Canada’s Parent and Grandparent Program (PGP) will accept up to 30,000 additional applications when it opens this coming September, giving more Canadian citizens and permanent residents the opportunity to sponsor their parents and grandparents for permanent residence in Canada.
The 2021 PGP intake will also include 10,000 applications from the 2020 intake process, meaning Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) expects to receive up to 40,000 PGP applications this year alone.
When will IRCC invite more PGP sponsors to apply?
The 2021 Parent and Grandparent lottery will take place over the course of two weeks, starting the week of September 20, 2021.
How long do invited PGP sponsors have to submit their application?
Invited sponsors will have 60 days to submit their PGP sponsorship application to IRCC.
How do potential PGP sponsors become eligible for invitation?
The 2021 Parent and Grandparent Program utilises the same random invitation system, or lottery, that has been in place over recent years. Potential sponsors first complete an ‘interest to sponsor’ form. The steps to apply to sponsor parents and grandparents for Canadian permanent residence will be a bit different for the 2021 process. IRCC states that potential sponsors will be randomly selected and invited from the remaining pool of interest to sponsor forms submitted in 2020. IRCC will send enough invitations to apply to reach its application intake targets. At this point, there is no indication that the interest to sponsor form will reopen for new expressions of interest prior to the 2021 PGP intake.
Invited sponsors will be able to use IRCC’s new Permanent Resident Digital Intake tool, which allows applications to be submitted electronically. This is part of IRCC’s commitment to modernize Canada’s immigration system, speeding up and simplifying the application process.
PGP income requirement reduced due to pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic has placed a heavy strain on many families’ incomes and economic prospects, and that is true for Canada as it is for any other country.
Given that many potential sponsors may have been financially impacted by the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic, IRCC is extending a temporary public policy that will reduce the income requirement for the 2020 tax year to the minimum necessary income, instead of the minimum necessary income plus 30 percent.
Source: IRCC
Overview: Canada’s Parent and Grandparent Program (PGP)
Canada’s Family Class immigration category allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their parent(s) or grandparent(s) through the Parent and Grandparent Program, or PGP.
Sponsored parents and grandparents become permanent residents of Canada, with all the benefits that come with it. This includes the right to live and work in Canada without restriction on location, time, or sector, as well as access to publicly-funded health care and other services. Ultimately, sponsored parents and grandparents may become Canadian citizens.
Under the government of Canada’s multi-year immigration plan, around 21,000 new permanent residents are to be admitted annually as permanent residents through the PGP.
Parent and Grandparent Program eligibility
To be eligible for the Parent and Grandparent Program, both the sponsor and the person(s) being sponsored must have met certain eligibility requirements.
Sponsors must:
- be either a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada;
- meet certain income requirements (see below); and
- support the sponsored person(s) and their dependants financially.
The sponsor and the sponsored person(s) must sign a sponsorship agreement that:
- commits the sponsor to provide financial support the sponsored person(s) and any other eligible relatives accompanying them for a period of three to 20 years, depending on their age and relationship to the sponsor, beginning on the date they become a permanent resident; and
- states that the persons becoming permanent residents will make every effort to support themselves.
The province of Quebec has additional requirements for the Parent and Grandparent Program. Residents of Quebec must sign an ‘undertaking’ with the province of Quebec. This is a contract that binds the sponsorship. Sponsors in Quebec must also meet Quebec’s sponsorship requirements after being approved as a sponsor by IRCC.
Prepare everything you need to fill out the interest to sponsor form
Before you start:
- get all the information you need to fill out the interest to sponsor form
- make an electronic copy of your passport or proof of status in Canada
You (the person who wants to sponsor their parents and grandparents), must enter:
- your family name(s) (also known as last name or surname) and your given name(s) (also known as first name and middle name)
- Write your name exactly as it is written on the passport or proof of status in Canada document you submit.
- your date of birth
- the country or territory where you were born
- your main home address (where you live)
- You must live in Canada to sponsor.
- Make sure you fill out all the fields including your complete address.
- Include your street number, street name, apartment or unit number (if this applies), P.O. Box (if this applies), your province or territory, and postal code.
- For the street number and address, include the street type (street, boulevard, avenue, etc.). For example, follow this format: 123 John St. or 123 John Ave. or 123 John Pl.
- your email address that you want us to use to contact you
- the number of people in your immediate family (you, your spouse or partner and dependent children)
- the total number of people you already sponsored and are still financially responsible for
- the total number of people you want to sponsor, including their dependants (spouse or partner, and children)
- names and dates of birth for the parents or grandparents you want to sponsor
- You won’t need to include this information for their dependent children, or a spouse/partner that won’t come to Canada with them.
- your passport or proof of status in Canada document number
- Find out where to find that number.
- You should enter the number of the same document you’ll submit with your application if you’re invited to apply. If the document number doesn’t match, we’ll return your application.
- your electronic signature (you must type in your name)
More details on preparing your PGP application are available here.
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