Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship (PGP): Bring Your Family to Canada

1. Interest to Sponsor form: In past years, IRCC opened an online Interest to Sponsor form for a short period.
2. Random selection: IRCC randomly selects potential sponsors from the pool and sends invitations.
3. Application: Invited sponsors must submit a complete application by the deadline in their invitation.

Recent intakes: For the 2024 and 2025 intakes, IRCC didn't open a new Interest to Sponsor form. It sent invitations to people who submitted the form in 2020. In 2025, it sent 17,860 invitations, with an application deadline of October 9, 2025.

Now: On July 15, 2026, IRCC paused the program. It won't accept new Interest to Sponsor forms or invite sponsors until further notice, and plans to approve up to 15,000 people from existing applications in 2026.

What this means for you: Watch for IRCC's next announcement. Keep your tax returns and income proof organized so you're ready if intake reopens. In the meantime, the Super Visa lets parents and grandparents stay up to 5 years at a time.

You can sponsor your parents or grandparents if you:

• Are 18 or older
• Live in Canada
• Are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or person registered under the Indian Act
• Were invited to apply
• Meet the minimum necessary income (MNI) plus 30% for the last 3 tax years
• Sign an undertaking to support them for 20 years (10 years in Quebec)
• Sign an agreement with the person you sponsor

You can include your spouse or common-law partner as a co-signer. Their income then counts toward the income test, and they share the undertaking.

You may not be able to sponsor if you:

• Are in default of a past sponsorship undertaking, immigration loan or court-ordered support
• Receive social assistance for reasons other than disability
• Are bankrupt and not discharged
• Were convicted of certain violent or sexual offences, or offences against a relative
• Are under a removal order or in prison

This is the biggest hurdle for most families. You (and your co-signer) must show income of at least the minimum necessary income (MNI) + 30% for each of the 3 tax years before you apply. IRCC uses your CRA Notices of Assessment.

These were IRCC's amounts for the 2025 intake (outside Quebec):

If intake reopens, IRCC will publish the amounts for the new tax years. Quebec residents must meet Quebec's own income rules.

Who counts in your family size?

• You
• Your spouse or partner
• Your dependent children
• The parents or grandparents you are sponsoring, and their spouse and dependent children
• Anyone else you sponsored before and are still responsible for

What counts as income?

• Employment and self-employment income on your Notice of Assessment
• EI maternity, parental and sickness benefits (some cases)
• Your co-signer's income

What does not count: social assistance, Canada Child Benefit, provincial child benefits and income not reported to CRA.

Tip: If your income is close to the minimum, plan ahead. File your taxes on time, report all income and consider adding your spouse as a co-signer.

• Parents (biological or adoptive)
• Grandparents (biological or adoptive)
• The parent's or grandparent's spouse or common-law partner, including step-parents if married to your parent
• Their dependent children: your brothers and sisters under 22 who are not married or in a common-law relationship (and some older dependents)

You can sponsor both parents and both sets of grandparents, but each sponsorship is a separate application and increases your family size for the income test.

Sponsor

• Proof of citizenship or PR status
• CRA Notices of Assessment for the last 3 tax years (you and co-signer)
• Sponsorship forms and undertaking
• Proof of residence in Canada
• Proof of relationship: your birth certificate showing your parents' names (and your parent's birth certificate for grandparents)
• Marriage certificate (if co-signer is included)

Parents or grandparents

• Passports
• Birth certificates
• Marriage certificate, or divorce/death certificates from past marriages
• Police certificates from each country lived in 6+ months since age 18
• Immigration medical exam
• Digital photos
• Biometrics

1. Submit the Interest to Sponsor form when IRCC opens it (if it opens).
2. Get invited through IRCC's random selection.
3. Check income for the last 3 tax years.
4. Gather documents for you and your parents.
5. Submit the application through the Permanent Residence Portal within 60 days.
6. Pay fees: sponsorship, processing and Right of Permanent Residence fees.
7. Biometrics and medical exams for your parents.
8. IRCC review: sponsor assessment, then the parents' application.
9. Decision and PR confirmation.

Many families use the Super Visa first, then apply under the PGP when invited.

Super Visa guide →

• Orphaned brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces or grandchildren under 18 and not married
• One other relative of any age, if you have no other relatives in Canada or abroad you could sponsor (sometimes called the "lonely Canadian" rule)
• Dependent children through family class sponsorship

• Income below MNI + 30% in one of the 3 years
• Income not shown on CRA Notices of Assessment
• Relationship documents missing or names do not match
• Sponsor in default of a past undertaking
• Parent is medically or criminally inadmissible
• Application not complete within 60 days of invitation

1. Income review: we calculate your family size and compare 3 years of income
2. Readiness plan: documents prepared before the intake opens
3. Application filing within the 60-day window
4. Relationship documents: fixing name and date issues on birth certificates
5. Medical and police guidance for parents abroad
6. Super Visa as a short-term option

Book a PGP consultation