Canada updates income requirements for Parents and Grandparents Program

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has updated the minimum income requirements needed to sponsor parents or grandparents for permanent residency in 2025.

Canadian citizens and permanent residents looking to sponsor relatives under the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) must have made a minimum of $47,549 in 2024.

This is an increase of a minimum of $3,000 compared to the previous year.

Sponsor your parents and grandparents for Canadian immigration

How much income do I need to sponsor my parents or grandparents for the PGP program in 2025?

To sponsor parents or grandparents through the PGP program, you must meet the income requirement for three tax years preceding the date of application.

So for the 2025 intake, you need to meet the income requirements for the years 2024, 2023, and 2022.

The amount of income you would need is proportional to the size of your family:

Family size	2024	2023	2022
2 people	$47,549	$44,530	$43,082
3 people	$58,456	$54,743	$52,965
4 people	$70,972	$66,466	$64,306
5 people	$80,496	$75,384	$72,935
6 people	$90,784	$85,020	$82,259
7 people	$101,075	$94,658	$91,582
Amount for every additional person, over 7 people	$10,291	$9,636	$9,324

You can meet the minimum income requirements either as an individual, or by combining income with a co-signing spouse or common law partner.

How do I count family size?

When calculating family size, you need to account for everyone you will be financially responsible for – not just the people coming to Canada.

This includes the following:

• Yourself.
• Your spouse or common law partner
  - If it’s a spouse, you will need to include them even if separated in most cases.
  - If they are co-signing the application, include them for all three years.
  - If they are not, only include them for the years they meet the definition of spouse or common law partner.
• Dependent children.
  - This includes your dependent children, your spouse’s dependent children, as well as dependent children of the dependent children.
  - You only need to include children for the years they meet the definition of a dependent child.
• Anyone you or your co-signer have sponsored in the past.
  - You would have to also include any family members of the person sponsored (their spouses, common-law partners, and/or dependent children).
• The people you want to sponsor.
  - This includes the person you are sponsoring (principal applicant).
  - Their spouse or common law partner (this also includes their separated spouses unless they have a new partner).
  - Their dependent children and dependent children of the dependent children (if any).

You have to include the principal applicant’s family members even if they aren’t coming to Canada, and/or even if they are permanent residents of Canada or Canadian citizens.

Who can apply for the PGP in 2025?

Earlier this month, the federal government announced that it would be sending out invitations to potential sponsors of the PGP starting on July 28, 2025.

The government will send out 17,860 invitations over the course of two weeks, with the aim of accepting 10,000 complete applications in 2025.

All the invitations being sent out will be to sponsors who submitted interest to sponsor forms in 2020.

About the Parents and Grandparents Program

The PGP is a family reunification pathway to permanent residency.

Under it, eligible Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and registered Indians can sponsor their parents or grandparents for PR.

Sponsors must receive an invitation to apply before being able to sponsor their parents or grandparents.

Since the demand for the program has exceeded the spots that are available, the government uses a lottery system to distribute invitations. The last time the submission form for interest to sponsor a parent or grandparent under the PGP was open was in 2020.

About the super visa

Those who wish to reunite with their parents or grandparents in Canada but have not been able to submit an interest form can consider the super visa program.

The super visa allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents the ability to host parents or grandparents for up to 10 years as visiting temporary residents. They can visit for up to five years at a time, depending on specific criteria.

To be eligible, the sponsor must agree to support their relative(s) during the duration of their stay, and meet income requirements. The applicant must have qualifying health insurance, a valid travel document while they’re in Canada, and be admissible.

Sponsor your parents and grandparents for Canadian immigration