Every day, millions of people around the world are forced to flee their homes because of conflict, violence, and persecution.
Today, 117.8 million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide. This includes 41.6 million refugees who have crossed international borders in search of safety. Overall, more than one in every 70 people on Earth has been forced to flee their home.
For many refugees, resettlement offers the opportunity to rebuild their lives in safety. Yet, only a small proportion of the world's refugees are resettled in third countries each year, highlighting the importance of complementary pathways such as Community Refugee Sponsorship.
What is Community Refugee Sponsorship?
Community Refugee Sponsorship is a complementary pathway within New Zealand's Refugee Quota Programme that enables local communities to play an active role in welcoming and supporting refugees as they rebuild their lives in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Under the programme, eligible community organisations become Approved Sponsors and partner with Immigration New Zealand to support a refugee individual or family during their first two years of settlement. Sponsors draw on the strengths of their members, local networks, and communities to help newcomers build independent, connected, and fulfilling lives.
Resettlement is the process of a refugee moving from a country where they have sought safety from conflict or persecution to another country that has agreed to provide them with permanent protection and the opportunity to start again.
Throughout the two-year sponsorship period, Approved Sponsors provide practical, emotional, and social support. This includes helping refugees find suitable housing, access essential services, learn English, gain employment, build community connections, and navigate life in Aotearoa New Zealand with confidence and independence.
Community Refugee Sponsorship began in Canada in the late 1970s and has since enabled communities to welcome hundreds of thousands of refugees. Today, the model has been adopted and adapted by a growing number of countries, including Ireland, Australia, Argentina, Spain, and the United Kingdom, reflecting the important role that communities can play alongside governments in refugee resettlement.
The global context
Around the world, millions of refugees are unable to return home because of conflict, violence, or persecution. While governments provide protection through refugee resettlement programmes and other humanitarian pathways, the global need continues to far exceed the number of places available.
Community Refugee Sponsorship has emerged internationally as an important complementary approach that enables local communities to play an active role in welcoming and supporting refugees. While Community Refugee Sponsorship models differ from country to country, they share a common belief that successful refugee settlement is strengthened when communities work alongside governments to provide practical support, build meaningful relationships, and foster a sense of belonging.
New Zealand's permanent Community Refugee Sponsorship (CORS) programme is part of this growing international movement. In Aotearoa New Zealand, CORS is a permanent complementary pathway within New Zealand's Refugee Quota Programme. It builds on New Zealand's long-standing commitment to refugee resettlement by bringing together the strengths of government, communities, and local networks to welcome and support refugees as they establish new lives in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The programme reflects Aotearoa New Zealand's commitment to international refugee protection and shared responsibility, recognising that governments, communities, mana whenua, former refugees, and civil society all have an important role to play in creating welcoming communities where refugees can rebuild their lives with dignity, belonging, and self-agency.
The objectives of the Community Refugee Sponsorship programme are to:
-
Enable communities to play an active role in welcoming refugees and supporting successful settlement, while building more inclusive, connected, and welcoming communities.
-
Support refugees to build independent, connected, and fulfilling lives by providing community-based support that strengthens access to housing, education, employment, healthcare, social connections, and opportunities to participate fully in community life.
-
Complement New Zealand's Refugee Quota Programme by strengthening partnerships between government, communities, and civil society, demonstrating a shared commitment to successful refugee settlement and international responsibility sharing.
Community Refugee Sponsorship in Aotearoa
Source: MBIE | Immigration New Zealand
A Community-Led Approach
The permanent Community Refugee Sponsorship (CORS) programme is founded on the belief that successful refugee settlement is strengthened when local communities are empowered to play an active role alongside government. It recognises that welcoming refugees is a shared responsibility and that lasting settlement is built through relationships, local knowledge, and community connections.
The programme has been shaped through collaboration between government, community organisations, former refugees, mana whenua, and many others who have contributed their knowledge, lived experience, and expertise over time. Former refugees have played an important role in shaping the programme, ensuring that lived experience informs its design, delivery, and ongoing development.
The success and learnings from New Zealand's Community Refugee Sponsorship pilot and extended pilot provided the foundation for the permanent programme, demonstrating the powerful role that communities can play in supporting refugees to rebuild their lives, regain independence, and develop a genuine sense of belonging in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Community Refugee Sponsorship reflects the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, recognising the importance of:
-
Partnership – Working together with mana whenua, communities, former refugees, government agencies, and local organisations to achieve shared outcomes and create welcoming communities.
-
Participation – Creating opportunities for communities, former refugees, volunteers, and local organisations to actively contribute to welcoming, supporting, and learning alongside refugees.
-
Protection – Upholding the dignity, rights, wellbeing, culture, and aspirations of refugees while fostering safe, inclusive, and culturally responsive communities.
These principles are reflected throughout the sponsorship journey and are supported by values that guide the way communities work together:
-
Manaakitanga – Welcoming refugees with kindness, respect, compassion, and care.
-
Whanaungatanga – Building meaningful relationships that foster belonging, inclusion, reciprocity, and mutual support.
-
Kotahitanga – Working together in unity, recognising that everyone has strengths to contribute and opportunities to learn from one another.
-
Rangatiratanga – Supporting refugees to exercise self-determination, build independence, and achieve their aspirations.
Community Refugee Sponsorship is built on the strength of local communities. Approved Sponsor organisations bring together volunteers, community groups, faith communities, employers, educators, service providers, mana whenua, former refugees, neighbours, and local networks to create welcoming environments where refugees can thrive. Every community brings different strengths, knowledge, and connections. Refugees also bring valuable skills, experiences, cultures, perspectives, and aspirations that enrich the communities they join. Community Refugee Sponsorship recognises that successful settlement is built on reciprocity—communities and refugees learning from one another, sharing their strengths, and creating opportunities for everyone to contribute, connect, and thrive together.
The programme complements government-led settlement services them by strengthening the relationships, social connections, and local support networks that help people feel at home. Through shared responsibility and collective action, communities help refugees access housing, education, employment, healthcare, community life, and opportunities to build independence and confidence.
Community Refugee Sponsorship is a permanent complementary pathway within New Zealand's Refugee Quota Programme. It enables approved community organisations to partner with Immigration New Zealand to welcome and support refugees as they establish new lives in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The permanent programme is being introduced progressively, with 50 Community Refugee Sponsorship places available in 2026/27, increasing to 200 places annually from 2027/28 onwards. As the programme grows, it will continue to strengthen partnerships between communities and government while expanding opportunities for refugees to find safety, belonging, and a place to call home.
At its heart, Community Refugee Sponsorship is about communities walking alongside refugees as they begin a new chapter in Aotearoa New Zealand—not leading the journey for them. Through partnership, shared responsibility, and mutual learning, the programme creates opportunities for refugees and the communities that welcome them to grow, contribute, and thrive together.
Why become a community sponsor?
Community Refugee Sponsorship offers communities across Aotearoa New Zealand the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of refugees while building stronger, more connected communities.
Expanding pathways to safety
Community Refugee Sponsorship complements New Zealand's Refugee Quota Programme by creating additional opportunities for refugees to rebuild their lives in safety and with dignity. By becoming an Approved Sponsor, your organisation becomes part of a growing international movement that empowers communities to play an active role in refugee resettlement.
Making a local difference
Community Refugee Sponsorship empowers local communities to take an active role in welcoming refugees. By bringing together volunteers, community organisations, faith groups, local businesses, and other community networks, sponsorship creates lasting opportunities for participation, connection, and belonging - for both refugees and the communities that welcome them.
Building lasting relationships
One of the most rewarding aspects of sponsorship is the relationships that develop along the way. Sponsor groups welcome refugees into their communities, helping them build local connections, access opportunities, and develop a strong sense of belonging.
While every sponsorship journey is different, many sponsor groups and refugee individuals and families continue to stay in touch and maintain lasting friendships long after the formal sponsorship period has ended.
Learning from one another
Community Refugee Sponsorship is a shared learning experience. Sponsors gain a deeper understanding of different cultures, perspectives, and lived experiences while celebrating the strengths, skills, and contributions that refugees bring to their new communities.
Strengthening communities
Sponsorship brings people together around a shared purpose. It creates opportunities for volunteering, collaboration, and community leadership, while strengthening local networks and fostering more welcoming, inclusive, and connected communities for everyone.
From pilot to permanent programme
The Community Refugee Sponsorship (CORS) programme has evolved through collaboration, learning, and continuous improvement.
New Zealand's first Community Refugee Sponsorship pilot began in 2017, with four Approved Sponsor organisations welcoming 24 refugees into their local communities.
Building on the success and learnings from the pilot, the programme was expanded between 2021 and 2025, during which 200 refugees were welcomed and supported by Approved Sponsor organisations across Aotearoa New Zealand.
The experiences of sponsored refugees, sponsor groups, former refugees, mana whenua, community organisations, HOST Aotearoa New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand, and many other partners have helped shape the permanent programme that is in place today.
To learn more about the development of Community Refugee Sponsorship in Aotearoa New Zealand, including the co-design process, programme resources, and policy information, visit our Resources page or the Immigration New Zealand website.
You can also read the Government's independent evaluation reports on the pilot and extended pilot to learn more about the programme's outcomes and impact.
Ready to take the next step?
Community Refugee Sponsorship is an opportunity for communities across Aotearoa New Zealand to make a lasting difference in the lives of refugees while building stronger, more connected communities.
If your organisation is interested in becoming an Approved Sponsor, visit Get Involved page to learn about the application process, sponsor requirements, and the support available from HOST Aotearoa New Zealand.