December 14, 2016

Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program: Changes to the Application Process

The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) announced important changes to the parent and grandparent category application process today. Re-vamping their traditional first come, first serve model, they have now instituted a lottery system for the selection of applicants within this category. The new application processing system has similar elements of the Express Entry system with a government selection model and 90 days to submit completed application once “invited to apply”.  

From noon Eastern Standard Time (EST) on January 3, 2017, to noon EST on February 2, 2017, Canadian citizens and permanent residents who wish to sponsor their parents or grandparents must first complete an online form advising of their interest in making a sponsorship application.

The form requires interested sponsor’s to submit basic personal information, such as name, address, date of birth, etc. Once the information has been submitted through the online form, the interested sponsor will receive a confirmation number.

After February 2, 2017, IRCC will be randomly inviting 10,000 interested sponsors to complete and submit full applications. Only those candidates who have been chosen will be invited to apply to the Parent and Grandparent sponsorship category.

The chosen interested sponsors will then have 90 days to submit their complete application to IRCC. Interested sponsors who are not selected in the 2017 lottery will have to re-submit their interest in the 2018 lottery.

For more information, please click here.