Refugees: Resettlement from outside Canada
Resettlement is the term used by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)
to describe the legal process of bringing a refugee to Canada to live as
a permanent resident.
CIC relies on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
other referral organizations and private sponsorship groups to identify and
refer refugees for resettlement in Canada.
Resettlement from outside Canada: Convention Refugees Abroad Class
You are a Convention Refugee if you are outside your home country, or the
country where you normally live, and can’t return to that country
because of a well-founded fear of persecution based on:
- race
- religion
- political opinion
- nationality or
- membership in a particular social group, such as women or people with
a different sexual orientation.
Referrals from UNHCR and other organizations
Canada relies on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
other referral organizations and private sponsorship groups to identify and
refer Convention Refugees Abroad to be resettled in Canada.
The UNHCR identifies refugees to be resettled in Canada when there is no
other solution or no effective protection available to them.
A Canadian visa officer then decides whether the person identified meets
the requirements of Canada’s Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement
Program, and if the person will be admitted to Canada.