Are you estranged from your family? If you’ve moved to Canada alone for work and obtained citizenship through years of hard work, there’s still the lingering sadness of leaving your family in your home country. Canada’s Parents and Grandparents Immigration Sponsorship program might be the solution to your worries. PGP is a yearly initiative that allows Canadian citizens or permanent residents to register their parents and grandparents to immigrate officially.
This quick guide will fill you in regarding everything you need to know about this program.
What’s the Eligibility Criteria
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issues invitations for the yearly lottery of the PGP program. For 2021, IRCC has processed 30,000 invitations for eligible individuals.
IRCC specifies that in order to be eligible for this sponsorship, the individual must be at least 18 years of age. They’re should either hold Canadian citizenship, or they should be a permanent resident of Canada. The only exception is a registered Indian under the Canadian Indian Act. They also must have submitted the Interest to Sponsor form available on IRCC’s website for a limited period of time. IRCC also sets a Minimum Necessary Income requirement. The sponsors are expected to disclose their earnings and how many dependent family members they have. The sponsors also have to sign an undertaking that defines that they will have to repay any social assistance benefits paid to the family members. For residents of Quebec, there’s an additional undertaking signed with the province.
How to Submit Your PGP Application
Before submitting your PGP application, ensure that you fulfill the criteria and acquire all the documents mentioned in IRCC’s document checklist. Once you’ve collected all required documents, you may begin the application process on the website. After paying the government fee and other charges, you’ll be able to submit your application.
What Happens After I’ve Submitted Parents and Grandparents Immigration Application?
The IRCC has disclosed that due to COVID-19, they cannot give a definite date for application processing completion. Instead, they’ll update the application status page weekly, so those who’ve applied can check the progress intermittently. The persons(s) you are sponsoring can also create an online account on IRCC’s website to get instant email updates.
The Backup Plan: Super Visa
Due to the prospect of future permanent residency in Canada and access to universal healthcare, the PGP lottery has a high demand and very limited spots. In a recent meeting, IRCC revealed that they received over 200,000 interest to sponsor forms. Statistically, the applications had a 1 in 5 chance of receiving sponsorship in 2020 and 2021 alike.
If you want an alternative with a higher chance of success, you can opt for Super Visa. While not a permanent solution, the Super Visa allows you to invite over your parents and grandparents to Canada as visitors for a maximum of two consecutive years. Super Visa is issued to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, and it is valid for up to 10 years.
Parents and Grandparents Immigration Program provides a long-term solution with extraordinary benefits for those who want to reunite with their loved ones. However, due to the overwhelmingly large competition, we recommend that you keep realistic expectations and use other immigration opportunities provided by IRCC.
