Maple News reports that Canada will resume the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) for 2021 with a new lottery-based selection process. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that the upcoming draw will take place during the week of September 20, 2021. Invitations to apply will be sent out over the following two weeks to 30,000 potential sponsors who submitted an interest to sponsor form in late 2020.
Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino unveiled the details during a press conference held in Surrey, British Columbia. This move aligns with Canada’s ongoing commitment to family reunification, a central pillar of its immigration policy.
Invited sponsors will have 60 days to submit a complete application to IRCC. Those not selected in the initial January 2021 draw, when 10,000 applications were randomly chosen, will be considered again in this upcoming round. IRCC is urging all those who expressed interest last year to ensure their contact information remains accurate and up to date.
The Parents and Grandparents Program enables Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their parents and grandparents for permanent residency. Once granted permanent residence, these family members may also be eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship in the future.
Eligibility criteria for potential sponsors include being at least 18 years old, maintaining Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status (or status as a registered First Nations individual), and demonstrating sufficient financial means. A key component of eligibility is meeting the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) requirement for the 2020, 2019, and 2018 tax years, although IRCC has introduced temporary flexibility due to COVID-19. For 2020 only, Employment Insurance (EI) and Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) payments can be included in the income calculations, and the usual 30% income buffer has been waived.
Quebec has its own income-assessment process through its provincial immigration ministry. While the rest of Canada requires three years of income documentation, Quebec applicants only need to demonstrate sufficient income for the past 12 months.
All sponsors must sign an undertaking agreement with the government confirming their financial responsibility for the sponsored individuals. The duration of the undertaking varies by location: 20 years for most provinces and 10 years for Quebec.
Canada’s decision to re-open and expand the PGP lottery reflects efforts to reconnect families separated by distance and limited PGP caps in previous years. Maple News will continue to monitor developments as invitations are distributed and the application window opens.