Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227)

PART 8Refugee Classes

DIVISION 1Convention Refugees Abroad, Humanitarian-protected Persons Abroad and Protected Temporary Residents

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

138 The definitions in this section apply in this Division and in Division 2.

group

group means

• (a) five or more Canadian citizens or permanent residents, each of whom is at least 18 years of age, who are acting together for the purpose of sponsoring a Convention refugee or a person in similar circumstances; or

• (b) one or more Canadian citizens or permanent residents, each of whom is at least 18 years of age, and a corporation or unincorporated organization or association referred to in subsection 13(2) of the Act, acting together for the purpose of sponsoring a Convention refugee or a person in similar circumstances. (groupe)

referral organization

referral organization means

• (a) the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; or

• (b) any organization with which the Minister has entered into a memorandum of understanding under section 143. (organisation de recommandation)

sponsor

sponsor means

• (a) a group, a corporation or an unincorporated organization or association referred to in subsection 13(2) of the Act, or any combination of them, that is acting for the purpose of sponsoring a Convention refugee or a person in similar circumstances; or

• (b) for the purposes of section 158, a sponsor within the meaning of the regulations made under An Act respecting immigration to Québec, R.S.Q., c.I-0.2, as amended from time to time. (répondant)

undertaking

undertaking means an undertaking in writing to the Minister to provide resettlement assistance, lodging and other basic necessities in Canada for a member of a class prescribed by this Division, the member’s accompanying family members and any of the member’s non-accompanying family members who meet the requirements of section 141, for the period determined in accordance with subsections 154(2) and (3). (engagement)

urgent need of protection

urgent need of protection means, in respect of a member of the Convention refugee abroad or the country of asylum class, that their life, liberty or physical safety is under immediate threat and, if not protected, the person is likely to be

• (a) killed;

• (b) subjected to violence, torture, sexual assault or arbitrary imprisonment; or

• (c) returned to their country of nationality or of their former habitual residence. (besoin urgent de protection)

vulnerable

vulnerable means, in respect of a Convention refugee or a person in similar circumstances, that the person has a greater need of protection than other applicants for protection abroad because of the person’s particular circumstances that give rise to a heightened risk to their physical safety. (vulnérable)

General

Marginal note:General requirements

• 139 (1) A permanent resident visa shall be issued to a foreign national in need of refugee protection, and their accompanying family members, if following an examination it is established that

  • (a) the foreign national is outside Canada;

  • (b) the foreign national has submitted an application for a permanent resident visa under this Division in accordance with paragraphs 10(1)(a) to (c) and (2)(c.1) to (d) and sections 140.1 to 140.3;

  • (c) the foreign national is seeking to come to Canada to establish permanent residence;

  • (d) the foreign national is a person in respect of whom there is no reasonable prospect, within a reasonable period, of a durable solution in a country other than Canada, namely

    • (i) voluntary repatriation or resettlement in their country of nationality or habitual residence, or

    • (ii) resettlement or an offer of resettlement in another country;

  • (e) the foreign national is a member of one of the classes prescribed by this Division;

  • (f) one of the following is the case, namely

    • (i) the sponsor’s sponsorship application for the foreign national and their family members included in the application for protection has been approved under these Regulations,

    • (ii) in the case of a member of the Convention refugee abroad class, financial assistance in the form of funds from a governmental resettlement assistance program is available in Canada for the foreign national and their family members included in the application for protection, or

    • (iii) the foreign national has sufficient financial resources to provide for the lodging, care and maintenance, and for the resettlement in Canada, of themself and their family members included in the application for protection;

  • (g) if the foreign national intends to reside in a province other than the Province of Quebec, the foreign national and their family members included in the application for protection will be able to become successfully established in Canada, taking into account the following factors:

    • (i) their resourcefulness and other similar qualities that assist in integration in a new society,

    • (ii) the presence of their relatives, including the relatives of a spouse or a common-law partner, or their sponsor in the expected community of resettlement,

    • (iii) their potential for employment in Canada, given their education, work experience and skills, and

    • (iv) their ability to learn to communicate in one of the official languages of Canada;

  • (h) if the foreign national intends to reside in the Province of Quebec, the competent authority of that Province is of the opinion that the foreign national and their family members included in the application for protection meet the selection criteria of the Province; and

  • (i) subject to subsections (3) and (4), the foreign national and their family members included in the application for protection are not inadmissible.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Paragraph (1)(g) does not apply to a foreign national, or their family members included in the application for protection, who has been determined by an officer to be vulnerable or in urgent need of protection.

• Marginal note:Financial inadmissibility — exemption

  (3) A foreign national who is a member of a class prescribed by this Division, and meets the applicable requirements of this Division, is exempted from the application of section 39 of the Act.

• Marginal note:Health grounds — exception

  (4) A foreign national who is a member of a class prescribed by this Division, and meets the applicable requirements of this Division, is exempted from the application of paragraph 38(1)(c) of the Act.

Marginal note:Class of family members

140 Family members of an applicant who is determined to be a member of a class under this Division are members of the applicant’s class.

Marginal note:Application

140.1 An application for a permanent resident visa submitted by a foreign national under this Division shall indicate that the foreign national is outside Canada and is making a claim for refugee protection and shall

• (a) contain the name, address and country of birth of the applicant and of all their accompanying family members;

• (b) contain the name and country of birth of all the applicant’s non-accompanying family members; and

• (c) indicate whether the applicant or any of their accompanying or non-accompanying family members is the spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner of another person.

Marginal note:Sponsorship of foreign national — requirement to attach applications

• 140.2 (1) If the foreign national making an application for a permanent resident visa under this Division is being sponsored, the application for a permanent resident visa shall

  • (a) be accompanied by a sponsorship application referred to in paragraph 153(1)(b) by which the foreign national is being sponsored; or

  • (b) be attached to the sponsorship application sent by the sponsor in accordance with subsection 153(1.2).

• Marginal note:Place of application

  (2) The foreign national who has chosen to have their application for a permanent resident visa accompanied by the sponsorship application shall send the application for a permanent resident visa and the sponsorship application to the Department’s Case Processing Centre in Canada for processing those applications.