On August 17, 2022, the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI) introduced a number of regulatory amendments to the Program for Refugees Abroad (Collective Sponsorship) in order to strengthen its integrity, preserve its humanitarian objective, and better protect the sponsored refugees. Therefore, the changes will enhance the sponsorship's ability to welcome refugees and manage them better. The amendments published in the Gazette officielle on July 6, 2022, came into force on August 17, 2022.
You can sponsor a refugee in a country other than Canada, as well as accompanying family members. The undertaking application must be submitted to the Ministry of Immigration, Francisation, and Integration during a receiving period. An undertaking is a contract with the government of Quebec that binds you to the person you are sponsoring. As a result, you become that person's guarantor. The term of this contract is 12 months (1 year). You will have responsibilities and obligations for the duration of your undertaking as a guarantor.
To be eligible to sponsor a refugee, you must be a group of 2 to 5 natural persons or a legal person (registered charity). However, there are 2 classes and 2 subclasses of legal persons. The two classes are Regular legal person (Class R) and Experienced legal person (Class E) where as the two subclasses are Specific regular legal persons (subclass RS) and Specific experienced legal persons (subclass ES). Therefore, applicants must honour all the conditions that apply to your guarantor class or subclass.
In order to sponsor someone, they must meet the definition of a refugee under the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. A person is recognized in one of the two classes by the government of Canada, including Refugee and Country of asylum class.
For the refugee class, the person must meet all of the following criteria:
Is outside of each of their countries of nationality
not having a country of nationality, is outside the country of their former habitual residence
Has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of
Race
Religion
Nationality
Membership in a particular social group or
Political opinion
Is unable or, by reason of that fear, unwilling to
claim the protection of their country of nationality or residence
return to their country of nationality or residence
Is in a situation where no lasting solution is feasible within a reasonable period
For the Country of asylum class, the person must meet all of the following criteria:
Be outside of Canada
Be outside their country of nationality or the country of their former habitual residence
In their country of nationality or former habitual residence, have suffered and continue to suffer the severe personal consequences:
of a civil war
of an armed conflict or
of massive violation of human rights
Be unable or unwilling, because of fears related to these severe personal consequences, to:
claim the protection of their country of nationality or residence
return to their country of nationality or residence
Be in a situation where no lasting solution is feasible within a reasonable period
Be covered by an undertaking application (collective sponsorship)
The immediate family members who can be accompanied by the person you wish to sponsor must be the partner (husband or wife or common-law spouse) and the dependent children under 22 years of age.
The government of Quebec has introduced a number of regulatory amendments that have been made to the Program for Refugees Abroad. If you are interested in sponsoring someone to Canada, please contact us at Mesidor Canadian Immigration Services.
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