New Zealand
The Parent and Grandparent sponsorship program (PGP) allows the Canadian Permanent Residents or Citizens to sponsor their parents or grandparents toward becoming Canadian citizens.
Application process for the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP)
Canada highly values the relationship and family bonding you have with your family and relatives, including your parents and grandparents. To help you reunite with them in Canada, IRCC has developed a structured process with the PGP sponsorship. Here’s how it works:
- Step 1: Make sure you are eligible to sponsor your parents or grandparents. Take a look at the next section below to learn the eligibility factors.
- Step 2: You need to express your interest in sponsoring your parents or grandparents formally to IRCC
- Step 3: You receive an Invitation to Apply for IRCC. IRCC sets a quota every year for this program, and based on the quota, they will randomly send invitations to the applicants to submit a complete application with documents and fees.
- Step 4: Once invited, you will have 60 days to prepare and submit your application to IRCC. At this stage, you will prepare a sponsorship application and a PR application and submit both of these applications together simultaneously to IRCC
- Step 5: IRCC will review the application for completeness. If the application is complete then IRCC proceeds to process the sponsorship application and send you their acknowledgement of receipt with application number. If the application is incomplete, IRCC will send it back to you. You will likely lose your chance of sponsoring your parents or grandparents this time around and will have to wait for another draw
The 2021 PGP Application and What to expect in 2022?
According to IRCC, from September 23, 2021, to October 4, 2021, it invited interested sponsors to participate in the PGP. The annual quota was up to 30,000 for 2021. The invitees were given 60 days to submit their complete applications. IRCC is yet to disclose any information for the upcoming intake of PGP in 2022.
Eligibility for PGP
- Eligibility: To sponsor your parents or grandparents through PGP, you must be:
- A Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident,
- Above 18 years of age, and
- Residing in Canada.
- Have enough money to support the people you want to sponsor
- to show that you have enough, you’ll have to provide your proof of income
- you may have a spouse or common-law partner co-sign to combine your incomes
IRCC maintains a minimum financial requirement to determine your financial eligibility. Usually, it is set as the minimum necessary income plus 30%. However, due to the economic impact of Covid-19, IRCC significantly lowered the requirement for the year 2020. To know the updated figures, feel free to contact us.
Who cannot be a sponsor?
You won’t be able to sponsor your Parents or Grandparents if you:
- are in Canada on a temporary visa
- are not invited to apply by IRCC
- won’t live in Canada when you apply to sponsor your parents and grandparents and/or when your parents and grandparents become permanent residents
- are in jail, prison or penitentiary
- didn’t pay back
- an immigration loan
- a performance bond
- court-ordered family support payments such as alimony or child support
- didn’t give the financial support you agreed to when you signed a sponsorship agreement to sponsor someone else in the past
- declared bankruptcy and are not discharged
- receive social assistance for a reason other than a disability
- were convicted of a violent criminal offence, any offence against a relative or any sexual offence inside or outside Canada
- can’t legally stay in Canada and must leave the country because you received a Removal Order