When the sponsoring group submits their sponsorship application, they make a formal agreement with the Canadian government to provide the sponsored refugees with financial, emotional and settlement support. During the sponsorship period, the group is collectively responsible for the basic needs of the sponsored refugee(s), including monthly income support.

A sponsorship breakdown happens when sponsors are unable or unwilling to give further support to the sponsored family prior to the end of the sponsorship period (usually the first 12 months  that the family is in Canada). It is an official declaration that an irremediable failure to meet the sponsorship arrangement has occurred. The responsibility for a sponsorship breakdown may either rest with the refugees or the sponsor.