Family Sponsorship Under The 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan

It is important to note that, unlike the Quebec cap on family sponsorship, these targets simply act as a guide for target admissions. However, while it’s not a firm ‘rule’ that the border officials must strictly comply with, it is still likely to cause delays and potentially greater scrutiny of family sponsorship applications. 

Here’s what you need to know: 

Key Takeaways

• There is an overall reduction of 25% in the target levels for permanent residence through family class programs in 2025 in Canada. 
• The parents and grandparents class targets will drop, but levels remain elevated compared to 2021. 
• Family sponsorship will see a more significant drop in 2026. There will likely be 35% fewer family reunification permanent residence approvals in 2026 (compared to the projected number published in the Immigration Levels Plan for 2024-2026 in November 2023). 

Family Sponsorship: The Numbers

How Significant Is The Reduction In Spousal and Dependent Children Sponsorship in 2025?

While family sponsorship targets will decrease by 20% in 2025 to 35% in 2026 according to the Government of Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan, the figures published do align with historical trends in family sponsorship. 

For the most part, family sponsorship admissions have hovered around 82,000 annually between 2015 and 2024. If we disregard the data from 2020 (when admissions were low due to the pandemic), the average is 86,400. So, the reductions proposed aren’t as drastic as those for other classes (such as PNP). 

Data from the 2024 Annual Report to Parliament

That being said, family class applicants are likely to feel some effects of the reduction. Data from Open Canada reveals that Ontario alone landed almost 40,000 newcomers through spousal sponsorship in 2023. Given that the target for 2026 for Canada for spousal and dependent children is 66,000, there will be a reduction from recent years. 

More than this, it is possible that the uncertainty in the economic immigration categories will encourage more people to apply through the spousal category. Many immigrants prefer to apply through Express Entry over the family class, due to shorter processing times and the reduced administrative burden on their spouses. But the reality is that many temporary residents may enter a relationship with a Canadian permanent resident or citizen. And these people may end up applying through the family class where they may have otherwise applied through the economic class. 

We don’t have data to demonstrate how common this is, but we do have multiple team members that opted for family sponsorship during periods of uncertainty in the Express Entry system. This at least anecdotally shows that it’s not an uncommon practice. 

Is Canada Reducing The Parents & Grandparents Allocations For 2025?

In short, yes – we will see fewer parents and grandparents admissions in 2025 than in 2023 and (likely) 2024. But, the levels proposed for 2025, 2026, and 2027 are higher than the levels we saw in 2019-2021. So, it’s not all bad news. 

Here’s what parents and grandparents allocations have looked like over the past five years, based on IRCC’s data from the 2024 Annual Report to Parliament: 

What this does mean is that we are likely to need to wait a little longer before parents and grandparents sponsorship will reopen for new applications. This will also lead to greater reliance on Super Visas for parents and grandparents. Fortunately, while these are a type of temporary visa, these visas are not subject to any of the temporary resident levels planning and have not been restricted. 

What’s Next For Family Class Permanent Residents?

Given the tightening targets, we suggest applying as soon as possible for permanent residence through the family class. It’s also going to be more important than ever to demonstrate that you meet the eligibility requirements – so letters of support, your letter detailing your relationship, and other supporting documents are going to be very important.

Essentially, you want to be certain that your application shows the strength of your relationship and does not raise concerns about the genuineness of your relationship. 

For personalized guidance and free access to exclusive resources about immigrating to and settling in Canada, create a Moving2Canada account.