In Canada’s refugee sponsorship program, private groups of Canadian citizens or permanent residents, as well as private or charitable organizations, can sponsor refugees.   

The resettlement process generally begins with UNHCR identifying refugees in need of resettlement and referring them to a Canadian visa office. Sponsorship groups can also identify individuals outside of Canada that they wish to sponsor. In both cases, a Canadian visa officer determines whether those individuals are refugees whose only available durable solution is resettlement to Canada. 

Upon arrival in Canada, sponsored refugees become permanent residents, and sponsorship groups generally provide 12 months of financial and social support to the refugee newcomers to work toward their self-sufficiency. 

Sponsorship groups are matched with a refugee family from the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Programme and support them from arrival in the UK. This includes: meeting the family at the airport, providing a warm welcome and orientation, arranging housing, supporting access to medical and social services, organising language tuition, and support towards employment and self-sufficiency.

Source: RESET, UK ‘Community Sponsorship’