Parents, Grandparents, and their dependent children
The Parents and Grandparents Program opens once a year. It lets citizens and permanent residents of Canada sponsor their parents and grandparents to come to Canada.
If you’re eligible to become a sponsor, you must submit an interest to sponsor form. The form is usually available for online submission and only for a specific time provided by Canada immigration and will announce it on its website.
Randomly select and invite potential sponsors to apply to sponsor their parents and grandparents. Then email the invitations and post the invitation status on the website.
The sponsor (and co-signer, if you have one) must prove you have enough income to support all the people you’ll be financially responsible for once you become a sponsor. This includes yourself.
If you’re invited to apply, you have to provide proof that you meet the income requirements for each of the 3 tax years before the date you apply.
To prove you meet the income requirements, you must include your Notice of Assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for the last 3 tax years before you apply.
Income Requirement – the Canadian sponsor has to show income at least 30 percent above the LICO (low-income cut-off level) in order to meet the minimum necessary income requirement. The amount of income required is based on total family size, including the sponsor, his or her immediate dependents, and the family members being sponsored, including any dependents that they may have.
Income Requirement is for Three Years – the sponsor has to show that they have met the minimum necessary income requirement for the past three years.
Notice of Assessment(s) is the Only Evidence of Income – 1. to prove their income sponsors may only use their income tax returns as documentary evidence, as the immigration authorities will not consider other evidence of income.
20 Year Sponsorship – 1. the sponsor has to agree to be financially responsible for the parent or grandparent for a period of 20 years.
10,000 Applications Limit – Only 10,000 applications will be accepted per year. This cap renews in January of each year and after it is filled the category will be closed until the next year.
