Valasa Immigrations Inc.

  • Refugee class

Settle in Canada as a Refugee 

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.

​​1) Convention refugee abroad class

You may be in this class if you:

  • are outside your home country,
  • cannot return there due to a well-founded fear of persecution based on
  • Race
  • Religion
  • Political opinion
  • Nationality, or
  • Membership in a particular social group. Examples: gender, sexual orientation, etc.R

2) Country of asylum class
You may be in this class if you:
  • are outside your home country, or the country where you normally live, and
  • have been seriously affected by civil war or armed conflict, or
  • have been denied basic human rights on an ongoing basis.

Country of asylum class refugees can be privately sponsored. You can also be in this class if you have the funds you need to support yourself and your family after you arrive in Canada. You will still need the UNHCR, a referral organization, or a private sponsorship group to refer you.


Who is not eligible?

You are not eligible if:

  • you have another stable option for protection, such as an offer to be resettled in another country,
  • you become a citizen of another country, which will then protect you,
  • you choose to return to the country you left, or
  • the reasons you left your country no longer exist.


Resettle in Canada as a refugee 
​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.

You may be in this class if you:

  • are outside your home country,
  • cannot return there due to a well-founded fear of persecution based on
    • race
    • religion
    • political opinion
    • nationality, or
    • membership in a particular social group. Examples: gender, sexual orientation, etc.

Convention refugees can be sponsored by:

You can also be a Convention refugee if you have the funds needed to support yourself and your family after you arrive in Canada. You will still need the UNHCR, a referral organization, or a private sponsorship group to refer you.

You may be in this class if you:

  • are outside your home country, or the country where you normally live, and
  • have been seriously affected by civil war or armed conflict, or
  • have been denied basic human rights on an ongoing basis.


Country of asylum class refugees can be privately sponsored. You can also be in this class if you have the funds you need to support yourself and your family after you arrive in Canada. You will still need the UNHCR, a referral organization, or a private sponsorship group to refer you.





Sponsor refugee

The Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program lets private groups sponsor eligible refugees abroad. As the private sponsor, you’ll support a refugee for the sponsorship period, usually up to 1 year.

Government-Assisted Refugees Program

Under the Government-Assisted Refugees (GAR) Program, refugees are referred to Canada for resettlement by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) or another referral organization.

Individuals can not apply directly.

Convention refugee abroad class

You may be in this class if you are outside your home country, cannot return there due to a well-founded fear of persecution based on

·  Race

·  Religion

·  Political opinion

·  Nationality, or 

·  Membership in a particular social group. Examples: gender, sexual orientation, etc.

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