1 - Benefits of community sponsorship
A durable solution is one that can put an end to the displacement cycle and that allows displaced people to resume a normal life in a safe environment. There are three different durable solutions: voluntary repatriation, by means of which refugees can return to their country of origin in safe and decent conditions; local integration, by means of which the country of asylum offers residence; and resettlement, by means of which refugees are transferred from the country of asylum to a third State that is willing to admit them on a permanent basis.
Only a small number of countries take part in resettlement programmes. In recent years, the United States has been the main resettlement country, while Canada, Australia and the Nordic countries also provide significant resettlement quotas annually. Resettlement States provide refugees with legal and physical protection, including access to civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights similar to those enjoyed by nationals.
In traditional resettlement programmes, the arrival of resettled refugees and their various basic needs (housing, health care, etc.) are entirely financed and managed by the State. In the context of community sponsorship, this social and financial support is provided by sponsors (callers) and the community which receives them during the first year of their stay in the country.
• It establishes strong bonds between sponsors and refugees, which, on many occasions, results in a more successful integration of the newly arrived people thanks to the personalised support they receive and the networks of sponsors.
• It strengthens receiving communities and promotes positive attitudes towards refugees.
• It diversifies the settlement locations of refugees. As it allows citizens to participate actively, community sponsorship makes governmental resettlement programmes grow and expand to different cities in a country, increasing its overall capacity.
• Improving and promoting a more open dialogue with the Government about various topics, related to both migration and social issues.
• Participating in a network of support and resources shared by the various actors involved in all the stages of the arrival and integration of refugees (migration offices, NGOs, universities, governmental social areas, etc.).
2- Sponsors: profiles and requirements
Individual sponsors must meet the following requirements:
- people of Argentine nationality domiciled in the country.
- people of other nationalities with permanent residence in Argentina and, exceptionally, with the DNM’s authorisation, those foreigners with temporary residence longer than one year who have family ties with beneficiaries.
- In case there are no family ties, callers must form groups of three or more adults and prove their capacity to assume the maintenance and accommodation commitment for one year, being jointly and severally responsible for its fulfilment.
Local organisations or governments must meet the following requirements:
- Being registered in the National Single Register of Foreigners’ Sponsors (RENURE) and prove their legal identity and registered office in Argentina.
- Organisations that have renowned prestige or experience of humanitarian work in our country, even though they do not meet the requirements imposed by RENURE, as well as provincial or municipal governments expressing their intention to facilitate the entry of beneficiaries into the Syria Programme, can also be sponsors.
Sponsors or sponsor organisations, when they become such, acquire the legal obligation to support the local integration process and maintain, on a non-for-profit basis, the beneficiaries of the Syria Programme during their first year in Argentina. This obligation includes:
- 1. Financial support so that beneficiaries can access and enjoy their rights in terms of food, clothes and the necessary means to live decently.
- 2. Provision of housing to the beneficiary and his/her family for the first 12 months or until he/she has the means to support himself/herself and his/her family before that period ends.
- 3. Assistance to learn the Spanish language, providing support and guidance so that beneficiaries can access the courses offered in their city.
- 4. Assistance for the processing of beneficiaries’ documentation (DNI in Spanish).
- 5. Support for labour market insertion and self-sufficiency, providing information as regards the training courses promoted by governmental institutions, as well as regarding the private sector and the labour system in Argentina.
The sponsor fulfils a connection role between the beneficiary and the new community, and guides him/her in terms of the support services and social services or the various resources available that the beneficiary may need for his/her optimum integration.
For further information, you are invited to do the Online Course for callers or representatives of sponsor organisations under the Syria Programme.
The National Directorate for Migration, together with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), are responsible for the steps prior to the arrival of a family at the Buenos Aires airport. IOM is in charge of holding pre-departure information and cultural orientation sessions addressed to beneficiaries, in addition to performing health check-ups before their departure and managing the international transfers from the country of residence to Argentina. The sponsor’s role starts when the plane carrying the family lands on Argentine territory. From that moment onwards, the sponsor/group of callers commit themselves to covering the family’s needs in terms of housing, transport, food, etc., and any other expense that the family may have during the first 12 months in Argentina.
For further information, you are invited do the Online Course for callers or representatives of sponsor organisations under the Syria Programme.
In Argentina, there are no specific requirements in terms of the sponsors’ financial capacity. The sponsors are responsible for estimating the necessary resources to cover the expenses of the refugee family during their first twelve months in Argentina (housing, transport, health care, etc.). However, the Support Network for Community Refugee Sponsorship can provide tools and share experiences regarding the logistics and necessary funds to receive a family.
For further information, you are invited do the Online Course for callers or representatives of sponsor organisations under the Syria Programme.
3- Refugees
The community sponsorship of refugees is a model that can benefit people of different nationalities with protection needs. However, even though it may be expanded in the future, today in Argentina, the current Syria Programme aims at providing protection to:
- people of Syrian nationality and their family members, regardless of their nationality, with international protection needs due to humanitarian reasons, as a consequence of the conflict in Syria.
- people of Palestinian nationality, as long as they are habitual residents or have resided in Syria and received assistance from the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Residing in the countries located in adjacent regions or regions affected by the conflict, meaning the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Lebanese Republic, the Republic of Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar.
At the request of the National Directorate for Migration, UNHCR holds interviews with Syrian refugees and identifies the people who may be referred to Argentina to be sponsored by an individual or sponsor institution.
Sponsors who have an already identified refugee person/family, either due to kinship or other type of relation, submit an application to the National Directorate for Migration with the data of that family/person. In the case of those who are not related to certain family/person, refugees who will be sponsored may be referred by the United Nations High Commissioner working in close cooperation with the National Directorate for Migration. The selection is made based on the profile of the sponsor person or institution.
4- Procedures to become a sponsor
The process may be divided into 5 stages:
STAGE 1: APPLICATION
Sponsor people or organisations that put themselves forward as callers for the first time are recommended to contact the National Directorate for Migration before submitting their application, emailing asuntos.sociales@migraciones.gov.ar, to arrange an interview. Interviews aim at providing information about the programme, in addition to guiding callers as regards their responsibilities.
The humanitarian visa application is initiated at any of the DNM’s migration offices with the following documentation:
STAGE 2: INTERVIEWS WITH CANDIDATES TO OBTAIN A HUMANITARIAN VISA
Applicants of humanitarian visas shall go to the Argentine consulate with jurisdiction for their place of residence to attend the consular interview. Based on the reports of the interviews with callers/sponsors and the humanitarian visa applicants, the DNM will make a decision regarding the issuance of an entry permit.
STAGE 3: SECURITY CHECK AND VISA ISSUANCE
Once the entry permit has been issued, beneficiaries must undergo the security check made by the competent entities of the Argentine embassy in the Republic of Lebanon or in a timely determined consular Representation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship will be informed of the result of the security check made so that the consular authority may resolve the pending visa application and stamp the visa on the travel documents of beneficiaries.
STAGE 4: TRAVEL PROCEDURES AND ARRANGEMENTS
Once beneficiaries have their visas stamped on their Passports, the DNM, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), starts the procedures for their departure and transport to Argentina.
STAGE 5: PRE-DEPARTURE ORIENTATION AND HEALTH CHECK-UPS
Ultimately, IOM provides beneficiaries with information and cultural orientation sessions to convey essential information about the country, in addition to performing a series of pre-departure medical check-ups.
For further information, you are invited do the Online Course for callers or representatives of sponsor organisations under the Syria Programme.
The process to request a humanitarian visa and subsequently materialise the arrival in the country of those people who have obtained it is complex, consists of various stages and requires the intervention of different areas of the Argentine State in the country and abroad. In addition, it involves a great responsibility for callers and sponsors who must contribute to the agility of the process by providing the information required.
Moreover, each process implies a different person or family applying for the visa with particularities that make them unique, and, therefore, the processing times are highly variable.
However, it may be affirmed that, at least, 10 to 12 months are needed since the moment the caller or representative from the sponsor organisation starts the process at the DNM in Argentina until the family or individual who obtained the visa actually arrives in the country.
It is essential to bear in mind these minimum periods of time to be prepared for receiving the person or family who will be sponsored, and, at the same time, to convey realistic expectations to the beneficiaries who are waiting for their departure.