If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you may be able to sponsor your parents or grandparents to join you in Canada through the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP).

The benefits of the PGP are that if your parent or grandparent is approved under the program, they will be granted permanent residence and may eventually be eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship.

Additionally, your parents or grandparents can make the most of all the benefits that come with being a Canadian permanent resident, including the right to work in Canada, to obtain health care and to get full protection under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canadian law.

Sponsor your parents and grandparents for Canadian immigration

What are the eligibility requirements?

Information about the 2022 PGP has yet to be released. On September 6, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told CIC News in an email that the application intake will be available in the coming weeks.

In 2021, IRCC held a lottery and invited 30,000 Canadian citizens and permanent residents to submit their sponsorship applications for the PGP.

In 2021, sponsors were required to meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for the PGP:

• Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada, or a registered Indian under the Canadian Indian Act
• Be 18 years of age or older
• Be residing in Canada
• Exceed the minimum necessary income level (MNI) for this program and provide proof of income to IRCC
• Sign an undertaking to financially support the sponsored person for 20 years and to repay any social assistance benefits paid to the sponsored family members for a period of 20 years.

IRCC requires a sponsor to meet a minimum necessary income level (MNI) in order for them to sponsor a family member. The MNI ensures that sponsors can support themselves and their sponsored family members.

The length of the undertaking for the PGP is 20 years. In Quebec, the length of the undertaking is 10 years. Your obligations as a sponsor begin once the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident.

The PGP requires that you surpass the MNI requirement for each of the past three taxation years before the date of your application submission. The MNI is based on your Canada Revenue Agency Notice of Assessment.

The following table shows the MNI requirements for the 2021 PGP (excluding Quebec). The MNI for 2022 is not yet available.

Sponsor your parents and grandparents for Canadian immigration

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