Parents and Grandparents Program 2020 is now open
Those who wish to sponsor their parents or grandparents to immigrate to Canada can begin the process by applying online.
The Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) expression of interest period starts today, October 13th, and lasts three weeks until November 3rd.
The PGP allows eligible Canadian citizens and permanent residents and those with First Nations status 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 10,000 complete PGP applications for 2020.
Are you eligible for PGP 2020? Complete CanadaVisa's free eligibility tool!
Application process
As a first step, interested individuals must submit an online sponsorship interest form during the current submission period in order to be considered for an invitation to apply to the PGP. Applicants will have until November 3 to complete the form.
After submitting an interest to sponsor form, applicants must wait to see if they are among the 10,000 applications that will be randomly drawn by IRCC to receive an invitation to apply.
If an applicant receives an invitation to apply, they must pay the required application fees submit a completed sponsorship application within 60 days
You will receive an application package that includes a document checklist, forms that you and the people you want to sponsor must fill out as well as an instruction guide.
If an applicant is applying from Quebec, they must obtain a Quebec Selection Certificate from the Quebec government and submit it to IRCC as part of the application.
Are you eligible for PGP 2020? Complete CanadaVisa's free eligibility tool!
How to submit an interest to sponsor form
The person who wants to sponsor must fill out the interest to sponsor form. Make sure you have a digital copy of your passport or your proof of status in Canada.
You will need to provide information in the interest to sponsor form such as the number of people in your immediate family, the number of people you want to sponsor, and the names and dates of birth of those you want to sponsor.
After you submit the form, you will see a page with a confirmation number. It is important to keep this number safe so that you can check if you have received an invitation to apply.
Who is eligible?
Anyone over the age of 18, Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada, can sponsor their parents and grandparents.
All sponsors who wish to sponsor their parents or grandparents will have to confirm that they have the necessary income for the number of family members they will support financially.
Are you eligible for PGP 2020? Complete CanadaVisa's free eligibility tool!
While it is not required to give proof of required income during the first step of expression of interest in sponsoring, potential sponsors who are invited to apply and their co-signers (if applicable) will be required to provide notices of assessment from Canada Revenue Agency for each of the three taxation years immediately preceding the date of their application thereafter.
IRCC notes that sponsors will need to meet income requirements for the 2020, 2019 and 2018 taxation years. IRCC understands that sponsors will not have obtained their 2020 Notice of Assessment by then, so sponsors will have to submit it as soon as it becomes available.
The minimum required income is shown in the following table. Please note that this is applicable to applicants in all provinces and territories except Quebec.
It is important to mention that the total number of people the sponsor will be financially responsible for includes the following:
- the interested sponsor;
- their spouse or common-law partner;
- their dependent children;
- their spouse’s or partner’s dependent children;
- any other person the interested sponsor may have sponsored in the past, for whom they’re still financially responsible;
- the parents and grandparents they want to sponsor and their dependents (spouse or partner and dependent children);
- any dependent children who won’t come to Canada with their parents or grandparents;
- their parent or grandparent’s spouse or partner, even if they won’t come to Canada;
- their parent or grandparents’ separated spouse.
Sponsors living in Quebec will have their income assessed by the Quebec's Ministry of immigration based on the province's income requirements. Quebec's income requirements are different from those of other provinces. Potential sponsors and their co-signer (if applicable) are required to demonstrate that they have had enough financial resources in the last 12 months. Quebec's minimum income requirements are shown in the tables below.
Whether you are in Quebec or in another province, interested sponsors are required to submit a signed undertaking. This undertaking shows how long the sponsor will be financially responsible for the family members that they are sponsoring.
For residents of all Canadian provinces except Quebec, the length of the undertaking for parents and grandparents is 20 years. For residents of Quebec, the length of the undertaking is 10 years.
Are you eligible for PGP 2020? Complete our free eligibility tool!
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