Parents and Grandparents Program to Re-open in Fall

On September 8, 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced they will accept up to 15,000 complete applications for sponsorship under the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) for 2023. On October 10, 2023, IRCC will begin sending invitations to apply to 24,200 interested potential sponsors from the pool of submissions from 2020, aiming to receive up to 15,000 complete applications by October 23, 2023. Invitations will be sent over the course of 2 weeks.

IRCC has chosen not to open a new interest to sponsor form due to the number of forms remaining from the 2020 PGP submissions. The process will be random selection by IRCC, which is the same approach taken in the 2021 and 2022 PGP intakes. Anyone who submitted an interest to sponsor form in 2020, but did not receive an invitation to apply in 2021 or 2022, should check the email account they provided in 2020 when they submitted their interest to sponsor form.

Family reunification has become one of the repeated mandates of Canada’s multi-year immigration plans. For this reason, IRCC suggests applying for a 10-year Super visa for those who do not receive an invitation to apply and wish to reunite with their parents and grand-parents in Canada. Enhancements to the super visa allow super visa holders to stay in Canada for 5 years at a time, with the option to extend their visit by up to 2 years at a time without leaving the country. These changes make it easier for Canadian citizens and permanent residents to reunite with their parents and grandparents in Canada for longer periods.

Eligibility

You can sponsor your own biological or adopted parents and grandparents if

• you’re invited to apply
• you’re at least 18 years old
• you live in Canada
• you’re a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act
• you have enough money to support the people you want to sponsor
  • to show that you have enough, you’ll have to provide your proof of income
  • you may have a spouse or common-law partner co-sign the application to combine your incomes
• you and your parents and grandparents meet all other requirements under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

If you’re invited to apply

Those invited to apply as part of the 2023 intake will continue to use the Permanent Residence Portal or the Representative Permanent Residence Portal, which allow applications to be submitted electronically. This is part of our commitment to modernize Canada’s immigration system and to speed up and simplify the application process.

You must submit 2 applications:

• the sponsorship application
• the permanent residence application

If we approve both applications, you’ll sign an agreement called an undertaking that starts on the day the person you’re sponsoring (and their family members, if this applies) becomes a permanent resident of Canada. This agreement is discussed under Who is eligible to sponsor a parent or grandparent.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact us via email at info@poonahimmigrationlaw.com for further information.