Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP)

Parents and grandparents are members of the family class (Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, IRPR, s. 117(1)(c) and (d)). Unlike spouses and children, they can only be sponsored by people IRCC invites to apply, and sponsors must meet a higher income test over 3 tax years.

New intake paused until further notice

Jul 15, 2026

Maximum PGP approvals IRCC plans for 2026

15,000

Invitations sent in the 2025 intake

17,860

Undertaking outside Quebec

20 years

1. 2020

   Interest to sponsor forms collected

   The 2025 intake drew only from people who submitted an interest to sponsor form in 2020. The form is now closed.

2. July 28, 2025

   2025 intake opens

   IRCC sent 17,860 invitations over about 2 weeks, aiming to accept 10,000 complete applications.

3. October 9, 2025

   Last day to apply for the 2025 intake

4. July 15, 2026

   Program paused

   IRCC stopped accepting new interest to sponsor forms and sending invitations until further notice, and continues processing existing applications.

IRCC says interest in the program keeps exceeding the spaces in the 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan, and that the pause aims to reduce processing times and make the program more predictable. Parents and grandparents can still visit on a super visa.

IRCC's super visa page says that if you have already submitted a sponsorship application, your parent can apply for a super visa while waiting for a decision, or you can withdraw the sponsorship and apply for a super visa instead.

• InvitationYou were invited to apply. You cannot transfer an invitation to anyone else, including your spouse or partner.
• Status and ageCanadian citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian, at least 18
• ResidenceYour primary residential address is in Canada from the day you apply until IRCC decides. Unlike spousal sponsorship, there is no exception for citizens living abroad.
• IncomeThe minimum necessary income plus 30% for each of the 3 consecutive tax years before the date you apply (IRPR s. 133(1)(j)(i)(B)). A spouse or common-law partner can co-sign to combine incomes.
• UndertakingYou, any co-signer and the person you sponsor sign the undertaking and sponsorship agreement
• No barsNot in prison, not under a removal order, not receiving social assistance for a reason other than disability, not in default on support, an immigration loan or an earlier undertaking, not an undischarged bankrupt, and no disqualifying conviction

For Quebec residents, IRCC does not apply the support payment, undertaking default and bankruptcy bars (IRPR s. 137(c)); Quebec applies its own conditions instead.

• Parents and grandparentsYour own parents and grandparents, by blood or adoption
• Their partnerTheir spouse or common-law partner. If your parents are divorced, each is a separate application, and each can include a current spouse or partner. Separated but still married parents go on one application.
• Their dependent childrenYour brothers and sisters, half-siblings or step-siblings, only if they qualify as dependent children, and their dependent children
• Not your in-lawsYou cannot sponsor your spouse's or partner's parents

The principal applicant must be your own parent or grandparent; a step-parent is listed as a dependant. You cannot change the principal applicant after you submit. To sponsor your grandparents and your parents, you submit 2 separate applications, one per couple.

Potential sponsors first submit an interest to sponsor form. IRCC then randomly selects people from that pool and invites them to apply. Only invited sponsors can apply, and they must apply by the deadline in their invitation letter. There are no points or rankings.

In the 2025 intake, IRCC drew from the 2020 pool of interest forms, sent 17,860 invitations starting July 28, 2025, and set a goal of 10,000 complete applications. The deadline was October 9, 2025. Since July 15, 2026, there is no new intake.

Quebec. After IRCC confirms that you are eligible as a sponsor, you send an undertaking application to Quebec's immigration ministry. From July 2, 2026 to June 30, 2028, Quebec accepts at most 2,400 undertaking applications for parents, grandparents and other relatives, following an intake schedule based on the date of IRCC's eligibility letter. Applications sent before your date are returned. Until Quebec accepts the undertaking, IRCC keeps the permanent residence application in its inventory and cannot approve it.

These steps apply to invited sponsors whose applications are already in process or who were invited before the pause.

1. 1

   Submit both applications

   The parent or grandparent (principal applicant) submits the sponsorship and permanent residence applications together through the Permanent Residence Portal, before the deadline in the invitation. If more than one parent applies as a principal applicant, each needs their own portal account.

2. 2

   Prove your income

   Either consent on the Financial Evaluation for Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship form, with your social insurance number, so IRCC gets your tax information from the Canada Revenue Agency, or include your notices of assessment for the 3 tax years.

3. 3

   Acknowledgement and sponsor assessment

   IRCC returns an application that is incomplete, unpaid, late or not invited. Otherwise it sends an acknowledgement of receipt and assesses you as a sponsor first.

4. 4

   Quebec step

   Quebec residents send the undertaking application to Quebec after IRCC's eligibility letter and on or after their date in Quebec's schedule, with the Quebec selection form signed by the parent.

5. 5

   Parents' checks

   The parents and their dependants complete medical exams, police certificates and biometrics.

6. 6

   Keep the file up to date

   Report changes such as a marriage, divorce, birth or death, and new contact details, through IRCC's web form.

7. 7

   Decision

   IRCC asks for passports, photos and the right of permanent residence fee receipt, then issues the Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) and a visa if needed.

Family size is counted year by year. It includes you, your spouse or partner (a co-signer counts in all 3 years), your dependent children, anyone still under an undertaking you or your co-signer gave, and the parents or grandparents with all their family members, even those not coming to Canada. Social assistance, Employment Insurance other than special benefits, the Canada child benefit and some other amounts do not count as income. The Sponsor income requirements page explains the rules in detail.

Medical exams and police certificates are paid separately, and Quebec charges its own fees. Processing times below are IRCC's live figures for applications already in process, shown separately for Quebec.

A sponsor can appeal a refusal to the Immigration Appeal Division within 30 days after receiving it (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, IRPA, s. 63(1)). A refusal for misrepresentation cannot be appealed for a parent or grandparent (IRPA s. 64(3)), and neither can refusals for security or serious criminality (IRPA s. 64(1)).

Your parents travel with their COPR and any permanent resident visa before they expire, and a border services officer makes the final decision. Public health coverage may not start right away, so check your province's rules.

The undertaking starts on the day they become permanent residents and lasts 20 years (10 years in Quebec). You must provide for their basic needs, including dental care, eye care and other health needs not covered publicly, and repay any social assistance they receive. It cannot be cancelled or shortened, even if they become citizens, your relationship changes, someone moves, or you lose your job. Your parents agree to make every effort to support themselves.