Parents and Grandparents Program - 'Invitations to Sponsor' will be sent out from IRCC starting the week of Sept 20, to random people who applied in 2020!
Canada’s Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program is unique in the world. It gives families the chance to reunite here, providing them the opportunity to thrive in this country. Family reunification plays a significant role in attracting, retaining and integrating immigrants who contribute to our success as a country.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will invite a record number of people to apply under the 2021 intake of the Program. In January 2021, 10,000 people were randomly selected and invited to submit applications. Now, IRCC will randomly select, and accept up to 30,000 additional applications, giving more Canadians and permanent residents than ever before the opportunity to bring their loved ones to Canada.
Using the same random selection process as used in previous years, IRCC will send invitations to potential sponsors who have ALREADY SUBMITTED an 'interest to sponsor' form in 2020. This will give additional interested sponsors the opportunity to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada. Invitations to apply will be sent over a 2 week period, starting the week of September 20, 2021.
Those invited to apply will be able to use our new Permanent Resident Digital Intake tool, which allows applications to be submitted electronically. This will speed up and simplify the application process.
We know that many Canadian families have experienced financial difficulties in the last year because of the pandemic. For the 2020 tax year, the income requirement will continue to be the minimum necessary income, instead of the minimum necessary income plus 30%, and will allow regular Employment Insurance benefits and temporary COVID-19 benefits, such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, to be included towards the sponsor’s income. This will ensure that applicants are not penalized for losing income during the pandemic.
-Excerpts from Press release. Read the complete article here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2021/07/ircc-to-accept-a-record-number-of-applications-for-the-2021-parents-and-grandparents-program.html
IRCC strongly encourages candidates to ensure the information they submitted on IRCC’s website last autumn remains up to date, including your contact details.
Parents and grandparents who are approved under this program are granted permanent residence and may later apply for Canadian citizenship.
Quick facts
· IRCC aims to receive up to 40,000 complete applications in 2021—10,000 from the 2020 intake process and 30,000 from 2021.
· IRCC invites more people to apply than the number of applications we aim to receive because not all sponsors who are invited to apply submit an application.
· Those not invited to apply may consider applying for a super visa, which would allow a parent or grandparent to visit them in Canada for up to 2 years at a time, without the need to renew their status. A super visa allows multiple entries for up to 10 years.
· Invitations will be sent over the course of 2 weeks, '. Those who are invited to apply will have 60 days to submit the application.
· In order to confirm whether they’ve been selected, potential sponsors should check the email account they used to submit their 2020 'interest to sponsor' form. They will also be able to check their status online using their 2020 confirmation number. Further details will be posted on our website in the coming weeks for those who no longer have access to their email account.
· Misplaced confirmation numbers can be retrieved using the Lost My Confirmation Number tool, which will be available online once all the invitations have been sent.
· Selected potential sponsors will have their income assessed for tax years 2020, 2019 and 2018. This is the same as those who applied as part of the 2020 intake.
Super Visa info: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/parent-grandparent-super-visa/about.html
How much income do I need to sponsor my parents and grandparents? https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1445&top=14
Frequently asked questions about sponsoring parents and grandparents: https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/results-by-topic.asp?st=14.1
CIC News article: https://www.cicnews.com/2021/07/ircc-to-announce-details-of-parents-and-grandparents-program-2021-today-0718658.html#gs.77v8vf
