Blended Visa Office-Referred Program: Who can apply to sponsor a refugee
Join or form a group to sponsor a refugee
You can’t sponsor a refugee on your own. You must be part of 1 of the following groups in Canada.
1. Sponsorship agreement holders
Sponsorship agreement holders (SAH) are organizations that signed an agreement with the Government of Canada to
- sponsor refugees and
- help them settle in their communities when they arrive in Canada
As a SAH, you can also work with other groups in the community to sponsor refugees under your agreement. These groups are called constituent groups.
2. Groups of Five
Groups of Five (G5) are groups of 5 or more individuals (Canadian citizens or permanent residents) who
- sponsor refugees and
- help them settle in their communities when they arrive in Canada
3. Community Sponsors
Community Sponsors are organizations, associations or corporations that
- sponsor refugees and
- help them settle in their communities when they arrive in Canada
How to find a group
- Contact a SAH in your area to find out how to partner with them
- Contact the Refugee Sponsorship Training Program (RSTP) to find out how to form your own sponsorship group
Your responsibilities as a sponsor through BVOR
As a private sponsor, you’re responsible for
- 6 months of financial support to cover monthly living costs like rent, food and utilities
- one-time start-up cost of furniture, household items, clothing, utility installations and school start-up (if applicable)
- 12 months of social, emotional and resettlement support for things like
- finding a place to live
- providing orientation to the new community
- finding language training centers and places of worship
As part of the BVOR program, we provide the other 6 months of financial support through the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP).
Refugees coming to Canada through the BVOR program arrive as permanent residents. They get temporary health care benefits through the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) and are eligible for provincial or territorial health care coverage.