Division of responsibilities between the Canadian federal and Quebec provincial governments – Quebec resettlement

(REF-OVS-11-1)

Resettled refugees destined to Quebec must meet the criteria of both the provincial Government of Quebec and the federal Government of Canada. This Web page contains the responsibilities of both the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), in Canada and abroad, and the Government of Quebec’s Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI).

On this page

• IRCC – Resettlement Operations Centre in Ottawa
• IRCC – Migration officers
• MIDI

IRCC – Resettlement Operations Centre in Ottawa

For Quebec applications, the Resettlement Operations Centre in Ottawa (ROC-O) must do all of the following:

• Once the MIDI approves a sponsorship application, and sponsors submit the permanent residence application of the refugee overseas to the Resettlement Operations Centre in Ottawa (ROC-O), ROC-O ensures that the application is complete and that a valid sponsorship is in place before creating the application in the Global Case Management System (GCMS), digitizing the documents and transferring the application to an IRCC office abroad for processing.
• ROC-O obtains from the MIDI a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) for privately sponsored refugees and government-assisted refugees.
• ROC-O refuses privately sponsored refugee applications when MIDI refuses to issue a CSQ.
• ROC-O obtains from the MIDI a final destination for government-assisted refugee applicants.
• ROC-O sends pre-Notifications of Arrival Transmission (NATs) to sponsors, when contact information is available, to advise that application processing is complete.
• ROC-O sends NATs for all privately sponsored refugee and government-assisted refugee applications, when applicable and when contact information is available, to inform the MIDI and sponsors of the arrival of the refugees.
• ROC-O renders a decision, per section 141 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) on one-year window of opportunity (OYW) provision applications for both government-assisted refugee and privately sponsored refugee applications.
• When required, ROC-O adds dependants in GCMS for privately sponsored refugee applications and advises IRCC offices abroad of this addition.
• ROC-O processes sponsorship withdrawals for privately sponsored refugee applications.

IRCC – Migration officers

In accordance with its international obligations, the Government of Canada determines who is a refugee within the meaning of the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and who is a person in similar circumstances in need of Canada’s protection (section 96 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and section R147). The Government of Canada also determines if the refugee overseas is admissible to Canada, per the IRPA. Both of these determinations are made by migration officers abroad.

Migration officers do not issue a permanent resident visa to any applicant destined to Quebec who does not meet Quebec’s selection criteria.

MIDI

The MIDI resettlement team is centralized in Montréal, within the Direction de l’immigration familiale et humanitaire.

The MIDI is responsible for the following:

• assessing all sponsorship applications submitted on behalf of refugees overseas destined to Quebec by sponsoring groups located in that province
• issuing a CSQ when a refugee overseas meets Quebec resettlement selection (government-assisted refugees and privately sponsored refugees)
• destining refugees under the government-assisted refugee program in Quebec
• delivering post-arrival settlement services for government-assisted refugee applicants, including the Programme d’accueil et d’installation des réfugiés