ARCHIVED – Notice of Intent Regarding Changes to the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Program

December 9, 2011 — As part of Canada’s Refugee Resettlement Program, private sponsors, including Sponsorship Agreement Holders, Groups of Five and Community Sponsors in Canada may submit applications to sponsor refugees from abroad.

On December 9, 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) issued a Notice of Intent in the Canada Gazette which proposes changes to the resettlement program which will impact these groups.

All Private Sponsors: Sponsorship Application Changes

CIC is proposing regulatory amendments to reduce delays during the processing of PSR applications by:

1. requiring that the permanent resident application and the sponsorship undertaking be submitted together to a designated CIC office in Canada;
2. defining what makes up a complete application so that CIC receives all the information needed to process PSR applications; and
3. allowing CIC to return both applications (permanent residence and sponsorship undertaking) if the required information is missing.

Groups of Five and Community Sponsors: Sponsorship Eligibility Changes

The proposed regulatory amendment would also limit Groups of Five and Community Sponsors to sponsoring applicants who are recognized as refugees by either the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or a State.

The above proposal addresses stakeholder concerns about processing times and is in line with departmental efforts to manage the intake of applications and improve the efficiency of application processing.

CIC is soliciting written comments from all interested parties on the proposed regulatory amendments.  To read more about the proposed changes, read the Notice of Intent published in the Canada Gazette.

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