All you need to know about Canada Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP)

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship (IRCC), in a news release issued on August 20, announced that it would accept up to 20,000 new sponsorship applications through the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) in 2019. It is indeed great news for the permanent residents and citizens of Canada, as the applications cap for the year 2018 was 17000.

Another major change to the PGP was announced along with this–the scrapping of randomized selection process for applications. IRCC informed that it would revert to first-come, first-served approach for selecting candidates. This has brought the Parents and Grandparents Program to limelight once again.

What is Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP):

The Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) is a stream of the Family Class sponsorship program and it allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada. Under the program, the parents and grandparents will receive permanent residence and eventually, they can apply for Canadian citizenship.

The program opens once in a year for a limited time.  Those who want to sponsor their parents and/or grandparents in 2019 will have to submit a Sponsor form online at the beginning of the year.

The original applications cap for 2018 was set at 10,000 when the year began and it was increased to 17,000 last month. IRCC announced the second invitation round at the end of July for meeting this increased quota.

Who is eligible?

Those who want to sponsor their parents and/or grandparents, as well as the persons who want to be, must meet certain criteria.

In order to be eligible, a sponsor must be:

– Above 18 years of age

– Living in Canada

– a Canadian citizen or

a person registered in Canada as an Indian under   the Canadian Indian Act or

a permanent resident of Canada

– Meet income requirements

– Support the sponsored person and their dependents   financially

The person who has to be sponsored must also clear medical checks, criminal checks and background checks to qualify.

What is the application procedure?

1. The sponsor must submit an online interest to sponsor form
2. After the time period given for online submission of the application form ends, the IRCC will review the submissions and remove duplicates if any.
3. IRCC will select potential sponsors from these submissions and invite them to apply
4. Upon receiving the invitation, the sponsor can prepare required documents and submit the completed application package before deadline.

Need support/guidance to sponsor your parents/grandparents? Contact us for expert guidance and more information on Canada immigration.