Operational Bulletin 356 – October 19, 2012

The Regulatory Changes to the Refugee Resettlement Program  

Summary

The authorities introduced certain regulatory changes to Canada’s Refugee Resettlement Program. These changes came into force on October 19, 2012.

Issue

This Operational Bulletin (OB) provides information on the regulatory changes made to Canada’s Refugee Resettlement Program. It also details the procedures applicable for both, in-Canada and visa offices.

Background

As part of Canada’s Refugee Resettlement Program, certain categories of applicants could submit applications for sponsoring refugees from abroad. These categories of applicants included:

• Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs)
• Groups of Five (G5s) and,
• Community Sponsors (CSs) in Canada

The regulatory changes that came into effect on October 19, 2012:

• Require that an applicant submit a permanent resident application along with a sponsorship undertaking to the Centralised Processing Office in Winnipeg (CPO-W)
• Specify the definition of a complete application and,
• Enable Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to return both the permanent resident application and the sponsorship undertaking to the applicants, if they find that certain important information is missing

In addition, the regulatory amendments limit certain categories of applicants to sponsoring applicants, who have received the relevant recognition from:

• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or,
• A foreign state

This restriction however, only applies to:

• Groups of Five (G5s) and,
• Community Sponsors (CSs) in Canada

Therefore, sponsored applicants would need to submit the proof of this recognition along with the sponsorship undertaking. Only then would the authorities deem the application as being complete.

Note:

• These regulatory changes to not apply to Quebec
• This is because the province of Quebec has its own process for sponsoring refugees

The Procedures Applicable for the Centralised Processing Office Winnipeg (CPO-W)

The Centralised Processing Office in Winnipeg (CPO-W) would process applications it received on or before October 18, 2012. While processing these applications, the Centralised Processing Office in Winnipeg (CPO-W) would consider the legislations in place at the time of receiving the applications.

With effect from October 19, 2012, the Centralised Processing Office in Winnipeg (CPO-W) would return all private sponsorship undertakings and applications for permanent residence that are incomplete. The Centralised Processing Office in Winnipeg (CPO-W) would return these undertakings and applications to the person or group that submitted them. This is applicable for all private sponsorship undertakings and applications for permanent residence received by the Centralised Processing Office in Winnipeg (CPO-W) from:

• Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs)
• Groups of Five (G5s) and,
• Community Sponsors (CSs) in Canada

The staff at the Centralised Processing Office in Winnipeg (CPO-W) would also refer to the document checklist found in the application guide. This would enable them to confirm that the applications are complete. In particular, the staff would check the application package to see whether it contains all the documents listed in:

• R153 (1) (b)
• 153 (1.2) and,
• 153 (2)

While processing applications, the staff could find that some documents are missing from the application package. In this scenario, the staff would:

• Not create a file and,
• Return the application package in its entirety to the person or group that submitted it

The staff at the Centralised Processing Office in Winnipeg (CPO-W) would not verify the authenticity of a recognition document issued by:

• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or,
• A foreign state

This is applicable for sponsorship undertakings and applications submitted by:

• Groups of Five (G5s) and,
• Community Sponsors (CSs) in Canada

In this scenario, the staff will only verify that the application package contains a copy of:

• A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Refugee Certificate – Mandate Letter of Protection or,
• A recognition document from a foreign state

In certain situations, the staff at the Centralised Processing Office in Winnipeg (CPO-W) might suspect that an element of fraud might be present in the copy of the following documents submitted along with the application package:

• A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Refugee Certificate – Mandate Letter of Protection or,
• A recognition document from a foreign state

In this scenario, the staff would need to enter detailed case notes in the Global Case Management System (GCMS). This would enable the visa officers to refer to these notes, when the visa office receives the application concerned.

Officers at the Centralised Processing Office in Winnipeg (CPO-W) would review only complete applications. Upon reviewing the application, the officers would make a decision on the sponsorship undertaking. In addition, the officers would only review the application for permanent residence to check whether it is complete or not.

In certain situations, the officers would approve the sponsorship undertaking. Thereafter, the staff would create a file. Following this, all sponsors would receive an acknowledgement of the receipt letter. This receipt letter also contains the in-Canada and overseas file numbers.

The staff at the Centralised Processing Office in Winnipeg (CPO-W) would send a copy of the acknowledgement letter to each member of the sponsorship group. However, they would do this only if the application and undertaking comes from a Group of Five (G5).

If the officers refuse the completed application, the staff would send a refusal letter to:

• Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs) and,
• Each member of the Group of Five (G5)

Finally, the staff at the Centralised Processing Office in Winnipeg (CPO-W) would need to:

• Scan the files, regardless of whether they are approved or refused
• Save the files in the Records, Document and Information Management System (RDIMS) and,
• Forward the approved files to the visa office

Note:

• The staff at the Centralised Processing Office in Winnipeg (CPO-W) do not consider the following documents as valid proof of refugee recognition:
• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Asylum Seeker Certificate and,
• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Registration Card
• This is because these documents do not prove that the relevant authorities i.e. the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or a foreign state have recognised the holder of these documents as a refugee

The Procedures Applicable for the Visa Offices

The visa offices would need to review files and schedule interviews. For this, they would need to proceed according to normal office procedures. Therefore, they would need to send convocation letters to applicants. In these letters, they would need to specify that the applicants must bring the following documents in original, when they arrive for the interview:

• A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Refugee Certificate – Mandate Letter of Protection or,
• A recognition document from a foreign state

During the interview, situations could arise where the officer determines that the following documents are not authentic or give rise to their being fraudulent:

• A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Refugee Certificate – Mandate Letter of Protection or,
• A recognition document from a foreign state

In this scenario, the visa officer would need to:

• Consult the local anti-fraud officer for first level fraud and,
• Consult the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Liaison Officer for second level fraud and,
• Continue with the assessment of the application

Officers need to note that they cannot refuse the application on the grounds that the applicant:

• Has failed to produce the original documents of:
• A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Refugee Certificate – Mandate Letter of Protection or,
• A recognition document from a foreign state OR,
• Has submitted fraudulent copies of:
• A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Refugee Certificate – Mandate Letter of Protection or,
• A recognition document from a foreign state

These reasons are not in and of themselves sufficient grounds for refusing an application. However, officers could make their decision on the application, while weighing in these factors in their final decision.

Situations could arise where the officers decide to refuse the application upon completion of the interview. In this scenario, the officers would need to provide full and detailed reasons for their decision to refuse the application.

Similarly, situations could arise where the officers decide to accept the application upon completion of the interview. This could be despite the fact that the applicant has not submitted authentic documents. In this scenario too, the officers would need to provide full and detailed reasons for their decision to approve the application.

Decision-makers have the authority to assign weights to any factor. This is applicable when they determine whether to accept or refuse an application. Therefore, they need to weigh the facts in a fair and impartial manner. They need to consider all the positive and negative elements surrounding the application too. 

Therefore, officers would need to explain why they considered one factor over another during the decision-making process. In particular, the officers would need to focus on factors that:

• Are directly applicable to the formation of the decision or,
• Are particularly significant to support the decision

The Application Guide and Forms

The authorities have created:

• A new sponsorship undertaking form (IMM 5373) and,
• An application guide

These documents consolidate the previous undertakings from:

• Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs)
• Groups of Five (G5s) and,
• Community Sponsors (CSs) in Canada

Therefore, officers would need to read the guide thoroughly. This would enable them to become familiar with the requirements prescribed by the new process. In particular, they would need to focus on the document checklist.

The authorities have included a consent form (IMM 5729) in the new application package. This enables officers to disclose and collect personal information from both the sponsors and the applicants. Both parties would need to sign this mandated form. In addition, the two parties would need to submit this form using the new application package.

The authorities would continue to accept the old sponsorship undertaking forms. They would do so until June 30, 2013. However, the authorities would only accept these forms if they:

• Are complete and,
• Contain the permanent resident application forms for the sponsored refugees i.e. IMM 6000

In addition, undertakings submitted by Groups of Five (G5s) and Community Sponsors (CSs) in Canada, would require the applicant to submit a proof of recognition, along with the application, issued by:

• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or,
• A foreign state

The authorities require this even if the sponsor is using the old application forms. Parties using the old sponsorship undertaking forms would not need to submit the new consent form.

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)