Question Period Note: Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program Intake Process

As part of the 2025 intake for the Parents and Grandparents Program, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited potential sponsors from the remaining 2020 pool, with the goal of accepting 10,000 complete applications. Details on the next intake will be shared when they are available.

• The Government of Canada continues to value family reunification as an important part of Canada's immigration system. It helps attract, retain and support the successful integration of newcomers, helping fulfill our commitment to attracting top talent to Canada.

• IRCC continues to process Parents and Grandparents Program applications received in 2025.

• Information on a next intake of parent and grandparent applications will be posted on our website and social media channels as soon as it is available.

If pressed:
• The Super Visa provides an alternative pathway for parents and grandparents to come to Canada temporarily while their application is being processed.
• We are making it more accessible by giving hosts more flexibility to meet the income requirement while still ensuring that families can financially support their loved ones during their stay.
• The super visa allows parents and grandparents to spend extended time with their families in Canada without impacting Canada’s temporary or permanent resident targets under the Immigration Levels Plan.

• The 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.
• The 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan set admission targets for parents and grandparents at 15,000 in 2026, 15,000 in 2027, and 15,000 in 2028.
• The Department has more applications in its processing inventory than needed to meet admission targets in the Levels Plan.
• As of November 30, 2025, there are approximately 42 500 parents and grandparents in the inventory (excluding Quebec) and 10,600 in the Quebec inventory waiting for a decision.
• Wait times as of November 30 2025 are 30 months for those destined outside of Quebec and 42 months for those destined to Quebec.

• Parent and grandparent application intake follows a two-stage process, established in Ministerial Instructions:
1. Interested sponsors express their interest during a designated Interest to Sponsor (ITS) period; and,
2. From this pool of submissions, the Department invites a specified number of sponsors to submit an application using a randomized selection process.
The last Interest to Sponsor period was conducted in 2020 and IRCC has invited interested sponsors from this pool of submissions each year since.

• Quebec currently has a two year cap (2024-2026) on the number of applications for undertakings (and Certificat de Sélection du Québec (CSQ) – which confirms the undertaking) it accepts for most family class categories, which was reached on July 18, 2025 for PGP. As a result, sponsors cannot apply for an undertaking until Quebec reopens its intake again, sometime after June 2026.

2025 Intake:

• Between July 28, 2025, and August 8, 2025, IRCC invited 17,860 potential sponsors to apply, aiming to receive 10,000 complete applications.
• Those invited to apply had until 11:59PM ET, October 9, 2025 to submit their complete applications.

Previous Intake Data:

Intake Invitations to Apply Application Target Applications accepted into processing
2020 13,400 10,000 10,299
2021 34,500 30,000 24,911
2022 23,100 15,000 16,048
2023 24,200 15,000 14,917
2024 35,700 15,000 19,964
2025 17,860 10,000 TBD

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 temporarily 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.
• Super Visa holders may now visit Canada for five years at a time, without leaving the country. IRCC also introduced 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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