Canada Parents & Grandparents Program – All You Need To Know

Last Updated On 21 March 2023, 2:33 PM EDT (Toronto Time)

Canada Parents & Grandparents Program (PGP) – Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their parents and grandparents to become permanent residents and may eventually be eligible to apply for citizenship.

 If you are planning to sponsor your parents or grandparents or would like to familiarize yourself with the process, this article is for you. This article enlists:

Overview of the process 

To sponsor your parents or grandparents to immigrate to Canada, you need to submit the interest to sponsor form.

For example, if you submitted your form in 2021, you might receive an invitation to apply for the 2022 intake. 

If you are invited to apply, you would have to submit two applications for review for the parents and grandparents program. 

1. The sponsorship application 
2. the permanent residence application 

If both applications are approved, you’ll sign an undertaking that goes into effect on the day the person you’re sponsoring (and their family members, if applicable) become permanent residents. 

Usually, parents or grandparents program is opened for limited days. Furthermore, there is maximum cap on number of applications to be approved.

Currently, there is quota of 25,000 PRs to be approved in 2022 with lower range at 19,000 and higher at 31,000.

It is anticipated that parents or grandparents program for 2022 will be opening in upcoming weeks.

There are already 53,029 PGP applications already in processing as of August 31, 2022, backlog from last two years.

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Eligibility requirements to sponsor a parents or grandparents

The first step to determining eligibility is to check for income requirements. As within your application, you’ll need to prove this income requirement. 

Moreover, if you plan to sponsor your parents, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old 
• Live in Canada 
• a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident 
• Meeting income requirements and having enough money to support the people you want to sponsor 
• Provide proof of income
  • Your spouse or partner can co-sign to show combined income

Another requirement for a sponsor is to promise to financially support the people they are sponsoring for a time period. This promise is known as the undertaking. 

Wherein the undertaking asks you to support your sponsored family financially for 20 years, beginning when they become permanent residents.

In addition, paying back whatever provincial social assistance (government funding) your family members received during that time.

Along with the undertaking, another requirement is the sponsorship agreement, signed by you and your sponsored family members to agree on certain responsibilities.

As part of the sponsorship agreement, you as a sponsor would need to provide your family members with basic needs. Such as: 

• food
• clothing
• utilities
• personal requirements
• shelter
• fuel
• household supplies
• health care not covered by public health insurance, such as eye and dental care

Moreover, the person you sponsor needs to make every effort to support themselves and their family (dependent) members. 

Additionally, you must continue to provide for essential needs for the time period it covers under the terms of this agreement, even if:

• marriage ending, separation or divorce
• family rifts
• unemployment
• change in finances
• death of the main applicant, if you also sponsor their family members

Therefore, when you apply, you must sign both forms, the sponsorship agreement and the undertaking.

Who cannot sponsor? 

You cannot sponsor your parents and grand parents, if you: 

• are below 18 years old 
• have not received an invitation to apply 
• are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• your proof of income is insufficient to support the people you want to sponsor. 
• Your permanent resident application is still in process
  • You must have a valid PR status or Canadian citizenship at the time you submit your sponsorship application 
• You will not live in Canada when your sponsored parents and grandparents become permanent residents
  • When you submit your application and until a decision is made on your application, your primary residential address must be in Canada.

Lastly, you would be ineligible to sponsor, if you:

• did not pay back an immigration loan, performance bond or court-ordered family support (for example alimony or child support)
• failed to provide the financial support you signed on the sponsorship agreement in the past 
• declared bankruptcy
• received social assistance for any other reason than a disability 
• have been convicted of criminal offence inside or outside Canada
• cannot legally stay in Canada because you received a removal order. 

Who Can Sponsor? 

You can sponsor your own parents, grandparents, and any blood or adopted relatives as a permanent resident or Canadian citizen.

If you sponsor divorced parents or grandparents, you must submit separate applications.

Suppose your divorced parents or grandparents have a current spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner.

In that case, they are considered dependents on the application and, if accepted, can move to Canada along with your sponsored parents.

Your siblings, half-siblings, stepbrothers, and stepsisters may only be listed in the application if they meet the criteria for dependent children.

However, if you wish to sponsor your parents and their dependents, you must meet the income requirements for all.

Lastly, the people you sponsor must also be eligible, to evidence their eligibility they need to:

• submit all forms and documents with their application
• provide any additional information if requested by IRCC, including medical exam, police certificate and biometrics.

How To Apply?

Once PGP 2022 opens, IRCC will inform via their website and social media platforms. It usually opens for 20 days. Filling out the interest to sponsor form is the first step towards sponsoring your parents or grandparents once it opens.

An invitation to apply (ITA) is sent to the selected profiles via email. Once invited, then you can apply online to sponsor your parents or grandparents to Canada.  

Source: IRCC

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