February 23rd, 2024 at 12:50 am
Canada’s Parents and Grandparents Immigration Hit New Record
According to the most recent data from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) increased by 3.7% last year, less than half the pace of growth for overall immigration to Canada.
By the end of December last year, 28,280 parents and grandparents had become permanent citizens of Canada via the family sponsorship program, up from 27,270 in 2022.
Overall, immigration to Canada reached a new high last year, with 471,550 foreigners becoming new permanent residents, a 7.8% increase over the previous year’s total of 437,595.
The PGP’s performance weakened in the final two months of last year, dropping 32% in November to only 1,720 new permanent residents from 2,530 in October, and then falling another 5.2% in December, when the number of new permanent residents under the program fell to only 1,630.
Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, witnessed the highest number of PGP arrivals last year, with 13,345 parents and grandparents settling there.
During that period, the other provinces and territories received the following number of new permanent residents through the PGP:
- Newfoundland and Labrador – 55
- Prince Edward Island – 10
- Nova Scotia – 190
- New Brunswick – 60
- Quebec – 2,435
- Manitoba – 1,175
- Saskatchewan has 780, whereas Alberta has 5,485.
- British Columbia – 4,705.
- Yukon – 25 Northwest Territories – 15
- Nunavut – 0.
Across the country, Nova Scotia experienced the greatest increase in PGP immigration of any province last year, with the number of new permanent residents through the program rising 35.7 percent. The Yukon experienced the biggest percentage rise in PGP immigration last year, 66.7 percent, however, this was on a relatively modest scale, with only 25 parents and grandparents arriving in the territory through that program in 2023.
In 2023, PGP immigration was down in a few provinces.
Among them, Prince Edward Island saw one-third fewer parents and grandparents arrive last year than in 2022. PGP immigration also fell by 13.3% in Saskatchewan and 4.7% in Quebec.
As total immigration to Canada increases, it appears that PGP immigration will follow suit in the future.
According to the 2023–2025 Immigration Levels Plan, Ottawa’s immigration target for 2023 is 465,000 new permanent residents.
According to the 2024–2026 Immigration Levels Plan, Canada plans to welcome 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024, 500,000 in 2025, and then maintain the line on immigration in 2026 with another 500,000 entrants.
Over the course of three years, Canada welcomed 1.485 million immigrants.
Under the PGP, applicants pay $1,050 to sponsor a parent or grandparent, and the procedure can take up to 23 months. The people being sponsored must furnish biometrics after applying. That processing time includes the time required to provide those biometrics.
When a Canadian citizen or permanent resident expresses interest in sponsoring these relatives, he or she receives an Invitation to Apply (ITA) and must subsequently submit two applications to the PGP:
- The sponsorship application
- Permanent residence applications.
If those applications are approved, the sponsor enters into an agreement known as an undertaking, which begins on the day the one sponsored becomes a permanent resident of Canada.
There are various standards that must be completed to determine eligibility to sponsor a parent or grandparent, including:
- A receipt of Invitation to Apply,
- be at least 18 years old,
- have Canadian residency,
- be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or registered Indian under the Canadian Indian Act,
- have sufficient funds to support the parent or grandparent,
- provide proof of income (a spouse or common-law partner can co-sign to combine their income with the sponsor’s income), and
- meet all other Immigration and Refugee Program requirements.
Sponsors Sign an agreement with the government to financially support parents and grandparents
All sponsors who live outside of Quebec, which has its own immigration system, must agree to financially assist the sponsored for a set amount of time.
This endeavour obligates the sponsor to:
Sponsored family members receive financial support for 20 years, beginning when they become permanent residents. They must repay any provincial social assistance received during this time and agree to certain responsibilities outlined in a sponsorship agreement.
The sponsorship agreement states that the sponsor will meet the sponsoree’s necessities, which include:
- Food,
- clothing,
- utilities,
- personal needs,
- shelter, fuel,
- household supplies, and
- healthcare not covered by public insurance, including eye and dental treatment
Even in tough times, sponsors remain financially responsible for their relatives.
The sponsorship agreement is not one to be entered into carelessly because it requires the sponsor to meet those conditions even if:
- Possible reasons for applying include separation or divorce, family rifts, unemployment, financial changes, or even the death of the applicant.
- Sponsors who live in Quebec must comply with the province’s immigration sponsorship criteria when the IRCC accepts the sponsor. Quebec’s undertaking will last ten years.
Because the PGP requires sponsors to accept responsibility for their parents and grandparents through sponsorship agreements, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident with a criminal record or substantial financial problems may be unsuitable for this program.
Applicants may not be able to sponsor their parents or grandparents if the sponsor:
- is in jail, prison, or penitentiary,
- have not paid back an immigration loan or performance bond,
- have not made court-ordered family support payments (e.g., alimony or child support),
- have declared bankruptcy and not been discharged,
- are receiving social assistance for a reason other than disability or
- have been convicted of a violent criminal offence, you may not be eligible for sponsorship.
- They cannot lawfully stay in Canada and must leave due to a removal order.
The applicant cannot sponsor his or her spouse’s parents or grandparents, sometimes known as in-laws, but he or she can co-sign on that spouse’s application to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada.
The PGP program also prohibits a Canadian citizen or permanent resident from sponsoring someone who is otherwise inadmissible to immigrate to Canada.
The PGP is limited to the applicant’s own parents and grandparents, whether by blood or adoption.
IRCC urges applicants to keep their information current to avoid delays.
According to the IRCC’s website, if you sponsor divorced parents and grandparents, you must submit separate applications.
“If your divorced parents or grandparents have a current spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner, these people become dependents on the application and can immigrate to Canada with your parents and grandparents, if approved.”
A PGP application may include the sponsor’s own siblings and sisters, half-brothers and sisters, or step-brothers and step-sisters, but only if they are dependent children of the sponsor’s parents.
Delays in processing can quickly develop when the IRCC is presented with outdated information, thus, Canadian immigration officials advise applicants to keep their contact information and application details up-to-date.
Important information that needs to be updated includes:
- Changes in relationship status,
- birth or adoption of a child,
- death of an applicant or dependent, and
- Contact information (e.g., e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and mailing addresses) is all considered.
The applicant is responsible for amending the application with this information.
“Don’t mail us changes to your contact or application information,” warns the IRCC in a press release. “If you do, we won’t acknowledge your request, and we won’t update your application.”
When Canadian immigration officials start processing PGP applications, they email applicants an application number and an acknowledgement.
The IRCC then evaluates the sponsor and the permanent resident.
“If we refuse you as a sponsor, you can choose to have us keep processing the application for permanent residence for your family members,” says the IRCC.
If the IRCC continues processing the application, the sponsor loses any money paid.
Applicants who withdraw their applications and are ineligible to sponsor will receive a refund of all expenditures, minus the $75 sponsorship fee.
After accepting a sponsor under the PGP, Canadian immigration officials assess the sponsored individuals’ admissibility.
The IRCC often requests papers from people being sponsored, including:
- Medical exam results,
- police certifications, and
- biometrics.
Letters seeking biometric information are sent to the parents or grandparents and their dependent children included in the application, who then have 30 days to deliver the information to the nearest collection site.
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