2.B Sponsors: From Mobilization to Engagement
B.4 How are eligible sponsors screened?
(iv) How is a decision on sponsorship eligibility communicated to potential sponsors?
How Canada Does It
The centralized processing office in Canada will communicate its decision-making process by mail or email with the sponsors at two stages of processing: (1) an Acknowledgment of Receipt letter is sent to sponsors after a preliminary review for completeness and the file is created; and (2) an approval or refusal message is sent once an officer has reviewed the Sponsorship Undertaking and rendered a decision as to whether the application is suitable for submission to the visa office overseas.
Once the Resettlement Operations Centre – Ottawa (ROC-O) determines that the application is complete, a migration officer will open a file and assign it a file number. That number is provided to sponsors in the Acknowledgment of Receipt (AOR) letter and is to be used to track the processing of the sponsorship application. The ROC-O aims to send the AOR letter within thirty business days of receiving a complete application. If applications are incomplete, the processing officer may either return the application or request that sponsors send the missing documentation within a specified time.
Once the file is assigned a number, sponsors can check the status of their application through an online portal called the Electronic Client Application System (E-CAS).
If the sponsoring group’s undertaking is approved, ROC-O will transfer the application to the overseas visa office serving the refugee’s host state to process the refugees’ application. Visa offices update sponsors at two stages of overseas processing: (1) the date of the refugees’ interview; and (2) the decision on the refugee’s application has been made (if the application is refused, the reasons for refusal will be provided. For more information about overseas processing of refugee applications, see 2.A.2, 2.A.6, and 2.A.7.