Government-Assisted Refugees

The Canadian government has a program of government refugee sponsorship. Refugees admitted under this program are known as government-assisted refugees. Unfortunately, there is no mechanism for a would-be refugee to opt into this program as it is typically based on referrals from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Only refugees registered with UNHCR will be considered for this program, and the UNHCR has its own procedure for determining whether a refugee (or refugee family) will be referred for government sponsorship.