Question Period Note: Parents and Grandparents (Pgp) Intake Process

For the 2025 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 with the goal of accepting 10,000 complete applications.

• 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.
• To continue meeting the high demand for this program, we will accept 10,000 complete applications in 2025 by inviting randomly selected candidates from the 2020 pool. This number is in-line with the Levels Plan, and reflects our continued commitment to family reunification.
• 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 on when a new Interest to Sponsor (ITS) period will occur:

o Information on future intakes of interest to sponsor forms is not available at this time. Details on the 2025 intake will be posted on our website and social media channels as soon as they are available.

• 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, while considering the need for adequate capacity for domestic services and infrastructure (e.g., health care, housing, transportation) and settlement services. The 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan, as tabled in Parliament on October 24, 2024, sets admission targets for parents and grandparents at 24,500 in 2025, 21,500 in 2026, and 20,000 in 2027.
• 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.

2025 Intake:

• On December 19, 2024, Ministerial Instructions were signed authorizing IRCC to accept applications into processing in 2025 that were received as part of the 2024 intake.
• The previous Minister authorized IRCC to conduct a new intake of applications in 2025 targeting the receipt of 10,000 complete applications.
• For the 2025 intake, IRCC will assess the income of sponsors (and their co-signer, if applicable) for the 2022, 2023, and 2024 taxation years.
• Those invited to apply as part of the 2025 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, will be able to request an alternate format from IRCC.
• Details of the 2025 intake, including when invitations to apply will be sent and the number of invitations to be sent will be available in the near future.

Recent Intakes:

• For the 2024 intake, IRCC randomly selected and invited 35,700 potential sponsors to apply from the 2020 Interest to Sponsor pool, aiming to receive 15,000 complete applications. More than 15,000 applications were received. A final number of complete applications received during the 2024 intake will be available once completeness checks have been finalized.
• For the 2023 intake, IRCC randomly selected and invited 24,200 potential sponsors to apply from the 2020 Interest to Sponsor pool, aiming to receive up to 15,000 complete applications. IRCC accepted 14,917 complete applications into processing.
• 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 16,048 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, 24,911 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 10,299 complete applications into processing.

Current Inventory and Processing Times

• After invitations for the 2024 intake were sent, approximately 72,000 Interest to Sponsor forms remain in the 2020 pool.
• As a result of recent intakes, the processing inventory of applications sits at approximately 74,100 parents and grandparents (persons) as of January 2025. 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 Immigration Levels Plan.
Forward-looking processing times (wait times) as of February 5, 2025 in this category are 24 months for applicants destined outside of Quebec and 48 months for applicants destined to Quebec.

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:

o 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.
o 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.

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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