Refugee Applications

Refugees are people who have fled their countries because of a well-founded fear of persecution. They are not able to return home. A refugee is different from an immigrant. An immigrant is a person who chooses to settle permanently in another country. Refugees are forced to flee.

The Canadian refugee system has two main parts:

-the Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program, for people who need protection from outside Canada and

-the In-Canada Asylum Program for people making refugee protection claims from within Canada

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), along with private sponsors, identifies refugees for resettlement. A person cannot apply directly to Canada for resettlement.

Private sponsors across the country also help resettle refugees to Canada. They have signed sponsorship agreements with the Government of Canada to help support refugees. These groups are known as Sponsorship Agreement Holders. They have signed sponsorship agreements with the Government of Canada to help support refugees. These groups are known as Sponsorship Agreement Holders. Other sponsors, known as Groups of Five and Community Sponsors, are people or groups in the community who have come together to sponsor refugee(s).