What it means to be a sponsor

A sponsorship agreement holder (SAH) has many responsibilities. It takes resources and commitment to be an effective SAH. Not all organizations have the capacity and support network to do it well.

Before you apply, your organization should:

• have the financial and settlement resources to support and settle several refugees a year
• have experience sponsoring refugees or providing refugee settlement services
• be able to train and support your constituent groups (CGs), co-sponsors and volunteers
• have a plan to verify the support your CGs, co-sponsors or volunteers are responsible for providing
• have a backup plan to fully support refugees if any of your CGs, co-sponsors or volunteers fail to meet their commitments

Read the full list of SAH responsibilities.

Your sponsorship agreement

If your plan is approved, you’ll need to sign a sponsorship agreement which outlines what you’re committing to when your organization becomes a SAH. Some of these commitments include:

• financially supporting refugees during their sponsorship
• providing settlement services to sponsored refugees, including helping them adjust to life in their new community
• overseeing any co-sponsors, constituent groups or volunteers you choose to work with

You can read the current version of the sponsorship agreement (PDF, 610 KB) before joining the program.

To get the sponsorship agreement in another format, email us at PSR-PPPR@cic.gc.ca.

Ongoing monitoring and assessment

We assess and monitor sponsorship groups, including SAHs, regularly to make sure they’re meeting their responsibilities.

Learn more about what it takes to be an effective SAH from the Refugee Sponsorship Training Program.

If you don’t meet your responsibilities

Make sure you understand your responsibilities as a SAH. Your agreement could be impacted if you don’t meet your responsibilities.