2.D Refugee-Sponsor Relationship
D.5 What special considerations may apply when relatives are among the sponsors?
(i) Do special benefits or restrictions apply to privately sponsor family members as refugees?
How Canada Does It
The Government of Canada's screening of sponsors is unaffected by whether the sponsoring group members are related to the refugees. Sponsorship Agreement Holders, which have charitable status, cannot issue tax receipts for contributions made to a sponsorship by a refugee’s family member.
Refugee applicants must demonstrate they are eligible and admissible to resettle in Canada in their own right, regardless of their family ties in Canada. However, family ties may help refugees demonstrate their ability to establish themselves in Canada (see 2.A.1(vi)).
Family-linked sponsorships may be beneficial in several ways. Sponsoring groups already know the refugees well due to the family link, and since they often share the same culture, language, religion, and other traits, it is easier for the sponsoring group to help refugees adjust to life in Canada. Many newly arrived refugees use sponsorship as a mechanism to bring other relatives left behind, who are also refugees, to Canada. Knowing that family members left behind can find a way out of precarious living conditions helps already resettled refugees better integrate into Canadian society.
How the Government of Canada screens sponsors is unaffected by whether the sponsoring group members are related to the refugees.
Sponsorship Agreement Holders, which have charitable status, cannot issue tax receipts for contributions made by Canadians to privately sponsor their family members.
Refugee applicants must demonstrate they are eligible and admissible to Canada in their own right, regardless of their family ties in Canada. Having family ties in Canada may help refugees to demonstrate their ability to establish in Canada, which is one of the eligibility criteria for refugees.