Private Group Sponsorship Intake Suspended 2026

Summary#

These are ministerial instructions under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act from The Hon. Lena Metlege Diab that tell Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to accept zero new group applications for private refugee sponsorship in calendar year 2026. The instructions take effect January 1, 2026 and expire December 31, 2026.

What it does#

• Sets the number of new group sponsorship applications accepted for processing under Part 8, Division 2 of the regulations to zero for the period January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026.
• Applies to groups as defined in the regulations whose sponsorship applications are submitted on or after the coming-into-effect date.
• Excludes applications made under a temporary public policy under section 25.2 of the Act (those are not affected).
• States that humanitarian and compassionate requests made from outside Canada that accompany an application not accepted for processing under these instructions will not be processed.
• Explains the intent is to limit new intake so existing applications can be processed and Cabinet-approved admission targets can be met without growing backlogs.

Who's affected#

• Groups that sponsor refugees under the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program and the community sponsors that form them.
• Refugees who would have been named in new group sponsorship applications submitted on or after January 1, 2026.
• Community organizations and settlement service providers who support private sponsorship applicants.
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, which will stop accepting those new group files for the year.
• People covered by temporary public policies under section 25.2 are not affected by this limit.

Why it matters#

• If you were planning to start a new group sponsorship after January 1, 2026, you will not be able to have that application accepted for processing during 2026. That can delay a refugee's chance to come to Canada or force sponsors to look for other routes.
• The rule aims to give IRCC room to finish existing files and meet admission targets, so processing times for current applicants could improve.
• The decision also means some humanitarian and compassionate requests tied to rejected group applications from abroad will not be processed, which could have important consequences for individuals in urgent situations.