How to Immigrate to Canada as a Refugee

Canada has a long history of helping people who are forced to leave their homes and look for safety somewhere else. Refugees have often been denied their basic human rights and lived in fear of being hurt or killed because of who they are, what they believe, what religion they follow, or because of wars in their home country.

Refugees in Canada can start again thanks to the refugee security system. This handbook covers the qualifications for different refugee classes, the application process, and the assistance you can expect in Canada.

Refugee protection programs in Canada

Canada has two main schemes to help refugees. These schemes are:

1. Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program:

This service is for people who need help from outside of Canada and don’t have it. It gives refugees who were forced to leave their home countries the chance to start over in Canada.

You can’t just send in an application to move to Canada. Instead, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) works with private donors to find refugees and help them settle in Canada.

2. The Canadian Asylum Seeker Program:

In-Canada Asylum is for refugees in Canada. These refugees, also known as “persons in need of protection,” may be tortured in their home countries or have good reason to fear returning.

Please note that people convicted of major crimes or whose refugee claims were rejected by Canada cannot apply for asylum here.

The government decides whether to send a refugee claim from inside Canada to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), which makes immigration and refugee decisions.

Eligibility criteria to settle in Canada as a refugee

Refugees who want to migrate to Canada must be suggested by the UNHCR, a certified referral agency, or a private sponsorship group. Moving to Canada isn’t easy.

You can only be sent to Canada if you fit into one of two types of refugees:

1. Convention Foreign Refugee Class

This class is for people who are living outside of their home country (such as in a refugee camp) and cannot return because they fear persecution due to their religion, race, political opinion, nationality, or social group (such as gender or sexual orientation).

Blended Visa Office-Referred refugees can be sponsored by the Canadian government, private host groups, or both. If an approved service or group sends you to Canada with enough money to support yourself and your family, you can be a Convention refugee.

2. Class Country of Asylum

This class is also for people who live or come from a place other than their own. Under the Country of Asylum class, you may be eligible if you have been hurt by civil war or violent conflict, or if you have been denied basic human rights for a long time.

Once you’ve been recommended to this category, you can either get a private sponsor or use your own money to support yourself and your family in Canada.

Who is not eligible to settle in Canada as a refugee?

You can’t come to Canada as a refugee if any of the following are true:

• You have been offered help to move to a new country or have other safe ways to stay safe.
• You become a member of a different country.
• You decide to go back to your home country or where you live.
• The situation in your country has changed, so the reasons you left in the first place are no longer valid.

How can I go to Canada as a refugee – The application process

1. Get a recommendation from the UNHCR to move to Canada: Your country’s UNHCR office must verify your refugee status. After evaluating your claim, the UNHCR will send you to a resettlement country based on your family ties, eligibility requirements, application processing times in different countries, language skills, culture, needs, and, if possible, your preference. Homelessness is possible.
2. Complete the application form: Once you’ve been told you can move to Canada, you need to fill out the application package as a Convention refugee or a humanitarian-protected person abroad.
3. Submit your application: Your private sponsor will submit your application to the Resettlement Operations Centre in Ottawa (ROC-O). If you’re a government-aided refugee, your country’s IRCC office will advise you on how to submit your forms.
4. If you need to, get matched with a private sponsor: If the government isn’t paying for all of your expenses, the IRCC will find you a private sponsor who can raise money and get gifts to help pay your bills when you get there.
5. Test your health: Your family must pass a medical test before entering Canada. The IRCC or IOM will contact you for more information.
6. Clear background checks for crimes: You have to pass security and crime background checks before you can be chosen to move to Canada.

Do I need to pay to cover the cost of my sponsorship as a refugee?

Refugees don’t pay their supporters for treatment. Your sponsor—government or private—will pay for your application and cover your basic financial needs in Canada until you can.

You must pay for a passport and travel to Canada. If you can’t afford these charges, the Immigration Loans Program may help.

Where can I live in Canada as a refugee?

Canada’s government-aided refugees can’t always choose where to live. Matches decide. ROC-O and the IRCC place you based on your background and needs.

The ROC-O will choose a city for you to settle in based on your languages, where your friends and family live in Canada, your medical needs, your ethnic, cultural, and religious fit, and whether there are settlement services. Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta host most government-aided refugees.