UNHCR Referral 

If you want to immigrate to Canada on the basis of being a refugee in any way, you will first have to claim refugee status from the UNHCR and obtain an official UNHCR Referral.

“According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, refugees are people who have been forced to leave their country and who are afraid to return because of war, violence or persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.” (see Canada: A History of Refuge)

The thing that makes 123Visa such a strong team is that we have people working for you that immigrated as skilled workers, students and refugees, so we have hands-on knowledge and experience from both sides of immigration to become permanent residents and Canadian citizens.

Candidates for resettlement are referred to the appropriate visa office by The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The visa office is usually provided with a Refugee Referral Form, by the local or regional UNHCR office, which contains the refugee claim, family composition and other pertinent details. In some areas, this Refugee Referral Form can be updated electronically indicating to the visa office and UNHCR system when someone is found to be a refugee under their mandate.

“Persons of concern” who may not meet the all the criteria to be considered a Convention refugee, may still receive a referral if they fall under the UNHCR’s general mandate, and it is found that resettlement is the best option. The UNHCR officer must determine whether or not the person meets the basic Canadian requirements for resettlement, taking into consideration factors that are common to both the country of asylum classes and the ‘Convention refugee outside Canada’, before providing the official UNHCR referral. See more in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees website.

To understand how important the United Nations is to refugees, view 123Visa’s blog on The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

Also, read another of our blogs to find out more about Refugee Streams in Canada.

Read about the Hierarchy of the Canadian Immigration Court System, in case you need to appeal a decision.

“In association with the international community, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) promotes three lasting solutions for refugees:

• Voluntary repatriation to their country of origin
• Local integration in a host country
• Resettlement in a third country”

The team at 123Visa is passionate about helping Refugees who are facing unjust discrimination persecution and punishment. Read our blogs on Persecuted Human Rights Activists and Women in Iran Immigrate to Canada as Refugees. We know this inside and out and work very hard to attain successful outcomes to bring people to the safe haven that is Canada!