Helping Canadians Sponsor Refugees Through the Private Sponsorship Program.

The Group of Five (G5) program is one of Canada's most direct pathways for private citizens to sponsor refugees overseas. Under this program, five or more Canadian citizens or permanent residents may jointly sponsor a refugee who has been recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or by a foreign state. Sponsors assume a legal and financial commitment to support the sponsored individual or family for the duration of the sponsorship undertaking. At Karim Immigration Inc., we guide G5 groups through every stage of the process — from confirming sponsor eligibility, to identifying an eligible refugee, to preparing and submitting a complete IRCC application.

Why Proper Preparation Is Critical for G5 Applications

G5 applications are assessed on strict eligibility criteria. Each sponsor must meet age and status requirements, and the group as a whole must demonstrate the financial capacity to support the sponsored person or family without recourse to government assistance. Beyond financial requirements, the sponsored individual must be established as a refugee in the UNHCR or foreign-state sense, and must not be inadmissible to Canada. Applications that are incomplete, lack sufficient financial evidence, or fail to correctly document the refugee's status are routinely refused. The consequences of a refusal fall not just on the group, but on the refugee they hoped to help — and delays in this type of application can have serious humanitarian consequences.