Question Period Note: PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS (PGP) INTAKE PROCESS

For the 2024 intake of the parents and grandparents program, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will invite potential sponsors from the remaining pool of Interest to Sponsor forms from 2020. Beginning May 21, 2024, over the course of approximately two weeks, IRCC will invite 35,700 potential sponsors to apply. The deadline to apply is August 2, 2024.

• The number of people interested in sponsoring their parents and grandparents is significant. As a result of this demand, IRCC conducts periodic intakes of applications from interested potential sponsors.
• Starting on May 21, 2024, potential sponsors will be invited to submit applications using a random selection model. IRCC’s goal is to receive 20,500 complete applications by the August 2, 2024 deadline.
• The random selection model ensures that the process is fair and transparent, and that all interested sponsors have an equal opportunity to be invited to apply.

If pressed:
The Super Visa is an alternative pathway for parents and grandparents to reunite with their children and grandchildren in Canada. The Government of Canada made important enhancements to the Super Visa in 2022, increasing the length of stay from two to five years per entry. Parents and grandparents visiting on a Super Visa can also apply for 2-year extensions to their stay while still in Canada.

If pressed on processing times and levels:

• Since demand for this program significantly outpaces our admission targets in the Immigration Levels Plan, annual intakes of applications strive to balance access to the program with managing inventory levels.
• The Super Visa provides an alternate pathway for parents and grandparents to come to Canada while their application is being processed.

If pressed on Quebec processing times:

• Quebec sets the number of immigrants it wishes to be admitted to Quebec each year including those coming under the Family Class sponsorship program, and Canada takes this number into account in our Immigration Levels Plan. IRCC receives more Family Class applications than what Quebec targets each year, which has resulted in a backlog. IRCC continues to work closely with Quebec on this issue.

• The federal government’s Immigration Levels Plan sets the number of permanent residents to be admitted within each immigration category each year, which in turn helps determine how many applications need to be processed. Family Class parent and grandparent levels, similar to those in any category, are not unlimited as the immigration system must also balance other objectives within the economic, family, refugee and humanitarian categories, while considering the need for adequate capacity for infrastructure (e.g. housing, transportation), settlement services and health care. The 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan, as tabled in Parliament on November 1, 2023, sets admission targets for parents and grandparents at 32,000 in 2024, 34,000 in 2025, and 34,000 in 2026.
• The intake of parent and grandparent applications is managed through an annual application limit, which sets out the number of complete applications IRCC accepts for processing in a year. This application limit is set using Ministerial Instructions under the authority found in section 87.3 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. As a result, the number of people interested in sponsoring their parents and grandparents consistently exceeds the annual admissions targets set out in the Immigration Levels Plan.

2024 Intake:

• On April 12, 2024, the Ministerial Instructions were signed authorizing IRCC to conduct a new intake of applications in the Spring of 2024. IRCC will randomly invite 35,700 potential sponsors to apply from the remaining 2020 Interest to Sponsor forms pool in order to target the receipt of 20,500 complete applications.
• Those who have been invited to apply will have until 11:59 PM EST on August 2, 2024 to submit their complete application.
• For the 2024 intake, IRCC will assess the income of sponsors (and their co-signer, if applicable) for the 2021, 2022, and 2023 taxation years. Since many sponsors may have been affected financially by the pandemic, the income requirement for the 2021 taxation year continues to be reduced to the minimum necessary income, instead of the minimum necessary income plus 30%. In addition, family class sponsors will be able to count regular Employment Insurance benefits and temporary COVID-19 related benefits in their income calculations for the 2021 taxation year only, as long as the benefits are not part of provincial social assistance programs. The reduced income requirement and opportunity to include certain benefits is only applicable for the 2021 taxation year.
• Those who are invited to apply as part of 2024 intake will be directed to submit their applications electronically through the Permanent Residence Portal or the Representative Permanent Residence Portal. This is part of IRCC’s commitment to modernize Canada’s immigration system and simplify the application process. Those who are unable to apply online and require accommodations, including for a disability, are able to request an alternate format from IRCC.

Recent Intakes:

• For the 2023 intake, IRCC randomly selected and invited 24,200 potential sponsors to apply from the 2020 Interest to Sponsor forms pool, aiming to receive up to 15,000 complete applications. More than 15,000 applications were received. A final number of complete applications received during the 2023 intake will be available once completeness checks have been finalized.
• For the 2022 intake, IRCC randomly selected and invited 23,100 potential sponsors to apply from the pool of Interest to Sponsor forms submitted in 2020, aiming to receive up to 15,000 complete applications. IRCC accepted 15,790 complete applications into processing.
• For the 2021 intake, IRCC randomly selected and invited 34,500 potential sponsors to apply from the pool of Interest to Sponsor forms submitted in 2020, aiming to receive up to 30,000 complete applications. As a result of the 2021 intake, 24,742 complete applications were accepted into processing.
• For the 2020 intake, IRCC used a random selection process and invited 13,400 potential sponsors to apply, aiming to receive 10,000 complete applications. IRCC accepted 10,293 complete applications into processing.

Current Inventory and Processing Times

• After invitations for the 2024 intake have been sent, there will be approximately 72,000 Interest to Sponsor forms remaining in the pool from 2020.
• As a result of recent intakes, the processing inventory of applications sits at 67,814 parents and grandparents (persons) as of April 2024. IRCC has more applications in its processing inventory than needed to meet Cabinet approved admission targets. Files in the pre-existing backlog of inventory are also aging, which can make them more complex to process. This means new applications may take several years to be processed in accordance with admission targets in the levels plan.
• Processing times as of April 2024 in this category are 27 months for applicants destined outside of Quebec and 37 months for applicants destined to Quebec. New applications received in 2024 will experience wait times of approximately three years to be processed, based on the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan.

Super Visa:
• Parents and grandparents who were not invited to apply or who are waiting for their applications to be processed and wish to come to Canada may also be eligible to apply for a Super Visa, which is a multi-entry visa that allows parents or grandparents to stay in Canada for extended lengths of time.
• On June 22, 2023, private member’s bill C-242 received Royal Assent, enshrining enhancements to the Super Visa in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Super Visa holders may now visit Canada for five years at a time, without leaving the country. IRCC is also working towards an approach for Super Visa applicants and visa holders to purchase a health insurance policy from an insurance company outside Canada that is approved by the Minister.

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