Resettlement file processing steps for: Refugee: Cosponsor: Step 1: Cosponsor and RG register for Info Session 1 (Orientation) on Eventbrite and attend session on the scheduled date: Step 2: Cosponsor attends optional one-on-one or group consultation immediately after Info Session 1. Step 3: Cosponsor and refugee fill the 25 questions and email them to the Office for Refugees within 15 days. These answers must include the following information separately for each applicant over 18 years of age, IN ONE EMAIL to Alisha at akalyniak@archtoronto.org. Separate answers to the following questions should be provided for the husband and the wife. 1. Please provide your full name, email addresses, phone numbers and residential address. 2. What is your status in Canada (citizen, landed, etc.)? 3. How do you plan to pay the non-refundable filing fee of $100 for the refugee fund? (cheque or cash) 4. Please explain in detail how you plan to secure the financial liability established by Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Refer to Appendix A. Please be aware that it is illegal to cover the financial liability by funds from refugees. Page 1 of 9
5. Please name any Canadian group (Resettlement Group - RG. For example a local Catholic church) that may be ready to assist you with the resettlement of your relatives/friends. 6. What is your motivation to resettle the refugees below (relationship, if any)? Will you gain any financial or other interest out of the resettlement of the refugees? 7. Please give the full name, date of birth, place of birth, citizenship and current country of residence for the refugee you are interested in sponsoring. Please do this for each member of the family you re planning to resettle (husband, wife, and each child regardless of where they are residing right now. Remember, each child over the age of 18 must have a separate case, so all information regarding that child must be sent by a separate email). full name date of birth place of birth citizenship and current country of residence Page 2 of 9
8. Contact information of each and every refugee: e-mail addresses, phone numbers, residential and mailing addresses separately, including city and country. NOTE: (From this question onward information is required only from the REFUGEES). 9. What is your official language, mother language and what other languages are you able to speak and write? 10. What is your highest level of education? 11. From each refugee (husband and wife) individually: Remember, each child over 18 years of age must have their own separate case, so please respond to the questions below in a separate email) Your answers to questions 11 to 17 should be at least two pages in length: Please write down your personal life story and explain in detail why you left your country of citizenship/ origin. Please give a long, detailed, personalized answer, with many facts, names, places, dates, times, explanation of circumstances, etc. Please avoid general statements (for example: I flee from war), and describe why your case is different from other refugees in similar situations. Page 3 of 9
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12. According to international law refugees can get protection only if in their country of origin they could not get help. So, explain which different departments, offices or agencies (for example: police, national police, police chief, military leader, prosecutor, other government office) you approached for protection and what was the outcome? 13. Please explain in detail, when and exactly how you left your country of citizenship/ origin and the travel route to your present destination. 14. What would happen to you if you were to return to your country now? Do you have any safety concerns? If yes, explain in detail identifying the reasons and sources of threat. Page 5 of 9
15. Please write down the general conditions (safety, crime, dangers) of your country of origin at the time when you lived there. 16. Please explain how the situation/government has changed since you left your country of origin? 17. Please write down in detail whether or not you can personally stay and settle in the country you are living in right now. Give the Office for Refugees examples and help us to understand why or why not. Please avoid generalizations. 18. Based on your work experience, skills and education, write some examples on what kind of work you plan on doing immediately upon arrival to Canada? Provide with at least 3 examples. Page 6 of 9
19. If applicable please list any medical and psychological conditions for which you require treatment. 20. Have you had any problems with the police/military before? 21. Did you have a criminal record in the past or do you have a criminal case in process currently? 22. Do you or did you participate in any military, political or government activity? If yes, please provide with factual details. 23. Important: provide all info about any special humanitarian factors the immigration officer should consider; write about your feelings, emotions and sufferings. 24. Have you previously been in contact with any of the Canadian Embassies or other Embassy or United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office related to Page 7 of 9
possible resettlement? If yes, please explain in detail and provide with copies (date, purpose of contact and outcome). 25. Please scan and e-mail the Office for Refugees an informal (or family) photo(s) and every immigration or refugee documents you have: UNHCR and local refugee office recognitions, identity cards, passports, and other supporting documents/corroborating evidence you have with their English translations. Please make sure you have all of the detailed answers before sending and attaching them IN ONE EMAIL to Alisha at akalyniak@archtoronto.org. Separate answers to the following questions should be provided for the husband and the wife. Some of the important upcoming steps: Step 4: The Office for Refugees may ask for clarification and/or further questions to determine eligibility after submitting your answers to ALL of the 25 questions. Step 5: Cosponsor meets with pastor to clarify interest and options, if not yet done. Step 6: Cosponsor participates in mandatory Info Session 2 - Settlement Training. Step 7: Cosponsor prepares and completes necessary immigration forms for both the parish and the refugees based on the website information (https://www.archtoronto.org/refugee/pages/resettlement-guide.aspx ; http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/private.asp Step 8: Cosponsor will schedule an appointment with the Office for Refugees by emailing Alisha within 15 days to review mandatory Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) forms for completeness, accuracy, and consistency, for both the parish and the refugees. Step 9: The Office for Refugees prepares file for archdiocesan signature. Step 10: The Office for Refugees prepares submissions to Centralized Processing Office in Winnipeg (CPOW) Step 11: Cosponsor registers on www.officeforrefugees.eventbrite.ca for Info session 3: IRCC Processing Time and attends session. Date: The office s detailed Guide on Sponsorship book is available for $20. General E-mail: oratrefugeeoffice@archtoronto.org Phone: 416.934.3400 x804 The Office for Refugees encourages you to provide comments, compliments, advice and feedback. You can send them to the Operations Director via: mmark@archtoronto.org Page 8 of 9
Annex A Financial guidelines Sponsoring groups will not accept the payment of funds from the refugees for the submission of a sponsorship, either before or after their arrival in Canada. However, the refugee s relatives in Canada may contribute funds to the resettlement. Refugees have no legal obligation, and cannot be made to enter into a legal obligation, to prepay or repay their sponsoring groups for lodging, care, and settlement assistance and support. Sponsoring groups are not responsible, unless they have co-signed loans, for any debt that a refugee incurs in Canada. Should the refugee become financially self-sufficient during the 12-month sponsorship period, the sponsoring group is not obligated to provide income support under the terms of the undertaking for the remainder of the sponsorship period. However, the sponsoring group must maintain immediate access to adequate funds for the remaining length of the sponsorship in the event that the refugee ceases to be self-sufficient. Sponsored refugees who bring financial resources to Canada have the right to manage their own finances but are also expected to contribute to their own settlement costs. Sponsoring groups may expect sponsored refugees to contribute towards their settlement costs according to the same standard established for government-assisted refugees who bring financial resources to Canada. For example, a single sponsored refugee may retain up to a maximum of $1000 for personal use and a couple may retain up to $2000 plus $500 for each additional family member, with the balance of their funds being allocated towards the cost of their settlement. You may refer to The Guide to the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program for further details. Cost of sponsorship Although the cost of living varies from one region to another, the following table can assist the sponsoring group in estimating the cost involved in sponsoring a refugee family for 12 months. The figures below are based on the national average of financial assistance provided to governmentassisted refugees. Sponsorship cost table Refugee s Family Size Estimated Financial Requirement 1 $ 12,600 2 $ 21,200 3 $ 23,000 4 $ 27,000 5 $ 29,700 6 $ 32,500 Additional member $ 2,550 Date Modified: 2016-01-13 Page 9 of 9