As Permanent Residents (PRs), sponsored refugees have the right to live anywhere in Canada. 

But this can create some challenges if sponsored refugees want to move to a part of Canada that is far from where their sponsors live while they are still in the sponsorship period. In that case, sponsorship groups will need to assess if they are able to continue supporting the sponsored family, with both financial and non-financial help. 

If the sponsors are unable to continue providing support, it can lead to a sponsorship breakdown. The sponsorship breakdown is an official declaration issued by IRCC in cases of “irreparable failure”. It ends the sponsors’ responsibilities towards the refugees. 

The sponsoring group can also try to transfer the sponsorship to another group located in the new community.