The private sponsorship Of refugees:

The Groups of Five program

allows individual Canadian citizens or permanent residents 18 years of age and older to sponsor one or more refugees. The sponsors have to live in the same community where the refugee is expected to settle. Community, religious and humanitarian groups can also sponsor refugees. Each person in Groups of Five has to complete a personal financial profile. Collectively, the group has to complete a settlement plan and financial assessment.

What do private sponsors usually do? They help in various ways.

They cover the cost of food, rent, household utilities and day-today living expenses. They provide clothing, furniture, and other household goods. They locate interpreters, help in selecting a physician and dentist, and orient people so they can open a bank account. They help with applying for provincial health care coverage. They help to enrol children in school and adults in language training. The sponsorship period is usually 12 months from the refugee’s arrival in Canada or until the refugee becomes self-sufficient — whichever comes first. In exceptional circumstances, a visa officer may ask the sponsoring group to extend its involvement to 36 months. Even if the rest of the immediate and dependent family are not accompanying the principal applicant to Canada, they all have to be included in the application for permanent residence. The sponsoring group has to support the rest of the family under the same terms — unless the main refugee applicant has become self-sufficient and can do so.

What’s the cost?

Sponsors are expected to provide a level of support at least equal to the rates for social assistance in their community — about $25,000 per refugee.

Are there any other expenses?

Sponsors may have to cover the cost of loans given by the federal government to refu- gee applicants to pay for medical examinations overseas and the cost of travelling to Canada.

How does a sponsoring group connect with a refugee?

The sponsoring group may put forward a refugee’s name which has been obtained by a referral from an overseas contact, a friend or a relative. The Matching Centre at Citizenship and Immigration Canada can also match a sponsor with a refugee. Once a sponsoring group has formed,

it has to obtain the correct Citizenship and Immigration Canada application kit, which can be downloaded from the C.I.C. website: cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/ sponsor/index.asp or can be ordered by email: CPOW-BTCW@cic.gc.ca • The undertaking completed by the sponsor group, the application for permanent residence and any other relevant documents have to be sent to: Centralized Processing Office, Winnipeg 400 - 25 Forks Market Rd. Winnipeg, MB R3C 4S9 • Once a privately sponsored refugee applicant is received by a visa office, processing times vary. It can range from 11 months in Beirut, Lebanon to 67 months in Islamabad, Pakistan.