Finding an SAH: Shogofa Shares her Advice with Dave Lee

What's an SAH? Knowing the answer could be key to getting your relatives or friends who are refugees into Canada. Here Shogofa explains how she successfully connected with an SAH to help sponsor her own family - Hazara refugees who fled Afghanistan. She's in conversation with Dave Lee, the US investor and humanitarian who supported Shogofa in her difficult quest to find an SAH willing to take on the sponsorship.

SAH stands for Sponsorship Agreement Holder, and it's usually a religious organization or settlement agency that Canadian immigration has given a special approval to submit refugee applications. It's not always necessary to apply through an SAH - for example, if the refugee has official refugee status, the sponsors can apply through a Group of 5 or Community Sponsorship.

Why SAHs are more important than ever, in 2022, is they have been given thousands of extra 'spots' for refugees who are fleeing the turmoil in Afghanistan. Any Afghan seen as especially vulnerable - including journalists, human rights defenders, female professionals, LGBTQ and members of religious or ethnic minorities, such as Shia Hazaras - will be given special priority. And if they're sponsored by an SAH, they could come to Canada within months, rather than the usual 1+++ years.

The key to successfully connecting to an SAH, as Dave and Shogofa explain, is that you make it easier for them by having both funds and an application ready. If that sounds like you, time to start networking with SAHs! That might mean reaching out to the head office, or it might mean contacting a local church in Canada that has a background in private sponsorship.

And now... links. These are the SAHs in Canada, organized by location: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-...

And here is Dave... Based in the US, Dave Lee is known both for his humanitarian achievements and track record as an investment guru and angel investor. He developed his wider horizons as a humanitarian while travelling through Afghanistan and the surrounding region in his 20s.

To learn more about how Dave helped 170 vulnerable Afghans find safety in Canada, watch his video:    • Видео  

Here is our own Northern Lights video featuring Dave and his tips on reaching out to SAHs:    • Canada's Special Afghan Program: The Time ...  

Here's Dave's popular YouTube channel:    / @dave_lee  

You can follow Dave Lee on Twitter, where he's known for his posts on investing:   / heydave7