Learning about collective sponsorships

A collective sponsorship involves a two-fold commitment:

• to provide for the essential needs of the sponsored persons
• to help the sponsored persons get settled by offering moral support, helping them learn French (if applicable), supporting them in their search for work and contributing to their integration into Québec society.

Who can be a sponsor?

The sponsor may be a group of two to five persons, a non-profit organization or a group composed of a Québec resident and a non-profit organization. In all cases, the sponsors must demonstrate that they are capable of fulfilling their commitment. In particular, sponsors must provide proof of their ability to fulfill their financial obligations.

Who can be sponsored?

The person on behalf of whom a sponsorship is undertaken must be recognized as belonging to one of the following categories:

• a Convention Refugee Abroad
• a person in the Country of Asylum Class
• a person covered by section 18 c) iii) of the Regulation respecting the selection of foreign nationals.
  

Other conditions

What commitment is the sponsor undertaking?

From a financial standpoint, the sponsor must assume for the entire duration of the signed undertaking:

• the expenses related to the establishment in Québec of the sponsored person and of his or her family, including housing costs, furnishings, travel, food and clothing
• the expenses pertaining to necessary health care, services and drugs not covered or not reimbursed by a public insurance plan
• the costs that arise from procedures or preparations necessary to help the sponsored person enter the job market or look for a job and that are not covered by a government program.

The sponsor also undertakes to:

• help the sponsored person and his or her family settle in
• help them to learn French
• support them in their search for work
• facilitate their integration into Québec society.
  

The sponsorship undertaking is usually for a one-year period. It may be for a period of three years if, based on the Ministry’s assessment, the person being sponsored can integrate into Québec society but is unable to integrate into the job market and their physical safety is not threatened in the country of residence.

	USEFUL INFORMATION
	If the sponsor fails to fulfill his or her commitments and a sponsored person requests financial assistance of last resort (social assistance) during the term of the undertaking, the amounts paid by the government constitute a debt that the sponsor is obligated to reimburse.