The race is now on to apply to Canada's Parents and Grandparents Program

The Government of Canada has finished issuing invitations to potential sponsors to its Parents and Grandparents Program — and those invited now have less than 60 days to submit a complete application.

Known as the PGP, the program allows eligible Canadian citizens and permanent residents over the age of 18 to sponsor their parents and/or grandparents for Canadian permanent residence.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has a target of 20,000 complete applications to the PGP for 2019.

In order to be considered for an invitation to apply to the PGP, interested individuals must first submit an Interest to Sponsor form during the annual submission period in January.

This year, IRCC accepted 27,000 Interest to Sponsor forms on a first-in, first-served basis during an intake held on January 28 and interest was so strong that IRCC reached its intake quota in less than 10 minutes.

Invitations were issued in the same order that IRCC received Interest to Sponsor forms, following a review to ensure eligibility and remove any duplicates.

IRCC began issuing invitations on April 24 and completed the process on April 27.

Interested sponsors who were invited to apply have 60 days from the date they received their invitation to submit a complete application, including all supporting documentation.

If you successfully submitted the Interest to Sponsor form and did not receive an invitation, IRCC said it will keep your submission and contact information.

IRCC's website says it may open the interest to sponsor form again in 2019 "if we need more potential sponsors."

In 2018, IRCC held a second round of invitations to apply to the PGP at the end of July and increased its annual target from 10,000 to 17,000 complete applications.