Summary
Refugees seeking to reunite with family members have different processes depending on how long they have been in Canada.
You may be able to reunite with relatives in Canada if you listed your family member as a dependent on your forms for admission to Canada. You must file for your relatives within the first year of being resettled in Canada through UNHCR or private sponsorship. The Canadian government’s website with information about refugee family reunification for all provinces except Quebec is here. Information about Quebec’s process for refugee family reunification is here.
If you have been in Canada for more than one year or you otherwise do not qualify for the program above, the Canadian government website about family reunification is here. Information about Quebec's family reunification process is here. Information about reuniting with an immediate relative is here. Information about reuniting with more distant relatives is here.
In limited circumstances, residents and citizens of Canada can also sponsor refugees for resettlement to Canada. Information on private sponsorship of refugees is here. More resources are here in Amharic, Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Oromo, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, and Tigrinya.
You or your relative may want to ask an immigration attorney for help with this process. Here are a few resources:
- Information about asking for help from IRAP is here.
- If you are in Jordan, you can ask for IRAP Jordan’s help using this form. If the form is closed, you can check back at a later date.
- A list of free immigration legal service providers in the United States is available here.
- A list of private immigration attorneys in the United States is available here.