Since late 2024 and through 2025, refugee sponsorship in Canada has been defined by significant government pauses on new applications for private sponsorship. While existing applications continue to be processed and some pathways remain open, specifically through Sponsorship Agreement Holder organizations like the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the halt has caused distress among potential sponsors and refugee advocates.
Temporary pauses on new applications
As of November 29, 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) temporarily stopped accepting new applications for the Private Sponsorship of Refugees program from Group of 5 and Community Sponsorship channels. Applications submitted before the pause are not affected and continue to be processed. The pause is scheduled to last until December 31, 2025.
Open Sponsorship pathways
As part of the changes implemented by IRCC, the annual allocation given to each SAH organization has been reduced by around 20% for the year 2025. The PCC has experienced a 29% reduction, going from an allocation of 81 spots to 58.
Other open sponsorship pathways include the Blended Visa Office-Referred (BVOR) program. This program matches refugees identified by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with private sponsors in Canada. For these cases, the government and sponsors share financial costs. While these cases do not fall under the allocation numbers, potential sponsors should apply through SAH organizations to sponsor under the BVOR program.
Sponsorship Agreement Holder organizations are encouraging potential sponsors to look at sponsorships for government-identified refugees through the BVOR program, rather than sponsor-named refugees. PWS&D also has financial assistance available for sponsors who might be interested in the BVOR program, but where cost is a factor.
The pause and cuts to overall refugee levels have significantly reduced the number of refugees that can be privately sponsored. This comes despite a high level of public interest in sponsorship. This has left many Canadians unable to move forward with applications they had spent months preparing, forcing them to deliver disappointing news to refugee families.
Reasons for the overall cuts to refugee sponsorship levels
The reason provided by the Canadian government for its decision to pause certain refugee sponsorship applications and cut overall immigration levels in 2024 and 2025 is primarily to manage large backlogs and address public concerns about pressure on housing and social services. These policy shifts follow a record increase in newcomers and a change in public opinion on immigration levels. The number of refugees being admitted to Canada is already very low compared to most countries.
By focusing on the existing backlog, IRCC’s goal is to achieve shorter and more predictable processing times for the tens of thousands of applications already in the system. This helps IRCC better manage its workload and align with the private sponsorship targets outlined in the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan.
High immigration and population growth in recent years have also intensified pressure on Canada’s housing supply, infrastructure and social services, including healthcare. The government stated that stabilizing population growth is necessary to ease these pressures. However, when compared with the overall immigration levels, refugee sponsorship, as a total share of all pathways, is still insignificant. Above all, we know that Canada is made stronger by the diverse voices that immigration brings to the country.
The current climate for refugee sponsorship is restrictive due to the temporary pauses on new applications. IRCC needs to revise the overall cuts and consider how small refugee sponsorship is to the total immigration levels.
To learn more about the refugee sponsorship program, visit WeRepond.ca/pwsd/get-involved/refugee-sponsorship/.
This article was originally published in the 2025 winter issue of The Presbyterian Connection.
