Canada's parents and grandparents sponsorship program will reopen in late January

Canada's parents and grandparents sponsorship program will reopen to expressions of interest in late January 2019, the Government of Canada has announced.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) provided the update in a tweet and said details of the next opening will be released "in the coming weeks."

The Parents and Grandparents Program, known as the PGP, allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents over the age of 18 to sponsor their parents and/or grandparents for Canadian permanent residence.

In 2018, the program reopened to expressions of interest on January 2, but IRCC tweeted that this won't be the case in the new year.

IRCC expects to process up to 20,000 complete applications through the PGP in 2019. IRCC will process Interest to Sponsor forms in the order they are received and invitations to apply to the PGP will be issued until the cap of 20,000 complete applications is met.

This first-come, first-served approach to accepting applications replaces the controversial randomized lottery process that IRCC introduced last year and later scrapped.

Many had criticized the randomized approach as unfair to those who had been waiting for years to sponsor their parents and/or grandparents.

IRCC said the decision to revert to a first-come, first-served approach was a result of "listening to stakeholders and clients" and would both streamline access to the program and improve client experience.

"Using this modified intake process will give the government more flexibility in the application process, ensuring that we receive as many applications as possible," IRCC said.