To come to Canada as a refugee, you must be sponsored either by the Government of Canada or by a refugee sponsoring group in Canada. As a sponsored refugee, you must convince a Canadian Visa Post officer that, as a refugee, you are eligible. As well, you must be found to be admissible on the basis of medical, police and security screening.
Welcome Place offers a guide to assist you in preparing for the Canadian overseas refugee determination process.
Did you flee your country because of well-founded fear of persecution?
Are you unable or unwilling to return home on the basis of that fear?
Do you need a place to resettle permanently?
Do you want to resettle in Canada?
If your answer to one, or more, of these is ‘yes’, one of the listed options may be for you.
(Note: This information can assist you with making informed decisions about your resettlement. It does not guarantee that you will be sponsored, or that Canada will accept you as a refugee.)
Government Sponsored Refugees
Do you want to come to Canada as a government sponsored refugee?
Contact the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office. Tell them you are a refugee, and that you need protection and a durable solution. If a UNHCR officer interviews you, tell them you want to resettle in Canada.
Special Needs, Joint Assistance Sponsorship of Refugees
Do you want to come to Canada as a refugee; and do you, as a refugee family unit, have special needs, such as:
being without family protection;
being an unusually large family, or
someone in your family having a disability?
Contact the UNHCR office. Tell them you are a refugee, why you need protection urgently, and that you need a durable resettlement solution. Describe how you and your children are unsafe. Describe the special needs in your family. If they interview you, tell them you want to resettle in Canada.
Self Supporting Refugees
Do you want to come to Canada as self supporting refugees? Do you have $10,000.00 Canadian for yourself, and $2,000.00 Canadian for each additional member of your family, to bring with you when the Canadian Government sponsors you?
Contact UNHCR. Tell them you are a refugee, and that you need protection and a durable solution. If they interview you, tell them you want to come to Canada as a self supporting refugee, called ‘CR4'.
Family Linked Refugee Sponsorship to Manitoba
Do you have close relatives or friends living in Manitoba, Canada? Do you want to resettle in Manitoba?
Encourage your relatives or friends in Manitoba to contact Welcome Place at 977-1000. We can discuss with them how they can find or form a local group to sponsor you.
Group Sponsorship Outside Manitoba
Do you want to come to Canada as refugees? Do your close relatives or friends in Canada live in places outside of Manitoba? Do you want to resettle where they live?
Ask them to find or form a group in their area to sponsor you. They may want to contact Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, United churches, or other sponsoring groups.
Unfortunately, if you do not have any relatives or friends living in Canada, it is usually extremely difficult to be sponsored to come to Canada as a refugee.
Visa Post Referred Refugees
Are you being interviewed by UNHCR? Do you want to resettle in Canada?
At the interview, tell UNHCR that you want to resettle in Canada. A community-linked or faith group in Canada may decide to sponsor you.
Unfortunately, if you do not have any relatives or friends living in Canada, it is usually extremely difficult to be sponsored to come to Canada as a refugee.
Here are a few more ways by which people may be able to become permanent residents of Manitoba:
Family Class Sponsorship
Is your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or your adult child, a permanent resident or citizen of Canada?
One of these family members can apply to sponsor you. If the family member lives in Manitoba, ask the person to call Welcome Place at 977-1000 for information and application assistance.
In-Canada Protection Services
Do you fear return to your country of origin due to a well-founded fear of persecution?
If you are in Canada seeking protection, you can initiate a refugee claim at any Citizenship and Immigration Canada office. If you are pursuing your refugee claim while in Manitoba, you can contact Welcome Place at 977 1000 for assistance regarding any stage of your claim.
Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP)
Are you outside of Canada? Do you qualify for MPNP, using the self assessment guide they provide?
You can apply to MPNP to come to Manitoba as an immigrant in a designated priority skills area. For more information about this program, you can contact MPNP by telephone at 204 945-2806 or by fax at 204 948-2256.
Other Ways to Come to Manitoba
If you want to come to Manitoba, from outside of Canada, as an independent immigrant, as a visitor, as a student or in some other way, you may want to contact the Canadian Visa Post; or Manitoba Labour and Immigration by telephone at 204 945-2806 or by fax at 204 948-2256.