Canada sends invitations to apply for Parents and Grandparents

On March 7, 2025, Canada’s immigration department announced that they would send invitations to apply (ITAs) to potential sponsors in 2025.

Sponsor your parents and grandparents for Canadian immigration

In Jan 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) had announced that they would be sending no new invitations under the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) this year, and would instead only be processing applications submitted in the 2024 intake.

This new announcement means that foreign nationals who have submitted an interest to sponsor form under the PGP in 2020 could receive an invitation to apply in 2025.

The government did not announce when they would send the invitations, but promised to release more details in the coming months.

IRCC uses a lottery system to randomly select potential sponsors from the PGP pool.

Thus far, all invitations for the current PGP program have been sent to those who submitted interest to sponsor forms in the 2020 intake. Intake for the PGP has not yet re-opened.

Canadian citizens and foreign nationals who have not been able to sponsor their parents and grandparents under the PGP can take advantage of the super visa program to sponsor their relatives to visit them in Canada for extended periods.

About the Parents and Grandparents Program

The Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) is a family reunification pathway to permanent residence.

It allows Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and registered Indians to sponsor their parents and grandparents for Canadian permanent residency.

To be eligible the sponsoring person must meet minimum income requirements, in addition to other criteria, and their relative(s) must be admissible to Canada.

You cannot apply for the PGP directly.

Those eligible to sponsor must submit an interest to sponsor form to the federal government, and then wait for an invitation to apply.

Sponsors are selected randomly from the pool.

When the PGP opened intake in 2020, it received a large number of interest to sponsor forms, and has not re-opened intake since then.

In each of the following years since 2020, the government has sent ITAs to people who submitted interest to sponsor forms in 2020 intake.

About the Super Visa

Under the Super Visa program, Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and registered Indians can sponsor their parents and grandparents to live with them in Canada for extended periods.

Super Visas can be issued for up to 10 years and generally provide for multiple entries. Super visa holders have temporary resident status, and can stay in Canada for up to five years at a time, and can extend their stay for two years.

Sponsors must meet minimum income requirements, and foreign national applicants must purchase third-party health insurance for the duration of their stay in Canada.

The Canadian federal government recently loosened health insurance requirements for the Super Visa program to allow applicants more options for purchasing coverage.

Get a Free Super Visa Telephone Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm