1. Interpretative Guide to the Sponsorship Rational
Question 1. Eligibility
- Convention Refugees Abroad are convention refugees1 residing outside of Canada. Ensure the person
sponsored is outside of Canada because people living in Canada including failed refugee claimants and
people without status cannot be sponsored by private sponsor
- Convention grounds - the fear of persecutions of the applicant should be related to race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion,
- Outside of Country of citizenship or habitual residence- the applicants should be outside of his
country of citizenship. If they are stateless, they have to be outside of their country of habitual residence
- Well-founded fear of persecution – by reviewing the story of the applicant, assesses if the fear of
persecution is objectively well-founded in light of the situation in the country. Looking into past
persecution of the applicant or persecution of people in a similar condition to the applicant will help
you to determine if the fear is well-founded or not.
- Persecution – make sure the applicants will actually face persecution i.e they will encounter a continual
or systematic violation of fundamental human rights and cannot get the protection of their state such
police and judicial system. Deprivation of Economic interest, poverty, lack of access to education,
health and other service are not normally considered persecutions.
- Race describes an ethnic group, tribe, or other closely related set of people with descent from a single
source. This refers if an applicant is singled out for persecution because of skin color, facial features
and hair texture or other self-identifications.
- Nationality encompasses “citizenship” and ethnic or linguistic groups.
- Religion – this is relevant when a refugee was persecuted for worship certain religious belief. For
instance, if the applicant is prohibited from enjoying his Freedom of religion includes the right to
manifest the religion in public, or private, in teaching, practice, worship and observance. Additionally,
it includes forced conversion; punishment for failing to convert or for apostasy (conversation of one’s
religion)
- Particular Social Group- includes applicant who are persecuted because of their gender, sexual
orientation and members of trade union or profession associations. Typical examples are women and
homosexuals.
- Political Opinion- for those who are persecuted for expressing their opinion against the state or
perceived to have a critical opinion on any matter in which the machinery of state, government, and
policy may be engaged. It may also be implied and against a non state actor such an insurgents or rebel
groups.
1
A Convention refugee is a person who by reason of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion,
(a) is outside each of their countries of nationality and is unable or, by reason of that fear, is unwilling to
avail themselves of the protection of each of those countries, or
(ii) not having a country of nationality, is outside their country of former habitual residence and is unable
or, by reason of that fear, unwilling to return to that country.

2. - Country of Asylum Class2- “seriously and personally” to those who are still traumatized because their
past persecution for example victims of torture and rape and violence..
- Source Country Class3 – it is only used for internally displaced applicants who are citizen or
habitually resident of the six country enlisted in the source country list i.e. Sudan, Congo DRC, Serra
Leon, Guatemala, El-Salvador and Colombia. For instance, Human right defenders who are in hiding or
people residing in refugee camps within their own country can apply under this category.
- Question 1. 4: Requires you to write what you think the applicant qualifies for sponsorship. In your
submission, identify how the story of refugees relates to the above mentioned elements of the eligibility
criteria.
- Question 2 - Durable Solution
- The three durable solutions for refugees are Voluntary Repatriation or Return to the Country of Origin,
Local Integration in the Country of Asylum or Resettlement to a Third Country. Refugees qualify for
sponsorship if they are unable to neither return to their country of origin nor locally integrate in where
they are.
- Voluntary repatriation – check if the applicant is unable to return
- Local integration – you can submit sponsorship applicant if the applicant is unable to work, travel ,
study or access the health, and social service of the country of asylum.
- Resettlement to Other Countries – if the applicant is offered resettle to other countries or is actually
resettled to another country, he or she will not qualify for sponsorship to Canada.
- Question 2.4 Once again, you need to relate the story of the refugee and indicate why the refugee
should be resettled to Canada because he or she does not have other durable solutions.
2
A member of the Country of Asylum Class (RA) as a person
• who is outside his or her country of citizenship or habitual residence;
• who has been, and continues to be, seriously and personally affected by civil war or armed conflict
or who has suffered massive violations of human rights;
• for whom there is no possibility of finding an adequate solution to his or her situation within a
reasonable period of time; and
• who will be privately sponsored or who has adequate financial resources to support himself or
herself and any dependants.
3
Source Country Class is a person:
• who resides in his or her country of citizenship or habitual residence;
• who has been and continues to be seriously and personally affected by civil war or armed conflict;
• who has suffered serious deprivation of his or her right of freedom of expression, right of dissent
or right to engage in trade union activity and who has been detained or imprisoned as a
consequence;
• who fears persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social
group or political opinion;
• for whom there is no possibility of finding an adequate solution to his or her situation within a
reasonable period of time;
• who resides in a country that has been designated as a source country (refer to Schedule 2 of the
Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations); and
• who will be privately sponsored or assisted by the government or who has adequate financial
resources to support himself or herself and any dependants