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Fri Oct

IRCC updates requirements regarding the Parents and Grandparents Program

Syed Khan – 7 October 2021,

The IRCC recently sent out emails detailing the Parents and Grandparents Program and said that it hoped to bring in over 30,000 completed applications for the program. IRCC sent out over 34,500 applications for this program from 23 September to 4 October.

Quotes from the email by IRCC:

“The Government of Canada knows how important it is for families to be together”

“For the 2021 program intake, IRCC is using the Interest to Sponsor form submissions received in 2020 and randomly inviting more potential sponsors to apply, in order to receive up to 30,000 complete applications.”

Under this program, Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their parents and or grandparents to become permanent residents of Canada.

Steps to apply for the PGP are as follows:

  • This program operates under a lottery system where interested citizens or permanent residents can submit an Interest to Sponsor form.
  • Candidates are then placed in the pool which the IRCC draws randomly from.
  • Candidates, if selected to sponsor, are then issued an ITA. After an ITA is issued, the candidates have 60 days to submit their applications in the Permanent Residence online application portal.

If the candidate has lost their confirmation number or they no longer have access to the email address used to submit the Interest to Sponsor form, they can make use of the “Lost My Confirmation Number” tool found on the immigration website.

Requirements for sponsors to apply under the PGP:

  • Candidates must be at least 18 years old.
  • They must be residing in Canada
  • They should be a citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada. If they are indigenous they must be registered as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act.
  • They should be financially stable and meet minimum income requirements for the previous three years.
  • They can also include a co-signer in the application, allowing the combined income to be considered.
  • Candidates must also agree to financially support the parent or grandparent for 20 years from the date they are approved for permanent residence.
  • Must agree to reimburse the government for any social assistance paid out to the parent or grandparent during that time.

The following are eligible for sponsorship under the PGP:

  • Citizens and permanent residents’ parents and grandparents, biological or related by adoption.
  • The spouses or common-law partners of parents and grandparents are also eligible in case of divorce or separation.
  • A sponsor’s brothers and sisters, or half brothers and sisters, are eligible only if they qualify as dependent children.

This year Ottawa Immigration has reduced the income requirements to sponsor keeping in mind the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The income requirement for the 2020 tax year has been reduced to the minimum necessary income, instead of the minimum necessary income plus 30 percent,” the IRCC said.

Ottawa has also given sponsors an option to count their Regular Employment Insurance and Canada Emergency Response Benefit payments as their income.

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