We are a small organization and our focus is only on people living in Edmonton. We are unable to help you with your request. 

If you are looking to immigrate to Canada, please visit your local Canada consulate and see the Governemnt of Canada's Immigration & Citizenship website.

IFSSA is not an immigration consultant. We are a social service agency, and our work focuses on supporting people living in Edmonton. One way we do this is by supporting Edmonton families to privately sponsor refugees. 

If you  do not live in Edmonton, or if your family member(s) is not legally recognized as a refugee, then we unfortunately are not able to help. 

For someone to be resettled in Canada, as a refugee,  they must be in one of the following classes:

1. Convention Refugee Abroad Class

• Individual is outside their home country
• Individual cannot return to their home country due to a well-founded fear of persecution based on: race, religion, political opinion, nationality, and/or membership in a particular social group (examples: gender, sexual orientation, etc.)

2. Country of Asylum Class

• Individua is outside their home country or the country where they normally live, and
• Individual has been seriously affected by civil war or armed conflict, or
• Individual has been denied basic human rights on an ongoing basis

Please note that we are only capable  of accepting applications from Edmonton residents. 

If your family member meets the criteria as a refugee and you live outside of Edmonton, you can reach out to the SAH that serves your community of residence here. You can search based on the province and city in which you reside. 

 We appreciate your time and request with our organization. We are glad that we can help. 

Please note the following:

• As a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH), IFSSA gets a quota (number of refugees that we can help sponsor), once a year, from the Government of Canada. The number is very limited and we can't exceed this allowable number. 
• Applications open once a year. If you would like to get notified once the application opens, please either follow us on Facebook or subscribe to our mailing-list so that you receive the most current information.
• Our application is online. Meeting any of our staff will not help fast-process any application. 
• Once the application deadline is closed, all the applications are sent to an independent committee ( it doesn’t include anyIFSSA staff). The committee reviews the applications, and chooses the applicants that will be processed. 
• Successful sponsors are those who are well settled in Edmonton, are connected to the city,  have steady employment and financial stability. 

 IFSSA doesn’t provide financial support for privately sponsored refugees when they arrive. Sponsors have the full financial responsibility, and must be able to provide for the refugee for one year. 

Once the application is accepted, the sponsor is required to deposit their one year financial sponsorship contribution  into a bank account managed by IFSSA. IFSSA will provide the refugee, when they arrive, with monthly income support from this account.

Sponsored refugees are not allowed to access Alberta Work for financial assistance throughout the first year of sponsorship. 

IFSSA cannot help you obtain a visitor visa for your family or friends. Please visit this website to apply and learn how to get a Visitor VISA to Canada. 

IFSSA prefers not to get involved in filling out applications, so that we remain neutral and objective in the process of choosing the refugees to be sponsored. 

Refugees sponsored by IFSSA do not need UN refugee status. However, please note that we ask for documentation that proves the refugee lives out of their country of origin.

If the refugee you want to sponsor has UN refugee status then we may refer you to apply through the Group of Five, and reserve the spot at IFSSA for a refugee who was not able to obtain UN refugee status.

Sponsors are responsible to help the family resettle in Edmonton. A full list of duties can be reviewed here. IFSSA is able to support in some of these areas, but not all. 

Refugees are legally entitled to work. However, if they don't speak English, the first step is to enroll in English classes to gain the language skills required to work, learn, and integrate into the community. 

IRCC will follow up and ask for documentation that proves that the refugee is registered in certified English classes. Once they obtain English skills, refugees will be able to work. 

Refugees are able to work part-time, when they are enrolled in full-time English training. 

Refugees working during their first year of sponsorship are still eligible and entitled to sponsorship funds from their sponsors. This is a government regulated guideline to protect refugees and ensure sponsors uphold their responsibility.  

IFSSA doesn't have lawyers who can help you with your in-land claim. For further information on how to seek asylum when you are inside Canada, please visit the Government of Canada’s Asylum Seekers info page, or the Government of Canada’s Immigrantion & Citizenship info page. 

The cost varies depending on the number of individuals in the family, their ages, and their needs. This calculator will give you an estimate. 

We can only inquire about the application status for submissions made through our organization. If your family member applied through another organization or directly through the UNHCR, they will need to contact them directly, as we are unable to assist with those applications.

The sponsorship application is submitted online through our platform, "Embark." However, if you have been in the country for less than one year, you are ineligible to sponsor at this time.