Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has temporarily suspended new refugee sponsorship applications from groups of five and community sponsors, effective November 29, 2024. This pause, extending until December 31, 2025, aims to manage the overwhelming application inventory while maintaining Canada’s commitment to welcome 23,000 privately sponsored refugees in 2025. The decision comes as part of a broader strategy to streamline the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Program, which has successfully provided refuge to hundreds of thousands over four decades.
