Recently, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that they would be opening the 2020 intake window for Canada’s Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP).

Just earlier this week, IRCC released a statement regarding the details for this year’s intake of the PGP. 

The 2020 Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) intake window will be open between Tuesday, October 13, at 12 PM EDT to Tuesday, November 3, at 12 PM EST. During this 4-week period, Canadian citizens and permanent residents interested in sponsoring family members may submit their sponsorship forms online to IRCC’s website. 

After randomly selecting a number of candidates, IRCC will then send out an invitation to interested sponsors to submit an application. Over 10,000 applications may be submitted for this year’s PGP intake. IRCC also announced that next year’s PGP intake would be accepting up to 30,000 applications. 

Should you receive an invitation to submit a sponsorship application on November 3, you have up to 60 days to submit your completed sponsorship application form.

Eligibility Criteria for the 2020 Parents and Grandparents Program

If you are interested in sponsoring a family member through the 2020 PGP, you must ensure you can meet the following requirements: 

• You are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
• You are at least 18 years of age;
• You currently reside in Canada;
• You exceed the minimum necessary income level
• You are willing to sign an undertaking:
  • to financially support the sponsored family members for over 20 years
  • to repay any social assistance paid to the sponsored family members for over 20 years

Interested sponsors must prove that they are able to meet the income requirements through submitting notices of assessment from the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA). For sponsors residing outside Quebec, you must demonstrate your income for the past 3 years. For sponsors residing in Quebec, only 1 year of income needs to be demonstrated.

Your spouse or common-law partner may also co-sign your undertaking in order to meet the income requirement, but they must also meet the eligibility criteria and are required to adhere to the 20-year period stated in the undertaking. 

The undertaking is required in order to demonstrate that you are fully capable of financially assisting your sponsored family members.

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