BREAKING: Canada shuts door to sponsoring parents and grandparents for permanent residence
Canadian citizens and permanent residents will have no further opportunities to sponsor their parents or grandparents for permanent residence, unless the federal government reverses course.
Canada is “pausing the intake of new applications under the Parents and Grandparents Program” (PGP), according to a government news release published on July 15, 2026.
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The immigration department “will not receive new interest to sponsor forms or invite potential sponsors to apply until further notice.”
The department says it will continue to process PGP sponsorship applications which have already been received, with the objective of approving 15,000 applications for permanent residence in 2026.
As of the time of writing, the immigration department's processing times web page reports a PGP inventory of 50,900 applications.*
Under the latest immigration levels plan, the federal government has set the following targets for annual PGP admissions:
| Year | PGP Admissions Target |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 15,000 |
| 2027 | 15,000 |
| 2028 | 15,000 |
For those who submitted applications in July 2025, the expected remaining processing time is 18 months for those intending to settle outside Quebec, 54 months for those intending to settle in Quebec.
The PGP is a family reunification pathway to permanent residence that last opened in 2020 to eligible Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and registered Indians.
As demand exceeds available supply, the PGP operates on a lottery system.
During the three-week intake period in 2020, the government received 203,213 unique submissions from interested sponsors.
Each year from 2020 through 2025, the federal government held an invitation period during which invitations were sent at random to those who had submitted interest to sponsor forms in the 2020 intake.
Those who received invitations had the opportunity to respond by submitting applications to sponsor their parents or grandparents for Canadian permanent residence.
Since the 2020 intake, there has been no opportunity for Canadian citizens or permanent residents to submit interest to sponsor forms for consideration in the PGP lottery.
The government press release, "Canada takes steps to responsibly manage the Parents and Grandparents Program," encourages potential sponsors who have been shut out of the PGP to look to the super visa program, through which parents and grandparents can obtain extended visitor status.
The super visa for parents and grandparents allows holders to visit their hosting relatives in Canada for up to five years at a time, with the super visa being issued for up to 10 years in validity.
Typical visitor status is extended to foreign nationals for no longer than six months.
To apply for a super visa, the parent or grandparent must have a letter of invitation from their hosting relative, and must purchase health insurance for the duration of their stay.
The host relative must agree to support the super visa applicant financially for the duration of their stay, and must meet minimum income requirements.
To be admitted on super visa, the holder must meet Canada's entry requirements applicable to foreign nationals seeking entry as temporary residents, including demonstrating to the officer that they will leave Canada at the end of the authorized period of their stay.
*The existing application inventory consists of 40,400 applications from those intending to settle outside Quebec, 10,500 from those intending to settle within Quebec.
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