Congregations wishing to sponsor a refugee should first contact Presbyterian World Service & Development. Expertise will be invaluable as you walk a path strewn with paperwork and pitfalls.
The easiest route is to sponsor a refugee who has already been approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, but is waiting for a private sponsor to complete the process.
PWS&D can provide approved sponsors with a list of such cases. Often, these refugees arrive within a year.
To become a sponsor, a congregation must provide PWS&D with an application form, proof they have the session's approval, a financial statement of the church, a settlement plan and budget for the refugee, and a plan to raise the necessary funds. The government requires sponsors to support a refugee for one year. The necessary amount will depend on the local cost of living and the number of refugees being sponsored. The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, for instance, budgeted $10,000 to provide for a single man in Montreal, whereas a trio of churches budgeted $30,000 to support a mother and two children in Etobicoke, Ont.
Individuals or organizations might approach congregations and ask them to sponsor a family member or another person. These cases can be more difficult. A congregation should first contact PWS&D to find out if the individual qualifies as a refugee. There are numerous factors that impact eligibility; make no assumptions and investigate fully. The application must also include details about the relationship between the church, family member or co-sponsor and the refugee.
The refugee must complete a substantial application before she can qualify for permanent settlement in Canada. The applicant must prove that she has suffered persecution in the past, and has strong reasons to believe that she will be persecuted again if she returns. It is important for PWS&D's refugee coordinator to look over this form before it is submitted to ensure that it builds a strong case.
It may be more than two years before a refugee is interviewed. If she is approved, she must pass medical and security checks, then wait for a visa from Canada.
The process can take years and in the end the congregation may have as little as a couple of weeks to make the final preparations. Be ready, don't lose hope, seek guidance: For more information and resources, including a sponsorship handbook, see www.presbyterian.ca/pwsd/refugee.
– C Purvis
