We want to immigrate to Canada as refugees from outside Canada.

[Zainabazing]

hi there,

My name is Zinab, and I'm 22 years old from Yemen. As you know Yemen Suffers from a really really bad situation lately due to war. Me and my 20 years old brother traveled to Egypt after we have suffered a lot in Yemen and we no longer could have stayed there because of the war. after we've arrived to Egypt we didn't know what to do after that we've heard about the UNHCR so we decided to go there and tell our story and now we are referred by the UNHCR. however, we are still worried and we don't know for how long we can continue to hold on in Egypt and our mental state is very bad even we can not afford to study for college and have a decent life. at that point, we've decided to immigrate to Canada as refugees and ask for a permanent residence and hopefully be Canadian citizens. I already took the right forms from the website https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/help-outside-canada.html as refugees from outside Canada and I filled them up and I collected all the other important documents and I made them ready. after I did all this I went to the visa office in Egypt and this is their website http://www.vfsglobal.com/ I assumed that they will take my papers and proceed with the process of my application but they told me they don't take anything that has to deal with refugees and they only do visas for people who want to study, work, or join their families in Canada and they told us to go to the Canadian embassy in Egypt. After I went to the embassy they told me they don't take any applications from refugees and that I have to submit it online and send it and then we will get an email about an interview and that this interview will be in the embassy of Canada. Now I'm really confused and things are only getting worse for me and my brother we want to live a good life and now I have no clue about where to go and submit my papers whether it's online or in Egypt. And so you know I made an account on the Canadian website https://www.canada.ca/en.html in order to apply from the website itself as a refugee from outside of Canada but I got lost and couldn't find how exactly.

please please please help me I don't know what to do next and I'm in a very bad situation and lost at the moment tell me if there is any effective way or place in Egypt that I can go to or a way to apply online easily.

 

[Buletruck]

You either have to wait for the unhcr to place you in a safe country (not necessarily Canada) or you need to obtain a visa (TRV,student, work) for Canada and apply once you arrive. As you are registered with the unhcr, it will be extremely difficult to obtain a visa. You can not apply as a refugee directly to Canada from outside the country.


Determine your eligibility
To come to Canada as a refugee, you must be referred. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), a designated referral organization, or a private sponsorship group can refer you. You cannot apply directly to us as a refugee.

To be referred, you must fall into one of these two refugee classes.


https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/help-outside-canada.html

 

[Zainabazing]

You either have to wait for the unhcr to place you in a safe country (not necessarily Canada) or you need to obtain a visa (TRV,student, work) for Canada and apply once you arrive. As you are registered with the unhcr, it will be extremely difficult to obtain a visa. You can not apply as a refugee directly to Canada from outside the country.


Determine your eligibility
To come to Canada as a refugee, you must be referred. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), a designated referral organization, or a private sponsorship group can refer you. You cannot apply directly to us as a refugee.

To be referred, you must fall into one of these two refugee classes.


https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/help-outside-canada.html

Yes I know that, and we fall under "Country of asylum class" and we are referred by the UNHCR I already filled the forms of it. my problem is that I don't know where to submit the paper forms in order to start the process of the application.

 

[Buletruck]

You don’t file the form. The UNHCR refers you to countries willing to accept refugees. Until that happens, there is nothing you can do to apply to Canada. If Canada accepts you as a refugee, after referral from the UNHCR, they will contact you and explain how to proceed.

You cannot apply directly to us as a refugee.

You will still need the UNHCR, a referral organization, or a private sponsorship group to refer you.

How to apply
If you are referred, you will need to fill out the application package to apply as a Convention refugee or as a humanitarian-protected person abroad. You will need to pass a medical exam and security and criminal check.

 

[Zainabazing]

You don’t file the form. The UNHCR refers you to countries willing to accept refugees. Until that happens, there is nothing you can do to apply to Canada. If Canada accepts you as a refugee, after referral from the UNHCR, they will contact you and explain how to proceed.

okay, thank you for making this clear. However, do you advise me on anything to do in order to speed up the process of my case in the UNHCR Egypt?

 

[Buletruck]

Again, that will depend on the receiving countries to review your referral and decide if they are willing to accept you. And as I said before, you won’t get to choose the country.

 

[Zainabazing]

Again, that will depend on the receiving countries to review your referral and decide if they are willing to accept you. And as I said before, you won’t get to choose the country.

Thank you very much.

 

[Buletruck]

Try to be patient (easier said than done). The good thing is processing times, once accepted, are relatively quick in Egypt due to the issues in the region.

 

[Zainabazing]

Try to be patient (easier said than done). The good thing is processing times, once accepted, are relatively quick in Egypt due to the issues in the region.

Once again thank you for providing me with this information, I honestly had no idea how things work but it was good that I asked rather than to just sit here and do nothing about it.

 

[canuck78]

Relocation through UNHCR can take a very long time. Sometimes decades. I would suggest you do whatever possible to establish yourself in Egypt. Unfortunately with such a large demand for resettlement only a small percentage of people are able to be resettled and explained above it will be UNHCR who determines who gets referred for possible resettlement.

 

[Zainabazing]

Relocation through UNHCR can take a very long time. Sometimes decades. I would suggest you do whatever possible to establish yourself in Egypt. Unfortunately, with such a large demand for resettlement, only a small percentage of people are able to be resettled and explained above it will be UNHCR who determines who gets referred for possible resettlement.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

 

[abd1983]

Hi
you can not apply a refugee file by yourself from outside Canada ,
to do so there is two ways
1- by the UNHCR , you have to wait until they chose you for a resettlement (they may choose other country than Canada ) ,then they will inform you that you have been chosen and will do several interviews before they transfer your file to the resettlement country authorities , this process may take very long time as there is so many people asking for resettlement.
2- by someone in Canada, in this case you must be sponsored privately either by group of people (normally five Canadians) or by an organization , they will register your application and provide evidences that they will support you for a year after your arrival to Canada.
so, if you know someone in Canada it is good idea to ask him to help you finding sponsors (privately sponsored refugees applications are stopped now but hopefully they will be opened again in 2018)
* if you have the requested funds it will be easier to find sponsors. *

here you can find helpful information
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/help-outside-canada.html

 

[Buletruck]

Hi
you can not apply a refugee file by yourself from outside Canada ,
to do so there is two ways
1- by the UNHCR , you have to wait until they chose you for a resettlement (they may choose other country than Canada ) ,then they will inform you that you have been chosen and will do several interviews before they transfer your file to the resettlement country authorities , this process may take very long time as there is so many people asking for resettlement.
2- by someone in Canada, in this case you must be sponsored privately either by group of people (normally five Canadians) or by an organization , they will register your application and provide evidences that they will support you for a year after your arrival to Canada.
so, if you know someone in Canada it is good idea to ask him to help you finding sponsors (privately sponsored refugees applications are stopped now but hopefully they will be opened again in 2018)
* if you have the requested funds it will be easier to find sponsors. *

Just some clarification.....Both of these examples require referral from the UNHCR. That is key to gaining the opportunity to claim as a refugee in Canada. Regardless of having sponsors (option 2), a referral is still necessary. The other thing to keep in mind is that a government sponsored refugee (option 1) processing time from Egypt (after referral) is12 months. Privately sponsored refugee processing times from Egypt is 65 months (after referral). A considerable difference.

 

[abd1983]

Just some clarification.....Both of these examples require referral from the UNHCR. That is key to gaining the opportunity to claim as a refugee in Canada. Regardless of having sponsors (option 2), a referral is still necessary. The other thing to keep in mind is that a government sponsored refugee (option 1) processing time from Egypt (after referral) is12 months. Privately sponsored refugee processing times from Egypt is 65 months (after referral). A considerable difference.

hi Buletruk
I'm a little bit confused about the UNHCR referral
previously, on the CIC website, they have mentioned that applicants must be registered at the UNHCR as refugees ,
but recently I couldn't find that demand , and they say " To come to Canada as a refugee, you must be referred. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), a designated referral organization, or a private sponsorship group can refer you. You cannot apply directly to us as a refugee."

regarding the processing time you are right ,there is a big difference.

 

[Buletruck]

I'm a little bit confused about the UNHCR referral
previously, on the CIC website, they have mentioned that applicants must be registered at the UNHCR as refugees ,
but recently I couldn't find that demand , and they say " To come to Canada as a refugee, you must be referred.

It's a bit of a mix....Group of 5 and Community Sponsor groups still require the referral from UNHCR. The other 3 private sponsors don't. So yes, you are correct, but also incorrect.....nothing like dealing with government organizations!

2.3 Who may submit a private sponsorship?
The following groups may submit a private sponsorship:

Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs):
Incorporated organizations that have signed a formal sponsorship agreement with Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Most current SAHs are religious organizations, ethnocultural groups or humanitarian organizations. SAHs, which may be local, regional or national, assume overall responsibility for the management of sponsorships under their agreement. Organizations entering into a sponsorship agreement with IRCC generally submit several refugee sponsorships a year.

Constituent Groups (CGs):
A SAH can authorize CGs to sponsor under its agreement and provide support to the refugees. Each SAH sets its own criteria for recognizing CGs. CGs are based in the sponsored refugee's expected community of settlement and must have their sponsorship application and settlement plan approved by their SAH before the undertaking is submitted to the Resettlement Operations Centre in Ottawa (ROC-O).

Groups of Five (G5):
Five or more Canadian citizens or permanent residents, who are at least 18 years of age, live in the expected community of settlement and have collectively arranged for the sponsorship of a refugee living abroad. The five individuals act as guarantors that the necessary support will be provided for the full duration of the sponsorship. ROC-O assesses individual contributions of group members to the sponsorship. The financial and non-financial aspects are considered collectively, as well as the settlement plan, before the sponsorship is approved. The group’s financial commitment must meet the levels established in the Sponsorship Cost Table under section E of the Settlement Plan (IMM 5373AE) (PDF, 1.21MB).

As part of the application package, the sponsoring group will need to include proof that each applicant has been recognized as a refugee by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) or by a foreign state. Only a photocopy of the original document is required. If the document is in a language other than English or French, then a certified translation (in either official language) must be submitted along with the photocopy of the original document.

Community Sponsors (CSs):
Any organization (for-profit/not-for-profit, incorporated/non-incorporated) located in the community where the refugees are expected to settle can make an organizational commitment to sponsor. Community Sponsors must undergo financial and settlement plan assessments by ROC-O each time they wish to sponsor. Like G5s, Community Sponsors must demonstrate that the organization is willing and able to commit funds toward the sponsorship in line with the levels established in the Sponsorship Cost Table under section E of the Settlement Plan and Financial Assessment (IMM 5515) (PDF, 1.28MB).

As part of the application package, the sponsoring group will need to include proof that each applicant has been recognized as a refugee by the UNHCR or by a foreign state. Only a photocopy of the original document is required. If the document is in a language other than English or French, then a certified translation (in either official language) must be submitted along with the photocopy of the original document.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/guide-private-sponsorship-refugees-program/section-2.html#a2.3