Group Sponsorship Pause for Refugees, 2026

Summary#

The government issued ministerial instructions under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that pause new group applications to the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Program for the 2026 calendar year. The instructions, signed by Hon. Lena Metlege Diab, set the number of new group applications accepted for processing in 2026 at zero (effective January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026).

What it does#

• Sets the number of new sponsorship applications under Part 8, Division 2 (by groups) that will be accepted for processing in a calendar year at zero. The calendar year runs from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026.
• Applies to organized sponsorship groups as defined in section 138 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, and only to applications submitted on or after the coming-into-effect date.
• Excludes applications made under a temporary public policy under section 25.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
• States that a humanitarian and compassionate request made under subsection 25(1) from outside Canada, if it accompanies an application that is not accepted for processing under these instructions, will not be processed.
• The instructions are time-limited: they take effect on January 1, 2026 and expire on December 31, 2026.

Who's affected#

• Organized private sponsors who operate as groups under the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Program and plan to submit new group applications on or after January 1, 2026.
• People hoping to come to Canada through new group sponsorship applications submitted in 2026. Their applications will not be accepted for processing during the effective period.
• Not affected: group applications submitted before January 1, 2026, and applications made under a temporary public policy (section 25.2) — those are excluded.
• It is not clear from the notice whether other sponsorship streams (for example individual or family sponsors, or other refugee classes) are affected; the instructions specifically target group applications under Part 8, Division 2.

Why it matters#

• For a year, no new group-sponsored refugee applications will be taken into the processing queue. That can delay plans by sponsors and delay resettlement for refugees who were expecting to use group sponsorship.
• The stated reason is intake management: the pause is intended to let Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) process existing applications and meet Cabinet-approved admission targets without the overall inventory growing.
• The rule about humanitarian and compassionate requests means some overseas applicants who hoped to attach such a request to a group application may lose that route in 2026.
• This is temporary (one calendar year), but could change how sponsoring groups and potential refugees plan for arrival timelines or look for alternative pathways.