January 28, 2019 – Update
January 28, 2019
The Federal Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship Program opened up today at 12pm EST for those interested to sponsor their parents and grand-parents. The much anticipated program was reportedly open for a mere 11 minutes before the IRCC shut down the system. Many interested sponsors took the day off work to complete the online submission. While there was fear that the system would crash preventing submissions, instead, 27,000 submissions were submitted within minutes. Many sponsors were not able to complete the form in time. By the time they were finished, the system was closed.
Of the 27,000 submissions received, IRCC will accept 20,000 for admission to Canada.
Those who were lucky and were able to complete their online submission quickly received a confirmation number as proof and will also receive an email confirmation within 24 hours. Invitations to apply will be sent out via email once duplicates are removed and submissions are reviewed.
The IRCC has indicated that if you were unable to complete your online submission today, there may be a chance that the Interest to Sponsor form will re-open in 2019 to reach the 20,000 cap. The IRCC has provided a Facebook and Twitter page to check on their latest information and updates.
If you receive an Invitation to Apply, please contact us for next steps.
January 11, 2019
IRCC will begin accepting interest to sponsor forms for the Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship Program on January 28, 2019. The form will be available online at noon EST, but will only remain open for a specific number of applications, based on a first-come, first-served basis. Once a certain number of submissions are reached, you will no longer be able to access the form. Please visit IRCC’s website at https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/sponsor-parents-grandparents/tell-us-you-want-sponsor-parent-grandparent.html. If you are selected by IRCC with an invitation to apply, please contact us so we can assist you to prepare your complete application.
