Canada raises cap for Parents and Grandparents Program
The Canadian federal government has increased the number of applications it will accept under the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP).
The government will accept up to 25,000 sponsorship applications for processing in 2025.
Sponsor your family for Canadian immigration
Some of the applications will be those submitted in response to the 2024 intake, while others will be from the 2025 intake, according to Ministerial Instructions published in the Canada Gazette of Mar 22, 2025.
This is a change in course from earlier this year, when the government announced in January that no new applications would be accepted in 2025, and that it intended to process only a maximum of 15,000 applications, all from the 2024 intake.
On March 7, the government had announced that it would indeed send invitations in 2025, but had not provided a revised cap.
Canadian citizens and permanent residents who submitted interest to sponsor forms in the 2020 intake for the PGP, and who have not yet received a invitation to apply, will have a chance to receive an invitation to apply when the PGP opens intake this year.
Successful applicants under the PGP receive Canadian permanent residence.
About the PGP
The Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) is a family reunification pathway to permanent residence.
Because demand for the program far outstrips available spots, the government selects sponsors using a lottery system.
The program has only opened for intake once thus far—in 2020—and since then, all invitations to sponsor have been sent to those who submitted interest to sponsor forms in the 2020 intake.
About the Super Visa
The Canadian government has another program to enable parents and grandparents to join their relatives in Canada for long-term visits.
Under the Super Visa program, eligible Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and registered Indians can sponsor their parents or grandparents to visit them in Canada for years at a time.
Super Visas are issued for 10 years, and can allow holders to stay in Canada for up to five years at a time, with the possibility of two-year extensions.
Super Visa holders gain visitor status, and must purchase private health insurance for the duration of their stay.
Without the Super Visa, a visitor to Canada can normally only stay for six months.
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