Have Parent Grandparent Permanent Residency Sponsorships been PAUSED?

On January 3, 2025, the Hon. Marc Miller, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, announced the temporary suspension of new applications for parent and grandparent permanent residency sponsorship (“PGP Sponsorship”). This means the program will not reopen to new applicants in 2025 for submitting expressions of interest. However, the processing of applications already in the pool will continue.

According to the 2024 annual report, more than 40,000 PGP sponsorships were in the inventory as of the end of 2023. Therefore, the goal of this measure is to clear the backlog.

Interests to sponsor

The Department accepted interests to sponsor from persons who wanted to sponsor parents or grandparents from 12:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on October 13, 2020, and ended at noon Eastern Standard Time on November 3, 2020. Immigration will be making draws during the year from the existing pool and will continue inviting the applicants who have submitted their expressions of interest in 2020.  

The Ministerial Instructions Summarized

The Ministerial Instructions published on January 4, 2025, clarify the processing of applications for PGP Sponsorship.

Here is a summary of the key points:

• The government remains focused on clearing the backlog. 
• The goal is to admit more than 24,000 people via the PGP stream in 2025. 
• A maximum of 15,000 applications invited in 2024 via the PGW program will be processed. 
• 35,700 randomly selected applicants were invited to submit their applications, with the goal of accepting 20,500 applications.
• According to the 2024 annual report, more than 40,000 PGP sponsorships were in the inventory as of the end of 2023. 
• Applications must meet all requirements.

The Alternatives to PGP Sponsorship Applications 

Super Visa

• Super Visa allows parents and grandparents to visit their children or grandchildren for 5 years at a time with multiple entries for up to 10 years.
• A super visa is a TRV application, and the applicants must meet ALL the requirements applicable to this class. Considering the increased scrutiny of immigration officers assessing applications under all categories, Super Visa applications will need to be impeccably prepared, which means that the application must be Judicial Review ready.  We further invite you to read about TRVs on our website.
• The visa is renewable, offering a flexible option for family reunification. Successful applicants are not authorized to work or access public healthcare services.

Humanitarian And Compassionate (H&C) Applications

• If parents or grandparents are already in Canada, they might be able to apply under the H&C grounds, if there are sufficient H&C grounds.  However, not every parent or grandparent qualifies. 
• Regardless, this option is only available to applicants already in Canada.

In Summary

As per the Ministerial Instructions, the Department will prioritize processing the applications already in the pool by inviting the parties to submit the required documents. The applicants who submitted their expression of interest in 2020, will remain to wait for issuance of ITAs. Navigating PGP Immigration or alternative options can be complex.