The Parents and Grandparents program (PGP) is set to reopen this month, as Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) prepares to send out invitations to potential sponsors.
The department confirmed via an announcement that starting May 21st, 2024, it will send out 35,700 invitations with the hope of approving 20,500 complete applications.
Who is eligible for the next round of the PGP?
IRCC has declared its intention to invite candidates from the 2020 intake of the PGP. This means that the individuals receiving invitations in the upcoming round will have submitted their applications in 2020. This will be the fourth year in a row that the PGP will only consider applications submitted in 2020.
Under the PGP system, applicants will be invited at random (through a lottery system). These invitations will be delivered to sponsors through the email provided on their interest to sponsor form. Sponsors are advised to check their emails starting May 21st, with all invitations being delivered within roughly two weeks of this date.
What is the process to receive permanent residence through the PGP?
To receive permanent residence (PR) through the PGP, applicants must:
-Make sure they meet all relevant eligibility criteria (including being eligible to sponsor, residing in Canada, sign an undertaking, and meeting minimum necessary income levels, etc.);
-Complete an interest to sponsor form on IRCC’s website. To be eligible for the 2024 round, applicants must not have received an invitation to apply (ITA) in 2021, 2022, or 2023;
-(Once the PGP lottery reopens), check the email provided on the interest to sponsor form for an invitation—on the day of reopening, and for the subsequent two-week period after the lottery restarts; and
-Once an ITA has been received, sponsors must submit their application through the Permanent Residence Portal, or the Representative Residence Portal (if using an authorised representative) by the deadline stated within the invitation email.
Once an application is submitted, IRCC will aim to process it within 112 days. Between 2022-2023, the department processed 67% of applications to this standard.
About the PGP
The PGP allows Canadian citizens or permanent residents (who meet necessary eligibility criteria) to sponsor their parents or grandparents for Canadian PR. The program is part of IRCC’s family reunification initiatives, which forms a key pillar of the department’s mission. Parents and grandparents who arrive in Canada through the program receive PR upon landing in Canada.
Among other steps, sponsors must sign an undertaking, saying that they will provide for their parents and grandparents while in Canada, for 20 years. Sponsors applying from Quebec will need to sign an undertaking for 10 years.
The PGP invites applicants on a lottery basis and only opens for application intake (and issues invitations) once a year.
What if you are not selected?
Similar to the PGP, IRCC also runs the Super-Visa pathway. This pathway allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their parents and grandparents to come and visit Canada on an extended visitor visa (meaning that family members receive a visa to visit Canada, as opposed to PR under the PGP). Approved applicants under the program can stay in Canada for five years at a time, with the ability to extend this stay for two years. Applicants are also able to apply for their super-visa again after their status expires.
Unlike the PGP, however, IRCC runs the Super Visa program throughout the year, with sponsors able to apply year-round. Super Visa applications have the same service standard as PGP, with IRCC aiming to process all complete applications within 112 days from receipt.
