GOVERNMENT OF CANADA ANNOUNCES DETAILS FOR OPENING OF 2020 PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS PROGRAM (PGP)
If you are a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident over the age of 18, you will soon be able to sponsor your parents or grandparents to immigrate to Canada.
Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will post the interest to sponsor form on its website for 3 weeks between October 13, at 12 PM EDT and November 3, 2020 until 12 PM EDT. Keep in mind, these are not applications for the PGP itself, but rather, an opportunity for sponsors to express their interest in sponsoring their family members for Canadian immigration.
In order to ensure a fair, transparent and equal opportunity for applicants, (IRCC) will randomly select potential sponsors and send them an invitation to submit an application. Selected applicants will have 60 days to submit their application.
Given that many sponsors may have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government is introducing a temporary public policy that will reduce the income requirement for the 2020 tax year to the minimum necessary income, instead of the minimum necessary income plus 30%.
Below is a quick breakdown of how this program works:
Sponsors indicate their interest via a web form on-line.
Potential sponsors receive an invitation from IRCC to apply.
Sponsors must submit their applications within 60 days of receiving the invitation.
Who can be sponsored?
- The biological or adopted parents and grandparents of eligible Canadians or Permanent Residents are eligible for sponsorship, as well as step-parents in cases of divorce or separation.
- Brothers, sisters, and half siblings are only eligible to be sponsored if they are dependent children under age 22.
If applicants want to sponsor more than one person or couple, they must meet all the income requirements for everyone on the application and their dependants.
Sponsored family members will need to provide all the required documents for the application and any additional information such as medical exams, police certificates, and biometrics.
