Every year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) selects Canadian citizens and permanent residents as sponsors for their parents and grandparents through the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP). The selection process often undergoes revisions due to the unique lottery system employed by IRCC. Recently, IRCC published its criteria for choosing sponsors and clarified how the government makes these selections.
Sponsoring Parents and Grandparents: A Pathway to Family Reunification:
IRCC uses a randomized selection process for the PGP, drawing from interest to sponsor forms submitted in previous years. For instance, in the recent PGP intakes, IRCC utilized forms from 2020. The process involves an IRCC agent uploading selected email addresses to a bulk email tool, which then sends out Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to potential sponsors. These invitations allow them to submit a complete sponsorship and permanent residence application package.
PGP 2024 Intake Details:
For the 2024 PGP intake, IRCC issued 35,700 ITAs, aiming to accept 20,500 complete applications. The higher number of ITAs anticipates that not all recipients will submit an application.
| Year | ITAs Sent | Expected Applications |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 35,700 | 20,500 |
Requirements and Conditions for 2024:
Consistency in Documentation:
Sponsors invited for the 2024 intake must resubmit the same ‘status in Canada’ document that they provided with their 2020 interest to sponsor form. Any discrepancies between the interest to sponsor form and the sponsorship application required a valid explanation and proof that the applicant remained the same individual identified in the 2020 submission.
Processing Priority:
IRCC processes applications on a first-in, first-out basis. This means new applications for 2024 were queued behind those already in the inventory. This approach ensures fair and systematic processing, prioritizing those who have waited the longest.
Continued Use of the 2020 Pool:
2024 marked the fourth consecutive year IRCC drew from the 2020 pool of interested sponsors. Although the PGP is set to increase its admission targets to 34,000 for 2025 and 2026, the demand consistently surpasses available spots.
| Year | Admissions Target |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 32,000 |
| 2025 | 34,000 |
| 2026 | 34,000 |
The limited allocations and prolonged processing times have drawn criticism towards IRCC’s family reunification initiatives. Post-2023 PGP intake, 108,000 interest to sponsor forms remained in IRCC’s backlog. This indicates that the department could continue processing the 2020 pool over the next few years.
Understanding IRCC’s Criteria for Choosing Sponsors in the Parents and Grandparents Program helps demystify the selection process. While the document consistency requirements ensure a fair selection, the program underscores the need for increased allocations and more efficient processing.
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