REFUGEE MINISTRY

St. Joseph Catholic Parish, Guelph, is excited about our new official partnership with the Office for Refugees at the Diocese of Hamilton. This partnership allows the St. Joseph Catholic Parish Refugee Committee to identify and refer refugee sponsorship applications to the Diocese for consideration. Ultimately, the Diocese (a Sponsorship Agreement Holder with Immigration Canada) will make the final determination as to whether a referred case for sponsorship meets all of the necessary requirements for submission to the government, including refugee and sponsor requirements.

At this time we are not accepting any new sponsorship requests for the year 2022.

For more information please email us at: stjosephguelphrefugee@hamiltondiocese.com

Summary of the Refugee Sponsorship Process at St. Joseph’s, Guelph

STEP 1: Parish educates the community and announces the deadline for receiving completed Parish Refuge Sponsorship Request Forms.

STEP 2: Interested sponsors prepare and submit a completed Parish Refuge Sponsorship Request Form by the parish deadline.

STEP 3: The St. Joseph’s Catholic Parish Refugee Committee will screen and review all Parish Refuge Sponsorship Request Forms for completion.

STEP 4: Parish will update all potential sponsors (those individuals who submitted a Parish Refuge Sponsorship Request Form) regarding whether they are eligible to be entered into the annual sponsorship lottery (eligibility is based on form completion and an initial screening based on program requirements).

STEP 5: Parish will hold a random lottery to identify which request for sponsorship assistance will be referred to the Diocese for further consideration.

Important:

The Parish will aim to complete its first lottery and refer a sponsorship case to the Diocese for consideration in Fall 2021. The goal is to refer a case in 2021 that will be considered by the Diocese for submission to the government in 2022 – very exciting!

In order to clearly understand Canada’s refugee and sponsor program requirements, please read Canada’s Guide to the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program before completing this form. Available here: Guide to the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program - Canada.ca