What is the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP)?

How to sponsor your parents and grandparents to come to Canada through the PGP. (Pexels Photo)

Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their parents and grandparents to come to Canada. If your family is approved under the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP), they will receive Canadian permanent residence and may be eligible to eventually apply for Canadian citizenship.

Sponsor your family for Canadian immigration

In 2021, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held a lottery and invited 30,000 citizens and permanent residents to submit their sponsorship applications for the PGP. Information about the 2022 PGP is not yet available.

Eligibility Criteria

In order to be eligible for the 2021 PGP, sponsors must have met the following requirements:

• Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada, or a registered Indian under the Canadian Indian Act
• Be 18 years of age or older
• Be residing in Canada
• Exceed the minimum necessary income level (MNI) for this program and provide proof of income to IRCC
• Sign an undertaking to financially support the sponsored person for 20 years and to repay any social assistance benefits paid to the sponsored family members for a period of 20 years. The undertaking period is 10 years in Quebec.

Minimum Necessary Income

In order to sponsor any family member, IRCC requires that you meet a minimum necessary income requirement. The purpose of the requirement is to ensure that you are able to support yourself, your family members, and those who you wish to sponsor.

For the PGP, you must exceed the MNI requirement for each of the past three taxation years before the date you submit your application. The MNI is based on your Canada Revenue Agency Notice of Assessment.

The following table shows the MNI requirements for the 2021 PGP (excluding Quebec). IRCC has yet to publish its MNI 2021 requirements for PGP 2022 applicants. Also note that IRCC reduced its MNI for 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sponsoring your parent or grandparent in Quebec

If you would like to sponsor a parent or grandparent in Quebec, you must meet the Quebec government’s immigration sponsorship requirements after IRCC approves you as a sponsor. On top of signing an undertaking to financially support the sponsored person and repay any social assistance, you will also need to sign a sponsorship undertaking with the province of Quebec. Finally, the income requirement to sponsor in the province is different than the rest of Canada.

The Super Visa

The Super Visa is another option for sponsoring parents and grandparents and is available all year round. You can apply for a Super Visa as well as try to get selected for the PGP. The Super Visa allows parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents to visit their family for up to five consecutive years without renewing their visitor status. Furthermore, parents and grandparents can enter Canada multiple times with the Super Visa for up to 10 years.

What are the Super Visa eligibility requirements?

In order to be eligible for a Super Visa, an applicant must be a parent or grandparent of a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada. A spouse or common law partner of the applicant may be included on the application, but no dependents may be included.

They must also have a signed letter from your child or grandchild inviting the applicant to Canada which also includes:

• A promise of financial support for the length of your visit
• The list and number of people in the household of this person
• A copy of this person’s Canadian citizenship or permanent resident document
• The applicant must also have medical insurance from a Canadian insurance company that is:
• Valid for at least 1 year from the date of entry
• At least $100,000 of emergency coverage
• Have proof that the medical insurance has been paid in full

In addition, the child or grandchild of the applicant must be able to prove that they can meet the income requirements, identified by the Low-Income Cut Off (LICO) in the table below. The purpose of the income requirement is to assess the child or grandchild’s ability to financially support their family members, especially since the responsibility that can come with supporting an elderly family member can be large.

Get a Free Super Visa Telephone Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm

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