COVID-19: How it is affecting immigration, refugees, citizenship and passport services– settlement and resettlement service providers

From Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Last updated: April 17, 2020

On this page:

• Provide critical services only
• Use protective equipment and supplies
• Follow health guidance and recommendations
• COVID-19 information in multiple languages
• Contact us

Provide critical services only

Until further notice, focus on providing critical settlement and resettlement services only.

Critical services are

• resettlement assistance program start-up services
• initial orientation of government-assisted refugees
• providing new arrivals with 14 days of food and incidentals
• case management services, including
  • providing information and orientation
  • setting up medical appointments and helping with interpretation
  • offering crisis counselling

Whenever possible, provide services by telephone, email or online.

Use protective equipment and supplies

Keep your employees and newcomer clients safe. If you have to buy protective equipment and supplies to provide services in person, contact your program officer. The cost may be an eligible claim in your contribution agreement.

Follow health guidance and recommendations

You won’t be penalized if you can’t provide the services outlined in your agreement because you’re following

• our guidance
• the guidance of your local health authority

If your service delivery is affected, contact your program officer to discuss your situation.

COVID-19 information in multiple languages

You can help newcomers understand COVID-19 by sharing resources in multiple languages on the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) website. These include

• factsheets
• videos
• recordings
• infographics

You can find the languages of each resource under its description.

Get PHAC COVID-19 resources

Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/settlement-resettlement-providers.html