Canada has decided to re-open its parents and grandparents program (PGP) from October 13. Under this program, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be allowed to apply for their elderly parents and grandparents to enter the country.
The time-frame to accept the PGP sponsor forms will be between 12:00 pm EDT on October 13 and 12:00 pm EST on November 3. It is important to understand that the application is a two-step process requiring you to first submit an expression of interest and receive an invitation to apply before proceeding with the submission of the sponsorship application.
IRCC or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will randomly choose potential sponsors. The chosen ones will receive an invitation from IRCC to submit an application. All the selected applicants will have a maximum of 60-days to submit their duly completed sponsorship forms.
IRCC will welcome up to 10,000 applications in this current year. The department has also decided to newly start the process of acceptance of interest to sponsor in 2021. They are planning to accept a total of 30,000 new applications.
IRCC has also planned to introduce a temporary public policy. This will help to reduce the income requirement for the current tax year to the bare minimum income as opposed to the minimum required income plus 30%. The policy aims at accommodating all those who have been financially affected by the recent pandemic.
Although the registration opening was set to commence earlier this year, it got delayed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
According to the IRCC immigration levels targets, the department had the aim of welcoming 21,000 new immigrants this year through the PGP. This target was made public just days before the entire country imposed their coronavirus travel restrictions in March. Ever since these restrictions started, Canada’s immigration levels have plummeted.
The Way PGP Intake Process Will Work In 2020
Step 1
- Potential sponsors will express their interest.
- IRCC has decided to post the interest to sponsor form on its website. It will be available for 3 weeks starting from October 13 at 12:00 pm EDT till November 3 at 12:00 pm EST.
- Disabled individuals are also allowed to submit a paper copy, Braille, and large print interest to sponsor forms to IRCC when requested. These individuals can also send an email to the below-mentioned address or call IRCC at 1-888-242-2100.
IRCC.PGP.CORRECTION-CORRECTION.PGP.IRCC@cic.gc.ca
An indiscriminate selection process will be implemented to make sure that all interested sponsors get an equal chance to submit an interest to sponsor form. It will also ensure that the process is fair and the individual sponsors get a chance of receiving an invitation to apply.
Step 2
- Potential sponsors will receive an invitation to apply.
- IRCC will review all the applications, get rid of duplicate entries, and rearrange the forms.
- The department will have a single round of invitations to apply this year. A maximum of 10,000 applications will be accepted for processing.
- All the invitations issued by IRCC are absolutely non-transferable.
Step 3
Submission of applications.
Recipients of an invitation to apply will have a maximum of 60 days to complete their applications and submit it.
Eligibility Criteria to Sponsor Family Members through PGP
All permanent residents, Canadian citizens, and registered First Nations will be able to sponsor their grandparents and parents as stated on the Canadian government’s webpage.
All sponsors must have attained 18 years of age and should be living in Canada. They should also be financially stable enough to support the family members that they wish to sponsor.
Please note that the eligibility criteria for sponsors from Quebec are different. For the rest of Canada, people should have sufficient financial power to support sponsored family members for 20 years. This is from the time they become permanent residents of the country. For the province of Quebec, it is 10 years. Quebec also assesses the income of a sponsor.
Sponsors are required to sign an agreement with the Canadian government committing to support the basic necessities of the sponsored family member.
There are some cases wherein some people may not be eligible to sponsor their grandparents or parents. These include people who are serving a jail term and those who have failed to pay back their immigration loans, court-order family support payments, or performance bonds. Those who have declared themselves as bankrupt are also not eligible to sponsor under the PGP.
Whom Can You Sponsor?
Eligible Canadians, who wish to sponsor their adopted or biological parents or grandparents, are allowed to do so. They may also sponsor their stepparents in case of a separation or divorce. Brother, sisters, and half-siblings can also be sponsored if they fall under the category of dependent children below the age of 22.
Applicants, who wish to sponsor more than one couple or person, will have to fulfill all the income requirements necessary for every person listed on the application and the dependents.
Sponsored family members will have to provide all the necessary documents for the application. Additional information, such as police certificates, medical exams, and biometrics should also be provided.
The parents and grandparents program is not meant for Canadians to sponsor their in-laws or their spouse’s parents. This is despite the fact that they may be a co-signer on the application for in-laws. All those parents or grandparents who are prohibited from entering Canada are also disqualified from getting sponsored.
Contact us today to sponsor your parents or grandparents to Canada.