Ottawa, January 25, 2017 - On December 19, 2016, a temporary public policy was put in place to let Group of Five and Community Sponsors submit applications to sponsor up to an additional 1000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

We have now reached the number of applications allowed under the public policy. Applications received after reaching the limit will be returned.

We are taking steps to reduce the number of pending applications for private sponsors in order to significantly reduce long wait times.

We will also continue to bring many more refugees to Canada than we have in the past. In 2017, Canada will welcome 25 000 refugees from overseas which includes 16 000 privately sponsored refugees.

These refugees will need the help and support of Canadians to successfully integrate.

Sponsoring a refugee is just one way to help. You can also help by:

volunteering with an organization that works with refugees in your area

donating to an organization in Canada or

donating to international organizations that are helping refugees overseas.

Learn more.

We thank you for your interest in sponsoring Syrian and Iraqi refugees and encourage you to consider other ways of helping.