social welfare benefits if their sponsor has not been successful in helping them find employment.
People can choose to sponsor a specific refugee or refugee family, so long as they are eligible under the PSR program. If one chooses to sponsor a refugee they personally know, the processing time may take longer than the regular process and the Government of Canada will not provide financial assistance.
Types of private sponsorships There are three types of private sponsors in Canada, which can be applied for directly through the Government of Canada or through Lifeline Syria:
Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs): incorporated organisations that have formal agreements with the government to support a refugee family for 12 months. They are generally expected to sponsor multiple refugees each year and to have prior sponsorship experience. Most (75%) SAHs are religious, ethnic, community, or humanitarian organisations. Constituent Groups: groups who work with SAHs to sponsor refugees under the SAH’s agreement. Co-sponsors: an individual or another organization who shares the responsibility with the SAH to support the sponsored refugee(s). Groups of Five: groups consisting of a minimum of five Canadian citizens or permanent residents over the age of 18 who sponsor those recognized as refugees by either the UNHCR or a foreign state. Groups of Five may only sponsor applicants who have already been granted refugee status. Lifeline Syria has helped people form Groups of Five by connecting hopeful private sponsors with those living in nearby communities. Community sponsors: organisations, associations, or corporations in the community that sponsor refugees.
Blended Visa Office-Referred program The Government of Canada's Blended Visa Office-Referred (BVOR) program connects sponsors with pre-screened and -interviewed refugees, and reduces the financial burden on private sponsors.
Prioritizing the most vulnerable refugees, the program partners with refugee referral organizations, such as the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), who identify refugees for resettlement through screening procedures that include both security and medical checks. Referred refugees are sponsored by the government for up to six months upon arrival through the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP); Thereafter, private sponsors are responsible for up to an additional six months of financial support, one year of social and emotional support, and associated start-up costs. Sponsors are not required, however, to cover the cost of health care for BVOR refugees, who are provided temporary health care benefits through the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) until they become eligible for provincial or territorial health insurance.
Of all refugees resettled in 2018, a total of 1,157 were admitted under the BVOR Program. In 2016, among a total of 27,957 resettled refugees, 4,434 resettled as BVOR refugees.
Quebec
The Province of Quebec—through its Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie and Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration—has its own process for refugee sponsorship, available for groups of two to five people who reside in Quebec or non-profit organizations that agree to take responsibility for a refugee(s) by signing a 'collective sponsorship undertaking'. This sponsorship process requires cultural obligations of private sponsors, including organising French-speaking classes for the refugees and informing them about Quebec society and culture.
Collective sponsorships fall under the following categories:
Experienced organizations "that only sponsor individuals who must settle outside the Montréal Metropolitan Community" Other experienced organizations Regular organizations "that only sponsor individuals who must settle outside the Montréal Metropolitan Community" Other regular organizations Groups of two to five individuals
On 27 January 2017, Quebec froze the intake of new private sponsorship applications until August 2018 due to the high number of applications already in the system, with the processing time for submitted applications between 8 and 18 months.
On 28 October 2020, Minister Nadine Girault issued a decision in the ministerial order published in the Gazette officielle du Québec (No. 44), announcing that the intake of 'undertaking applications' submitted by organizations of all categories would be suspended until 1 November 2021. Groups of two to five individuals, however, would be allowed to submit applications from 6 April 2021 to 5 May 2021. Among the eligible applications submitted, a maximum of 750 applications would be received by the Minister, "randomly drawn under the supervision of an outside auditor and in the presence of witnesses."
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