Hi, I was just researching (in May 2023) about how to apply for PR for my parents to bring them to Canada. I came across some shocking facts! I am summarizing here what I learnt, so some of you can save some time.
(1) It is not a direct application! IRCC first requires you to submit an "interest to sponsor" form which they will open during a "specific time period". That form is NOT always available. The last time that form was available was in 2020. Usually that "specific time period" that the form is OPEN can be as short as a few weeks If you don't keep checking every once in a while, you will miss that opportunity.
(2) Even if you submit interest during that "specific time period", there is no guarantee that you can apply for PR right away. You need to wait for an 'invitation from IRCC' to apply for PR. This invitation is your entry card to PR application process.
(3) Even though the "specific time period" is very short, there would still be about 200,000 sponsors expressing their interest t! Here is where it becomes tricky. Out of the 200,000 sponsors who expressed interest, IRCC will randomly pick (lottery) about 30,000 sponsors and send them invitation to submit their PR application. Only those who got that invitation can apply for PR. So the remaining 170,000 sponsors will have wait for the following year to try their luck on winning the lottery
(4) The "interest to sponsor" form was last available in 2020. It was not available in 2021 and 2022 and NOT likely to be available in 2023 or even in 2024, since IRCC was trying to clear the backlog sponsor pool from 2020. There is no announcement/hint from IRCC about when that form will be available in future!
(5) IRCC website says (in May 2023) that "For the 2022 process, we invited 23,100 potential sponsors from the remaining pool of 155,313 potential sponsors who submitted an interest to sponsor form in 2020". This means there will be a remaining 132,213 sponsors who will enter the lottery in the second half of 2023.
(6) My estimation: IRCC website says that in the " Immigration Levels Plan-target # of PGP for the year 2022 is 25000 and 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan-target # for the years 2023, 2024, 2025 are 28500, 34,000, 36000 respectively." We should note that they only gave invitation to 23,100 sponsors in 2022, even though their target was 25000! So I would assume IRCC will give about 25000, 30000 and 33000 invitations in the years 2023, 2024 and 2025. That means about 45000 sponsors would still be waiting to enter the 2026 lottery!!
(7) My prediction (I could be wrong): If IRCC is following their existing Immigration levels plan, I would expect the "interest to sponsor" form to be open next time in 2026 or 2027. (I wish I had submitted an "interest to sponsor" form in 2020)
I would love to hear your corrections, opinions and comments on what I summarized above. Let us discuss while we wait for that magic form to open up.
(1) It is not a direct application! IRCC first requires you to submit an "interest to sponsor" form which they will open during a "specific time period". That form is NOT always available. The last time that form was available was in 2020. Usually that "specific time period" that the form is OPEN can be as short as a few weeks If you don't keep checking every once in a while, you will miss that opportunity.
(2) Even if you submit interest during that "specific time period", there is no guarantee that you can apply for PR right away. You need to wait for an 'invitation from IRCC' to apply for PR. This invitation is your entry card to PR application process.
(3) Even though the "specific time period" is very short, there would still be about 200,000 sponsors expressing their interest t! Here is where it becomes tricky. Out of the 200,000 sponsors who expressed interest, IRCC will randomly pick (lottery) about 30,000 sponsors and send them invitation to submit their PR application. Only those who got that invitation can apply for PR. So the remaining 170,000 sponsors will have wait for the following year to try their luck on winning the lottery
(4) The "interest to sponsor" form was last available in 2020. It was not available in 2021 and 2022 and NOT likely to be available in 2023 or even in 2024, since IRCC was trying to clear the backlog sponsor pool from 2020. There is no announcement/hint from IRCC about when that form will be available in future!
(5) IRCC website says (in May 2023) that "For the 2022 process, we invited 23,100 potential sponsors from the remaining pool of 155,313 potential sponsors who submitted an interest to sponsor form in 2020". This means there will be a remaining 132,213 sponsors who will enter the lottery in the second half of 2023.
(6) My estimation: IRCC website says that in the " Immigration Levels Plan-target # of PGP for the year 2022 is 25000 and 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan-target # for the years 2023, 2024, 2025 are 28500, 34,000, 36000 respectively." We should note that they only gave invitation to 23,100 sponsors in 2022, even though their target was 25000! So I would assume IRCC will give about 25000, 30000 and 33000 invitations in the years 2023, 2024 and 2025. That means about 45000 sponsors would still be waiting to enter the 2026 lottery!!
(7) My prediction (I could be wrong): If IRCC is following their existing Immigration levels plan, I would expect the "interest to sponsor" form to be open next time in 2026 or 2027. (I wish I had submitted an "interest to sponsor" form in 2020)
I would love to hear your corrections, opinions and comments on what I summarized above. Let us discuss while we wait for that magic form to open up.