[PSRList] Questions on Group of Five

[Laura Hambleton]

Hello Farhiyo,

Thank you for your email. Sometimes one family may require more than one application due to the age of the refugees, as well as their relationship to one another.

The principal refugee applicant must include his or her spouse/common-law partner and their unmarried children under the age of 19 on the application forms, as well as any children of the unmarried children.  Any children 19 years and older, or married children under the age of 19 years, are required to have their own application. October 24, 2017 onwards the age of dependency will be increased from under 19 years to under 22 years of age (for more information please refer to RSTP’s FAQ sheet: http://www.rstp.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FAQ-on-Amendment-to-Age-of-Dependent-Children_May-2017.pdf). Other relatives, such as siblings, parents, or in-laws of the refugee applicant cannot be included in the same application package, unless they qualify as “de facto dependants”. For more information concerning de facto dependants please visit this IRCC link: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/ref-sponsor/section-2.asp#a2.11.


If any of the principal applicant’s dependent family members are living in another country they can still be included in the same application. A separate application is not required. Your Group of Five can prepare a cover letter requesting what is called “concurrent processing” of the entire family. Canadian visa offices are encouraged to concurrently process separated families. It is recommended that your Group of Five clearly request concurrent processing in a cover letter that also outlines the location of each accompanying family member.


For example:


 "Principal Applicant [full name] and dependants [full name] and [full name] are in Country A, and


Dependent [full name] is in country B


[Group of Five name] would like to request that concurrent processing of the PA and dependents take place, if at all possible."


Efforts are made between the two visa offices to arrange travel as close as possible to each other.

In addition, please note that Groups of Five are only permitted to apply to sponsor applicants that have been officially recognized as refugees by either the UNHCR or by the government of the country they are currently residing. The principal applicant of each application must have this official refugee status, and documentary proof must be included in the application. All dependent family members included in the application have derivative status, and it is not required that they have also been officially recognized as refugees.

Please feel very welcome to contact me individually by phoning 902-406-8736 if you would like to discuss more case-specific details. I am happy to help!

Warm regards,

Laura


Laura Jill Hambleton Atlantic Trainer Refugee Sponsorship Training Program

Located at Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS)

Suite 2120, 6960 Mumford Rd, Halifax, NS, B3L 4P1

Tel: 902-406-8736  | lhambleton at rstp.ca<mailto:lhambleton at rstp.ca> | www.rstp.ca<http://www.rstp.ca/>


________________________________
From: PSR <psr-bounces at list.rstp.ca> on behalf of Farhiyo Barkedle <farxiya14 at hotmail.com>
Sent: September 6, 2017 10:45 AM
To: psr at list.rstp.ca
Subject: [PSRList] Questions on Group of Five


Hello,


We are group of five people trying to sponsor our relatives but the problem is they are refugees on different countries. Three live in Kenya Camps and one lives in Kampala, Uganada.  Do we need to submit two different applications? How do we go about this?


Thanks,


Farhiyo
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.rstp.ca/pipermail/psr_list.rstp.ca/attachments/20170911/002d2593/attachment.htm>