Private Refugee Sponsorship Applications:

Assisting Groups of Five

Fall 2010 OCASI Professional Development Conference

November 4, 2010

Displaced People Worldwide

End of 2009 43.3 million forcibly displaced people including:–15.2 million refugees–10.4 million UNHCR –4.8 million UNRWA–983,000 asylum-seekers–27.1 million IDP

*2009 UNHCR Global Trends http://www.unhcr.org/4c11f0be9.html

Facts and Figures

• 5.5 million refugees were in protracted situations– In 21 different countries

• Developing countries host 80% of the world’s refugees

• 49% of persons of concern to UNHCR were women and girls

• 41% of refugees and asylum seekers were children under 18

*2009 UNHCR Global Trends http://www.unhcr.org/4c11f0be9.html

Durable Solutions

Voluntary Repatriation- 251,500 refugees in 2009 (lowest since 1990)

Local Integration

Resettlement- UNHCR presented over 128,000 refugees for

resettlement; approx. 84,000 were resettled- Gov’t stats. Indicate that 112,400 refugees were

resettled with or without UNHCR assistance

*2009 UNHCR Global Trends http://www.unhcr.org/4c11f0be9.html

What is Canada’s response to Refugees?

Canada’s Refugee Targets for 2010

– GAR: 7,500

– PSR: 5,290

Permanent Residents to Canada by Category for 2009

Based on CIC statistics for 2009

Family, 25.86%

Economic, 60.87%

Other, 4.22%

Refugees landed in Canada, 4.12%

GAR, 2.94%

PSR, 2.00%

Total Refugees, 9.06%

How do refugees come to Canada?

Inland processing

Person arrives in Canada, and makes a refugee claim

Overseas processing

Refugees processed overseas (sponsored refugees) have their interviews, medical, security and criminality checks conducted before arriving in Canada.

Resettled Refugees

Privately Sponsored

Funded by thesponsoring group

Sponsors may be:• SAHs or their constituent

groups• Groups of Five• Community GroupsMay be either:• Sponsor-referred

sponsorship• Visa office-referred

sponsorship (VOR) (cost-sharing may be available)

Full Responsibility by Private Groups… to Full Responsibility by Government

Government-Assisted

Funded by thegovernment

Settlement agencies contracted to provide reception and integration under the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP)

Joint Assistance Sponsorship (JAS)

Funded by thegovernment

Private sponsoring group (SAH) provides:

• logistical and moral support

For refugees identified by visa office as

having special needs

Who can be sponsored?

Someone who has fled their homecountry (except if a source

country) because they were in danger and cannot stay in the country they are currently in.

Eligibility

• Convention Refugee Abroad Class– race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular

social group or political opinion

• Country of Asylum Class – seriously and personally affected by civil war, armed

conflict or massive violations of human rights

• Source Country Class– El Salvador, Columbia, Guatemala, Sudan, Sierra Leone,

Democratic Republic of Congo

Do they have other solutions?

• Voluntary repatriation – can they return home?

• Local integration – can they stay where they currently are?

• Resettlement – is going to Canada the only solution?

Admissibility

• Security –do they post any security threat?

• Criminal – have they committed serious crime?

• Medical- do they have health issues that threats the Canadian public health and safely?

Who can sponsor?

Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs)

Community Sponsors

Groups of Five

Sponsorship Agreement HolderAn organization that has signed a Sponsorship Agreement with the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration which allows them to participate in

the resettlement of refugees through the Private Sponsorship of Refugees program.

Community SponsorsAny organization, association or corporation,

does not have to be incorporated, can sponsor up to two refugee families per year (finances

permitting).

Group of FiveAny group of five Canadian citizens or

permanent residents can sponsor refugees.

Members of the group of five must:

• be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident,

• be at least 18 years of age, • live in the community where the

refugee will live, and • make and provide proof of, a financial

commitment to provide settlement assistance and support for the length of the sponsorship (usually one year)

Who cannot sponsor?

Some people are ineligible to sponsor:

• persons convicted of serious criminal acts

• persons in default of court-ordered support payments

• removable and incarcerated persons • persons subject to citizenship

revocation proceedings

What is the sponsor responsible for?

To provide the refugee during the sponsorship period with:

• reception• care• lodging and• settlement assistance for the

sponsored refugees in the expected community of settlement

*the sponsored refugee cannot access social assistance during the sponsorship period*

Sponsorship Cost Table

In-Kind Deduction Table

In order to subtract the dollar value of available in-kind donations from the cost of sponsorship, use the dollar figures provided on the In-Kind Deduction Table (above) that correspond to the appropriate settlement need (shelter, clothing, etc.) and the size of the refugee family.

For how long?

• 12 months from date of arrival of refugee

or

• until the refugee becomes self-supporting and no longer requires settlement assistance

Group of Five Guide – IMM5414

Before you complete your

application forms to sponsor a

refugee, please read the

Refugee Sponsorship Application Guide - Group of Five IMM5414.

What information is in this guide?

Contact information

Overview

How to complete the forms

Submitting your application

What happens next?

Citizenship and Immigration Canada centers

Financial guidelines

What forms are needed to complete a Group of Five application?

•Instruction Guide [IMM 5414]

•Undertaking/Application to Sponsor — Group of 5 [IMM 5373]

•Sponsor Assessment [IMM 5492]

•Settlement Plan — Group of 5 [IMM 5373A]

•Financial Profile — Member of Group of 5 [IMM 5373B]

•Document Checklist — Group of 5 [IMM 5437]

•Use of a Representative [IMM 5476]

Forms required to be filled out by each member:

• Financial Profile Form (IMM5373) (if individual is making a financial commitment)

• Sponsor Assessment (IMM5492)

Completing the Undertaking to sponsor (IMM5373)

Make sure that you use the current form.

Counter-check this with the form on

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/group5.as

p

Choose the IMM6000 distribution option

X

The most preferred is option 3: Local CIC submits completed IMM 0008 and approved Undertaking to visa office

For more information: http://rstp.ca/images/fbfiles/files/group5aug2009.pdf (p.13)

Print the name of your Group of Five, e.g. The Refugee Group.

In Box 1, print the name of the person who has authorization to represent the group and act as the contact person, e.g. Maria X.

Print the address and other contacts such as phone, email etc.

In Section B fill in the name and contact information for all other group members

Completing section A & B

Check “Yes” and provide the following information on a separate page:

Member’s first and last name (at time of sponsorship)

Name of sponsoring group (where applicable)

Name, date of birth, and country of birth of all persons sponsored

The client identification numbers issued as a result of previous sponsorships

What if a member has submitted previous refugee sponsorships or sponsored or co-signed

family class sponsorships?

X

Completing section C

If you are sponsoring a "visa office-referred” sponsorship case: check the appropriate box and attach the Refugee Profile that you received.

Sponsoring groups are required to sponsor the principal refugee applicant and all family members at the same time.

Completing section D

You may link sponsorship cases together by providing the name and date of birth of the principal refugee applicant for each particular case. Filling out this section ensures that all linked sponsorships are processed at the same time by the visa office.

Completing section E

Print information on the refugee applicant's relatives living in Canada. Include primarily close relatives such as parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and adult children.

Completing section F Section F is not mandatory, CIC will not return or refuse the application if you do not provide the information requested.

Page 14-16 of the guide provides details regarding the refugee definitions, you are encouraged to consider these categories prior to

submitting an application.

Read and understand the obligations of the sponsor to the

sponsored persons

Obligations of the sponsor(s) are outlined in Section G

In Section H each member of the group must sign the application indicating that they understand their responsibilities

Completing the Sponsor Assessment (IMM 5492)

This form must be completed by every member of the group.

Group members may wish to submit their Sponsor Assessment in a sealed envelope to ensure confidentiality.

Completing the Settlement Plan and Financial Assessment - G5 (IMM 5373A)

Completing Financial Profile - G5 Member (IMM 5373B)

Group members who will use their income as a means of supporting the refugee applicants MUST complete the financial profile.

Group members may wish to submit their Financial Profile in a sealed envelope to ensure confidentiality.

Document Checklist

Ensure that you have all required documents and include the completed checklist in your sponsorship application.

Use of a representative

A representative is someone who has your permission to conduct business on your behalf with CIC.

This can be a paid or unpaid person, a friend or family member, an immigration consultant or a member of a Non-governmental organization.

CASE STUDY

Completing section B - Settlement Needs Checklist

Sponsoring group can inform CIC where in-kind donations are available (e.g. used furniture), thereby reducing the total funds required to sponsor the refugee.

Financial Assessment

The total financial commitment should equal or exceed the final cost of sponsorship.

26,000

12,050

13,950

What happens next? The Sponsorship Application ProcessVisa office 30%

(months)50%

(months)70%

(months)80%

(months)

Damascus 4 7 11 14

Nairobi 32 38 43 49

Pretoria 17 35 39 41

Islamabad 30 31 34 36

Bogota 6 7 10 17

Processing times for July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010 available at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/international/11-ref-private.asp

THANK YOU!

For further information, visit our website at www.rstp.ca or

contact us:416-290-1700info@rstp.ca