A Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) is an incorporated organization that has signed an agreement with the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (DIRC) to resettle refugees from abroad through the Private Sponsorship of Refugee program.

SAHs assume overall responsibility and liability for the management of sponsorships under their agreement. SAHs can authorize other groups in the community to sponsor refugees under their agreements. These groups are referred to as Constituent Groups (CGs).

Your Constituent Group can be made up of friends, relatives, community members-people you bring together who are committed to taking on the role of private sponsor. You can then approach a local SAH and work under its umbrella. Here is a list of SAHs based in Ottawa:

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A list of SAHs across Canada is available here.

Note: If you are an incorporated or registered organization that would like to become a Sponsorship Agreement Holder, please visit the Refugee Sponsorship Training Program website to learn more.