The Government of Canada has announced it will accept up to 20,000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents in 2019.
This is four times the number of applications accepted when the program reopened in 2014, when the cap was set at 5,000 applications.
This decision to increase the number of applications that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept for processing is a result of continually high demand in the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program.
It is also a consequence of the IRCC managing to significantly reduce the backlog of applications that had been building up for some time.
2Over the last few years, we have made substantial 
improvements to the parents and grandparents sponsorship process and eliminated the backlog of applications,” said Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. “Now, by accepting even more applications this year and next as well as enhancing the intake system, the Government of Canada is demonstrating its commitment to helping families live, work and thrive together, in Canada.”
Minister Hussen also announced that the government is making further changes to the application intake process that will streamline access to the program and improve client experience.
n 2019, as in previous years, the Interest to Sponsor form will be available online, at the beginning of the year, so eligible potential sponsors can let IRCC know they wish to sponsor their parents and grandparents to come to Canada. However, instead of randomly selecting the sponsors to apply, they will be invited to submit an application to sponsor their parents and grandparents based on the order in which their Interest to Sponsor forms are received. This process will continue until we reach the 2019 cap of 20 000 complete applications.
Article published 23rd August 2018