Temporary Pause on New Group of Five & Community Sponsor Applications under the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Program Extended to December 31, 2026

Dear sponsorship community, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has extended the temporary pause on new Group of Five and Community Sponsor applications to the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program until December 31, 2026.

For more details, please read the notice and instructions posted to the IRCC website today in either English or French at the links below.

Additional Details:

English – Department of Citizenship and Immigration, Immigration and Refugee Protection Act:

https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2025/2025-11-22/html/notice-avis-eng.html#na1

French – Ministere de la Citoyenneté et de l’Immigration, Loi sur l’immigration et la protection des réfugiés:

https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2025/2025-11-22/html/notice-avis-fra.html#na1

*Please note, the BVOR program is not impacted by the pause nor its extension. Groups of Five and Community Sponsors are still eligible to apply to be matched with refugees in need of resettlement under the Blended Visa Office-Referred (BVOR) program. Please note, the BVOR program matches sponsors with refugees that are not known to them – sponsors cannot name refugees to participate in the program.