Last July 20, Canada recently announced the details for the 2021 Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP).
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Minister Marco Mendicino held a press conference to conduct the announcement for the Parents and Grandparents Program.
According to Minister Mendicino, another lottery will be held for this year’s Parents and Grandparents Program. The lottery is set to take place on September 20, after which invitations will be sent out in the following two weeks. Those who have received invitations will have at least 60 days to submit their sponsorship application to the IRCC for approval.
The IRCC will be drawing from candidates who submitted their applications for the PGP intake last year. Between October and November of 2020, Canadian citizens and eligible permanent residents were able to submit an online application form, expressing their interest to sponsor a parent or grandparent through the PGP for permanent residency.
In January of this year, after the October to November intake, the IRCC randomly selected an additional 10,000 applications for PGP sponsorship. The IRCC has suggested that another 30,000 will be invited later this year.
IRCC strongly encourages candidates to ensure the information they submitted on IRCC’s website last autumn remains up to date, including your contact details.
Eligibility Criteria for the 2021 Parents and Grandparents Program
If you would like to sponsor a family member through the 2021 Parents and Grandparents Program, you must be able to 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 submit notices of assessment from the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) to prove that they can meet the PGP’s income requirements. Sponsors outside Quebec must demonstrate their income for the past 3 years, while sponsors inside Quebec need only demonstrate 1 year of income.
Spouses or common-law partners may also co-sign the undertaking in order to meet the income requirement for the PGP, but they must also meet the eligibility criteria and must also adhere to the 20-year period (10 years if you reside in Quebec) stated in the undertaking.
The undertaking is required to prove that the sponsor is fully capable of financially assisting sponsored family members.
If you’d like to know more about the Parents and Grandparents Program and other pathways to Permanent Residency, register to one of our private online discussions. Register to an orientation for free here.
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