Refugee applicants must meet the eligibility and admissibility criteria for private refugee sponsorship to Canada. These are:

• The refugee is currently outside their home country in a place that is not a permanent location for resettlement.
• They cannot return home due to a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, political opinion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group (such as gender or sexual orientation).
• They have been referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and/or sponsored by a private sponsorship group.

To be sponsored privately, the Principal Applicant must be recognized formally as a refugee in the country of asylum (i.e.where they reside now), and be able to provide documentary proof of this status (e.g. document issued by the state of that country or document such as refugee status recognition or 'mandate letter' by the UNHCR).