The federal government has set the 2014 cap for refugee Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs) at 4000. Churches interested in sponsoring refugees should start now to begin the sponsorship process. There is no limited to the number of sponsorships under the Blended Visa Office-Referred (BVOR) Program or to sponsoring Syrian refugees.
For more information, read the RSTP Bulletin.
In 2013, CBWC churches had a collective cap of 8 refugees who could be sponsored under the SAH program. A cap for 2014 has not yet been communicated to the CBWC.
The Canadian government has made plans to bring 14,000 Syrian refuges to Canada by the end of the year, but so far only about 10 have arrived in Canada. Under the BVOR program, refugees are referred to Canadian visa offices abroad directly by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. In 2013, Blended VORs cases can be selected from the following populations:
- Iraqis and Iranians in the Middle East
- Eritreans in Eastern Sudan
- Burmese in Malaysia
- Bhutanese in Nepal
The refugees sponsored under this program are already travel-ready and will arrive in Canada sooner, normally within 1-4 months.
For more information on refugee sponsorship, contact Rod Olson, the CBWC’s Coordinator for Refugees and Displaced Peoples at rolson@cbwc.ca.