Canada: the global leader in refugee resettlement
According to the annual Global Trends Report released by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Canada was the largest receiver of resettled refugees in 2021. That year, the country welcomed 20,400 refugees. This is more than double the 9,200 resettlement arrivals in the previous year. “That makes it three years running that Canada is the global leader in resettlement,” said the UNHCR.
Resettled refugees arriving in Canada came primarily from: Afghanistan (6,100), Syria (4,200), and Eritrea (3,700). “There is very little to cheer about in this report, but one bright spot is Canada’s record of welcoming refugees,” said Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR’s Representative in Canada.
Canada is targeting high levels of refugees and protected persons for 2022 (76,545), 2023 (74,055) and 2024 (62,500).
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Other leading resettlement countries
In 2021, the United States of America received 13,700 refugees (43% more than in 2020), coming mainly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (5,200), Syria (2,000) and Sudan (1,100).
Further, Sweden was the third largest country of resettlement. They welcomed 6,700 refugees mostly from Syria (2,600) and Afghanistan (1,600).
The proportion of a country’s population who become refugees
According to the Global Trends Report, the countries that have seen the greatest proportion of their national population become refugees are Syria (27,300 per 100,000 inhabitants), South Sudan, (17,200 per 100,000) and Venezuela (13,800 per 100,000).
displaced abroad is highest relative to its inhabitants.
In addition, the Syrian refugee population continues to be the largest globally, with 6.8 million refugees hosted in 129 countries. Moreover, Syrian refugees constituted 27 per cent of the global refugee population at the end of 2021. Also, Venezuelans are the second-largest population displaced across borders, with 4.6 million. Nearly all are located in the Americas region without formal refugee status. Afghans represent the third-largest refugee population globally, with more than 2.7 million hosted by 98 countries.
About Refugee Resettlement in Canada
Each year, IRCC facilitates the admission of a targeted number of permanent residents under the refugee resettlement category. These are persons who are outside of their home country and are unable to return based on a well-founded fear of persecution. This persecution could be due several reasons such as race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group or association with a political opinion. It also includes those who are outside their home country and have been seriously affected by civil war, armed conflict, or otherwise have their safety threatened.
According to our CEO and RCIC, Al Parsai, one option for these people is to seek asylum through the UNHCR. In some exceptional cases, they may still resettle to Canada if they receive support from a private sponsorship group. Moreover, a successful resettlement process could lead to permanent residency in Canada upon arrival.
If you want to learn more about refugee programs in Canada, please visit the following articles:
- Refugee Definition
- Refugee Resettlement Canada
- Claiming Refugee Status
- Who may not file for refugee in Canada
- Moving to Canada as a refugee
- Refugee Claims inside Canada? We could help!
Canada’s milestones in 2022
On September 22, 2022, Canada marked an important milestone by welcoming the 20,000th Afghan refugee since August 2021. As of October 12, 2022, the country has welcomed 22,270 vulnerable Afghans.
Also, in recent months, Canada introduced programs to help thousands of Ukrainian nationals and their family members find safety in Canada. Between January 1 and October 9, 2022, almost 87,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Canada by air, and 15,226 have arrived in Canada by land. In addition, between March 17 and October 11, 2022, Canada approved 302,071 applications under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET). Through CUAET Ukrainian nationals and their family members can apply for a temporary resident visa to travel to and stay in Canada temporarily.
Let us help!
If you are currently inside Canada and intend to file for refugee status, click here and fill out the form. Of course, if your intention is not to move to Canada as a refugee in 2021, fill out our assessment form. Alternatively, you could book a consultation session with Al Parsai for official advice.
You may click here to explore other immigration options to Canada.
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