The Parent and Grandparent Program (PGP) offers Canadian citizens and permanent residents an opportunity to sponsor their parents or grandparents to immigrate to Canada as Canadian permanent residents. The application process for the PGP has recently undergone significant changes. Canadian citizens and permanent residents who want to apply to become sponsors must first complete an online form on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website. The submission period for submitting the PGP online forms for 2017 has now expired since a 30 day application period was given which started January 3, 2017. All individuals interested in applying in 2018 should review the procedural changes to ensure they understand the process and the deadlines.

As a sponsor, an applicant is responsible for ensuring that his/her parent or grandparent does not need to rely on social assistance from the government upon arrival in Canada. To satisfy this requirement, a sponsor needs to make every reasonable effort to provide for the essential needs of his/her parent or grandparent, including financial support.

Under the previous system, applications for sponsorship were considered on a first-come, first served basis.

The new process abandons this approach. Instead, applicants will now be subjected to a formal lottery system where they will have a designated timeframe to submit online forms through the IRCC website indicating their interest in becoming sponsors. All submissions received within the time limits will have an equal chance of being selected; regardless of the order the submissions are received. The system has borrowed some similar elements from the Express Entry system such as receiving invitations to apply.

The new process involves the following steps:

  • Individuals who wish to sponsor their parents or grandparents must first complete an online form on the IRCC website within the designated timeframe indicating their interest in becoming a sponsor.
  • Once the online form is successfully submitted, the applicants will receive a confirmation number.
  • At the end of the submission period, the IRCC will randomly invite 10,000 individuals to formally submit an application. These applicants will then be given 90 days to submit their applications.
  • The IRCC will let all applicants know whether they have been selected to submit an application or not. Unsuccessful applicants will be able to indicate their interest to apply again in 2018.

The government implemented these changes, after consulting former applicants, with the goal of providing applicants with better access to a fair and transparent immigration system. In the past, individuals were paying couriers significant fees to ensure their applications were on the top of the pile.

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