Parent Grandparent Program
If you are a Canadian Citizen or a Canadian Permanent Resident you can sponsor your parents or grandparents to become permanent residents of Canada under Parent Grandparent Program (PGP).
If your PGP sponsorship application is approved, your parents or grandparents will enjoy all the benefits of being Canadian permanent residents, and they will be able to work, get health care, and even apply for citizenship after living in Canada for 3 years.
On October 12, 2022 IRCC started sending our invitations to submit a PGP sponsorship application to 23,100 potential sponsors from the pool of 155,313 potential sponsors who submitted an Interest to Sponsor form in 2020. Eventually, IRCC will accept only up to 15,000 applications. So if you received an Invitation To Apply (ITA) for Parent Grandparent Program from IRCC don’t risk submitting an application without checking it with an immigration lawyer. The cost of a mistake may be too high. Instead, book a consultation with one of our Canadian Immigration Lawyers to prepare a comprehensive application.
Eligibility to sponsor your parents or grandparents
What is the Parent and Grandparent Program?
Eligibility to sponsor your parents or grandparents
You may sponsor your parents and grandparents if you are:
at least 18 years of old
a Canadian Permanent Resident or a Canadian Citizen, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act and live in Canada
have enough money to support your parents or grandparents once they come to Canada.
you have submitted an Interest to Sponsor form in 2020, and
received an Invitation To Apply (ITA) from IRCC.
On October 12, 2022 IRCC started to send out invitations to potential PGP sponsors who had submitted their Interest to Sponsor forms in between October 13, 2020 and November 3, 2020.
If you received an Invitation to apply for PGP and require assistance book a consultation with one of our Canadian Immigration Lawyers
You can’t sponsor your parents and grandparents to Canada if
you haven’t been invited to apply for PGP
you’re less than 18 years old
you won’t live in Canada when you apply to sponsor your parents and grandparents and when your parents and grandparents become permanent residents
you’re not a Canadian citizen, a PR inCanada, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act
you’re visiting, studying or working in Canada on a visa or permit
your PR application is still in process
your proof of income shows you don’t have enough money to support the people you want to sponsor
You may not be eligible to sponsor your parents and grandparents if
you are in jail, prison or penitentiary
you did not pay back an immigration loan, a performance bond, or court-ordered family support payments such as alimony or child support
you did not give the financial support you agreed to when you signed a sponsorship agreement to sponsor someone else in the past
you declared bankruptcy and are not discharged
you receive social assistance for a reason other than a disability
you were convicted of a violent criminal offence, any offence against a relative or any sexual offence inside or outside Canada
you can’t legally stay in Canada and must leave the country because you received a Removal Order
How to apply for Parent Grandparent Program in 2022
To be able to submit an application for the Parent Grandparent Program, you must have submitted the Interest to Sponsor Form between October 13, 2020 and November 3, 2020. On October 12, 2022 IRCC started sending out Invitations To Apply (ITA) to those who were randomly chosen from the pool of potential sponsors. Invitations are sent by email and if you’re chosen by IRCC you will receive an email in the inbox you’ve indicated in your Interest to Sponsor form back in 2020. It is important to make sure that you don’t miss the invitation, so check your email and spam folder (just in case the email lands there) regularly.
If you received and invitation to apply for PGP from IRCC - CONGRATULATIONS! You can now start preparing your Parent Grandparent Program sponsorship application and you must submit it by December 24, 2022.
There are 2 applications that you must submit together at the same time through the online portal:
An application to become a sponsor
An application for Permanent Residence from your parents or grandparents
The cost of even a tiny mistake in your PGP application can be too high!
Book a consultation with an immigration lawyer to review your application and correct any mistakes that might lead to refusal of your PGP application.
You will need to submit two applications as one package - an application to sponsor your parents or grandparents, and an application for Permanent Residence from a sponsored person. As part of these two applications, you will need to submit the following documents:
Passports and digital photos;
All immigration application forms mentioned on the official IRCC website and in the documents checklist;
Sponsor’s proof of status in Canada;
Sponsor’s proof of physical presence in Canada;
Civil status documents;
Proof that the sponsor meets the minimum income cut-off for the 3 tax years prior to submitting the sponsorship application;
Police Clearance Certificates from all countries where the sponsored person (parent or grandparent) has lived in for 6 months or longer since the age of 18;
Proof of completed Medical exam from the sponsored person (parent and grandparent);
Proof of payment for applicable processing fees.
Other documents that can make your application stronger (speak to a lawyer)
Documents needed to apply for Parent Grandparent Program
Remember that IRCC is planning to hit its target of accepting only 15,000 applications from the 23,100 invited potential sponsors, so you should be extra-cautious with your application. One way to ensure that your application forms are filled out correctly and you don’t miss any crucial detail that might lead to refusal is to connect with a Canadian Immigration Lawyer and review your application before you submit it to IRCC.