Plan & Prepare

The UNHCR “has the responsibility to work with countries in protecting uprooted people and finding them permanent solutions”. Canada relies on the UNHCR to help determine which refugees will resettle in Canada.

The One-Year Window of Opportunity (OYW) helps reunite resettled refugees in Canada with immediate family members who could not travel with them. Refugees must apply within one year of becoming permanent residents.

Some newcomers who come to Canada as privately sponsored refugees decide to move to another city or province before the end of the sponsorship period. This is called “secondary migration”.

The Immigration Loans Program (ILP) is a Government of Canada initiative that helps eligible immigrants, primarily refugees selected for resettlement in Canada, cover essential costs like transportation and initial settlement expenses.

You probably have many questions if you are a privately sponsored refugee waiting to resettle in Canada. The Settlement Online Pre-Arrival program, or SOPA, offers services that can support you during this process.

Allies for Refugee Integration (ARI) is a project aiming to foster collaboration between settlement service providers and sponsors to offer the best support for privately sponsored refugees throughout their settlement process in Canada.

The settlement plan is the framework for planning all the steps needed to help and support the sponsored refugees settling in Canada.