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Embracing our brothers and sisters from the suffering church
Embracing our brothers and sisters from the suffering church
Loving our brothers and sisters through refugee sponsorship
Steps in a sponsorship
Remember Ministries works primarily with churches to sponsor refugees, but at times, when extra resources are available, we also do work with cosponsors and groups of volunteers to put together a sponsorship. Steps below will vary somewhat, depending on the situation.
1
Communications between Remember Ministries and the church and/or cosponsors
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Remember Ministries and the church communicate together about the refugee(s) in need of sponsorship and together work to develop a plan for the sponsorship. A memorandum of understanding is put together between sponsoring parties.
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A draft budget is put together to discuss and eventually is finalized. There are minimum rates which the government sets but these are often exceeded in the finalized budget due to high rent rates in the settlement community.
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A prescreening form is filled out by the refugee to ensure that the refugee(s) is eligible for the PSR program.
2
Fundraising begins, by the church and cosponsors (if applicable), which will be used for the financial settlement needs of the refugee(s) during their first twelve months in Canada.
3
Concurrently with step 2, work begins on the refugee’s application forms, their documentation, and the church’s sponsorship forms in preparation for submission to the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees, Citizenship Canada).
4
Concurrently with steps 2 and 3, volunteers are recruited at the church to participate in the settlement team. This team creates a settlement plan describing how they will care for the refugee(s) when they arrive in Canada. This settlement plan form is filled out for submission to the IRCC.
5
When the refugee's forms and church's forms are finished, they are submitted to Remember Ministries for review. These forms include the refugee’s generic application (IMM-008), Schedule A (IMM-5669), and Schedule 2, as well as the sponsor's forms: Undertaking to Sponsor (IMM-5373), Settlement Plan (IMM-5440) and Sponsor Assessment (IMM-5492). We look them over for any inconsistencies or errors and once any required revisions are made, the application is submitted to the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees, and Citizens Canada).
6
IRCC reviews the submission, checks it over for any omissions or obvious errors and gives it a file number (called a “G number”). This can take 2 to 6 months. They then send it to the corresponding visa office overseas for further processing.
7
The refugee is put on a wait-list for their interview. Now comes a waiting phase which can take anywhere from a few months to several years. (See average application processing times here. The visa office sends out an email to the refugee when the interview is scheduled.
8
After their interview, if the refugee is provisionally accepted, they are referred for medical testing as well as criminality and security screening.
9
There may be further waiting at this point, until a final decision is reached by the visa office and the refugee is approved to come to Canada. The SAH and sponsoring groups are notified. A permanent resident visa is issued and the file is passed from the visa office to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) who conduct Canadian Orientation Abroad and arranges their travel.
10
A NAT (Notice of Arrival Transmission) is sent to the SAH and sponsoring groups to let them know when travel is scheduled. Plans can then be made to meet the refugee(s) at the airport.
11
The refugee(s) arrives in Canada and is greeted by the members of the church settlement team. The settlement year has begun!
12
Remember Ministries will monitor and check in on the settlement team and newcomer(s) periodically during the settlement year.
13
After 12 months of settlement support, the newcomer(s) officially ‘graduates’ from the official support of the settlement team and sponsoring groups.