What is the difference between community organisation sponsored refugees and quota refugees?

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The Community Refugee Sponsorship (CORS) visa category is additional and complementary to the Refugee Quota programme and Refugee Family Support category. 

 

New Zealand-based approved community organisations (Approved Sponsors) apply to partner with refugees to support their settlement in the community.

 

Sponsored refugees are resettled directly into the community with the support of approved community organisations. They will not spend time at Te Āhuru Mōwai o Aotearoa, the Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre.

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The Approved Sponsors provide the support needed for these refugees over a two-year period.

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Can I apply to be resettled in New Zealand under the Community Refugee Sponsorship programme?

 

There is no open application process for the Community Refugee Sponsorship programme. In order to be considered for the programme, refugees need to be:

 

a) named by a community organisation that is an Approved Sponsor in New Zealand; or

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b) identified to Immigration New Zealand by UNHCR.

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HOST International Aotearoa (HOST) is unable to provide immigration advice to refugees, or match refugees with interested community organisations.

 

If you are in contact with a community organisation in New Zealand that is interested in sponsoring you, please advise them to contact HOST for more information about how to become an Approved Sponsor (eligibility criteria apply).

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Potential sponsor organisations and refugees need to meet the criteria of the Community Refugee Sponsorship Programme before they can be approved.

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My family has already resettled in New Zealand, can I be sponsored under this programme?

 

Refugees who are eligible to be sponsored for residence under another Immigration New Zealand family category (including the Refugee Family Support category tier 1 and tier 2) are not eligible to be sponsored under the Community Refugee Sponsorship programme.

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The Community Refugee Sponsorship programme is designed to be additional and complementary to the Refugee Quota system and other Immigration New Zealand family visa categories. It aims to provide a resettlement option for refugees who are not currently eligible under those existing pathways.

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There is an Approved Sponsor in New Zealand who is interested in sponsoring me, what other criteria do I need to meet?

 

To be eligible for a Community Organisation Refugee Sponsorship (CORS) visa refugees must:

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• Be mandated as refugees.

• Meet the relevant immigration criteria including security, risk, settlement and health assessments.

• Be residing in a country that is a UNHCR priority area and one of the international regions Immigration New Zealand’s Refugee Quota Programme resettles from (Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Middle East and North Africa).

• Not be eligible to be sponsored for residence under another INZ family category, including the Refugee Family Support category.

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Principal applicants must also:

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• Have a basic understanding of English.

• Have a minimum of three years’ work experience — or a qualification requiring at least two years’ tertiary study.

• Be aged between 18 and 45.

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Source: Immigration New Zealand Refugee Sponsorship Programme

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What help can HOST International Aotearoa (HOST) provide to refugees?

 

HOST will support refugees who have been named by Approved Sponsors or identified to Immigration New Zealand by UNHCR.

 

HOST will work alongside Approved Sponsors to help identified refugees understand the Community Refugee Sponsorship programme so they can make an informed decision about participating.
 

HOST will provide guidance to Approved Sponsors to assist refugees who have been identified for the programme to complete an Expression of Interest, an English language assessment and other requirements as part of the application process.
 

HOST will support Approved Sponsors and the sponsored refugees throughout the course of the settlement journey.