Petition if you also agree Parents Sponsorship (PGP) needs change

[bsz]

Hi,

I wish everyone luck in your PGP 2016 application. I think everyone of us really believe this inefficient and unfair process need to change next year. My proposal is to start an online petition to the Immigration Minister and ask the following:

i. We need an ONLINE application system. WE NEED AN ONLINE application submission system.
Millions of invaluable Christmas time Canadian hours and money are wasted in printing, filling in, submitting, couriers etc. and then again immigration officer to enter them into the system. This is ridiculous specially when only 5000 application would have the chance of being approved. In New Zealand Immigration system almost everything is done online until you get the claim based pre-approval and then they would ask for the physical paper.

ii. First-come, first-served is stupid and unfair.
We need a better system based on some other criteria like sponsors days in Canada, income, etc. that need to be investigated.

iii. 5000 or 10000 annual capacity is wrong and against what was promised before.
This was not what was promised when we immigrated to Canada. They said we will be able to bring or family after citizenship.

Now that we have a better prime minister and a better immigration minister, if assumed, it's time to ask for change.

I propose the following steps:

1) Prepare a draft of an online petition
2) Finalize the petition
3) Invite people to sign
4) When enough people join, contact media and official bodies.

Please join and have your say.

Regards,

 

[kkim604]

to me, 5+ years processing time is unacceptable, and that accepting application only ONCE a year with limited seating.
If they can approve spouse sponsorship in less than a year, I don't know why it takes 5 times longer for parents.
We are talking about older people who may not have lot of time left on their hands.
ask grandparents to wait 5+ years, IF they make the cut, if not wait another year plus another 5+, common....
If they can process 10,000 syrian refugees in 2 months, they should process 10,000 P&G in 2 years, i understand circumstance is different, so 2 years seems reasonable.

-Accept application all year around with processing time of 2 years or less.


If nothing more can be done.
At least, improve Super Visa.
Super Visa is a joke.
My in-laws have super visa, twice they visited Canada with proper paper works and medical insurance for 1 year, both times they were only granted 6 months visa from CBSA agent.
They had to apply visa extension, jump through multiple hoops to stay longer than 6 months.
Once, CBSA officer told them they can only stay for 6 months because she doesn't think there is any good reason for them to stay more than 6 month.
HUH??? Then why did CIC created Super Visa system? What's the point of getting Super Visa????


As for submission system, yes it is some what out dated.
also, many redundant and unnecessary questions to answer.
Why do they need Option C/NOA print? They are going to cross check with CRA anyway. why not just ask for SIN number?
Are they just going to take our word for it? whatever it says on NOA? no right?

 

[ainpfamily]

not sure if petitions work but if there is a way that parents can work in Canada while on super visa that would be great.

my parents are still at age where they can work and don't want to stay in Canada 2 yr at a time without being able to do anything and being dependent...

 

[scylla]

not sure if petitions work but if there is a way that parents can work in Canada while on super visa that would be great.

my parents are still at age where they can work and don't want to stay in Canada 2 yr at a time without being able to do anything and being dependent...

As of now, they would need to obtain a full time job offer from a Canadian employer and an approved LMIA in order to qualify to apply for a work permit.

Highly unlikely CIC would ever ease up on this specific rule. The super visa is meant for parents to visit. If they want to work here, they need to go through the same process as anyone else.

 

[scylla]

Why do they need Option C/NOA print? They are going to cross check with CRA anyway. why not just ask for SIN number?
Are they just going to take our word for it? whatever it says on NOA? no right?

CRA & CIC don't share information (privacy). That's why applicants need to provide NOAs.

Accept application all year around with processing time of 2 years or less.

This isn't a reasonable request since the spousal sponsorship processing times for some visa offices are greater than 2 years (and spousal sponsorship obviously take precedence over parent/grandparent sponsorship). CIC has said they are going to get processing down to 4 years. This seems reasonable and a further drop would be highly criticized if it isn't accompanied by a similar drop in spousal sponsorship processing times.

 

[mikeymyke]

Hi,

I wish everyone luck in your PGP 2016 application. I think everyone of us really believe this inefficient and unfair process need to change next year. My proposal is to start an online petition to the Immigration Minister and ask the following:

i. We need an ONLINE application system. WE NEED AN ONLINE application submission system.
Millions of invaluable Christmas time Canadian hours and money are wasted in printing, filling in, submitting, couriers etc. and then again immigration officer to enter them into the system. This is ridiculous specially when only 5000 application would have the chance of being approved. In New Zealand Immigration system almost everything is done online until you get the claim based pre-approval and then they would ask for the physical paper.

ii. First-come, first-served is stupid and unfair.
We need a better system based on some other criteria like sponsors days in Canada, income, etc. that need to be investigated.

iii. 5000 or 10000 annual capacity is wrong and against what was promised before.
This was not what was promised when we immigrated to Canada. They said we will be able to bring or family after citizenship.

I agree with you on doing an online system, just like they're doing with the visitor visas. It cuts down on costs and time for both sides. When my wife applied for a visitor visa to come here, CIC says the typical processing time was almost a month, but she got it in just a couple weeks by doing it online.

They do have a system that is based on a criteria like income, it's called LICO + 30%, in which only those with sufficient income to take care of their parents, will be allowed to bring their parents.

I don't recall anyone saying that the government promised new immigrants they are able to bring family after citizenship. I think what they meant was anyone is allowed to try to APPLY for their parents to come, not that everyone WILL be able to bring their parents. The fact is parents/grandparents, especially older ones, typically are less likely to be employed for long periods of time, thus not being able to pay much into taxes, but they are one of the biggest drains of the health care and welfare system. As "heartless" as it appears, the government is setting this limit for a purely economic reason. I believe I read a news report that mentioned something about how 25% of new immigrant parents would go on welfare.

If everyone is allowed to bring in their parents, and the parents have so many health or economic issues, taxes would evidently go up substantially to cover these costs, and people will start complaining about overcrowded hospitals, high taxes, etc.

 

[bsz]

I don't say everything I said below is correct. I just said we need to ask for change through a petition.

Is there anybody here to help?

 

[sashali78]

I am not sure about your statement of better PM and better CIC minister but I agree that processing times are unacceptable.
From my personal experiences petition by itself does not work, but it will work if you manage generate enough Media interest and support from MPs to bring it to immigration committee.
However, it will take time and resources, and personally I think it should start from spouse processing improvement.
That said, House of Commons accept e-petitions on its site now and its pretty easy to create one there, you can start from that.

 

[Rob_TO]

This was not what was promised when we immigrated to Canada. They said we will be able to bring or family after citizenship.

There was no such broad based promise made to you, as there is no big difference in qualifications to be a sponsor from PR to Citizen. Immigration is always a privilege, never a right. And you should know that most Canadians are against parents immigration in large numbers since studies have shown the majority of parents/grandparents that end up immigrating to Canada have never contributed to our taxes, do not work, and just start using the healthcare system. Statistically PGP program is a drain on our resources (though I certainly agree that the program needs to stay for family reunification and humanitarian reasons).

So there need to be caps, and strict control over exactly how many parents/grandparents are granted PR each year. This is needed to protect other Canadians in terms of not putting excessive strain on our healthcare costs or taxes. Even the Liberals increasing intake from 5K to 10K is pretty much meaningless, as the important number is how many applications they intend to complete and give PR to each year which the Liberals did not say anything on. You are certainly free to make a petition, but in reality it will go nowhere as PGP program is not considered essential like the spouse/kids program is.

 

[PzSingh]

not sure if petitions work but if there is a way that parents can work in Canada while on super visa that would be great.

my parents are still at age where they can work and don't want to stay in Canada 2 yr at a time without being able to do anything and being dependent...

hi we failed to make it to pgp program 2019 ..... we have visitors visas ..... but applying for Super Visa is a no good unless we get work permits and can work in Canada ..... since we are taking he medical insurance I fail to understand what is the hitch in granting work permit to pgp on super visas ..... pls enlighten me .... thanks

 

[zardoz]

hi we failed to make it to pgp program 2019 ..... we have visitors visas ..... but applying for Super Visa is a no good unless we get work permits and can work in Canada ..... since we are taking he medical insurance I fail to understand what is the hitch in granting work permit to pgp on super visas ..... pls enlighten me .... thanks

Super Visa is a VISITOR visa, for parents to visit. If they want to work, they will need to apply for the appropriate work permits, competing fairly with others who want to work here. What special justification is there for taking jobs from Canadians?

 

[PzSingh]

Super Visa is a VISITOR visa, for parents to visit. If they want to work, they will need to apply for the appropriate work permits, competing fairly with others who want to work here. What special justification is there for taking jobs from Canadians?

well .... the simple justification is this - ultimately they have to grant us PR when we are successfully sponsored in due course of time so why delay the work permits ..... its Canada's loss I feel ..... Canada will be taking 20K this year under PGP program and many times over this figure under new scheme announced this year for rural and northern areas ..... further Canada does not allow immigration of adult siblings .... result is simple - all finally find their way to USA down south .... Canada is liberal in granting visitors' visa why the need for Supervisas ..... also Canada is expensive place to live without job ..... my cousin is returning to India for retirement after living 35 years in USA ..... so are his siblings the young ones staying behind as they are all working ..... anyway its Canada policy and as applicants we follow what is laid down procedure ..... but having a good policy can be beneficial for Canada

 

[PzSingh]

Hi,

I wish everyone luck in your PGP 2016 application. I think everyone of us really believe this inefficient and unfair process need to change next year. My proposal is to start an online petition to the Immigration Minister and ask the following:

i. We need an ONLINE application system. WE NEED AN ONLINE application submission system.
Millions of invaluable Christmas time Canadian hours and money are wasted in printing, filling in, submitting, couriers etc. and then again immigration officer to enter them into the system. This is ridiculous specially when only 5000 application would have the chance of being approved. In New Zealand Immigration system almost everything is done online until you get the claim based pre-approval and then they would ask for the physical paper.

ii. First-come, first-served is stupid and unfair.
We need a better system based on some other criteria like sponsors days in Canada, income, etc. that need to be investigated.

iii. 5000 or 10000 annual capacity is wrong and against what was promised before.
This was not what was promised when we immigrated to Canada. They said we will be able to bring or family after citizenship.

Now that we have a better prime minister and a better immigration minister, if assumed, it's time to ask for change.

I propose the following steps:

1) Prepare a draft of an online petition
2) Finalize the petition
3) Invite people to sign
4) When enough people join, contact media and official bodies.

Please join and have your say.

Regards,

who will bell the cat

 

[jddd]

well .... the simple justification is this - ultimately they have to grant us PR when we are successfully sponsored in due course of time so why delay the work permits ..... its Canada's loss I feel ..... Canada will be taking 20K this year under PGP program and many times over this figure under new scheme announced this year for rural and northern areas ..... further Canada does not allow immigration of adult siblings .... result is simple - all finally find their way to USA down south .... Canada is liberal in granting visitors' visa why the need for Supervisas ..... also Canada is expensive place to live without job ..... my cousin is returning to India for retirement after living 35 years in USA ..... so are his siblings the young ones staying behind as they are all working ..... anyway its Canada policy and as applicants we follow what is laid down procedure ..... but having a good policy can be beneficial for Canada

I feel that “ultimately” is too final a word because Canada is not obligated to grant PR to anyone, even spouses and children can be deemed inadmissible. It is more logical to ensure that those with existing and valid work permits are able to get dibs on the open jobs first before people who may or may not be able to get a work permit or PR. It is also what is fair.

If people feel that Canada is an expensive place to live without having a job, then they should not be staying long term until they acquire work permits or PR. This is the reason why a supervisa approval requires the sponsor of said visa to prove the ability to support the visitors which is so that the visitor will not need to work.

Alternatively, no one is stopping anyone to acquire skills from their countries for in demand occupations where LMIA is possible or even exempt so that they can acquire work permits easier.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

well .... the simple justification is this - ultimately they have to grant us PR when we are successfully sponsored in due course of time so why delay the work permits ..... its Canada's loss I feel ..... Canada will be taking 20K this year under PGP program and many times over this figure under new scheme announced this year for rural and northern areas ..... further Canada does not allow immigration of adult siblings .... result is simple - all finally find their way to USA down south .... Canada is liberal in granting visitors' visa why the need for Supervisas ..... also Canada is expensive place to live without job ..... my cousin is returning to India for retirement after living 35 years in USA ..... so are his siblings the young ones staying behind as they are all working ..... anyway its Canada policy and as applicants we follow what is laid down procedure ..... but having a good policy can be beneficial for Canada

They don't "have" to do anything.

Canada isn't losing anything. Very, very few sponsored parents actually work once they come to Canada. One of the main reasons that the PGP program was put on hold several years ago was because it was found the majority of sponsored parents/grandparents were going on welfare as soon as the undertaking was finished. The program was restarted with much stricter LICO requirements and a 20 year undertaking to decrease the drain. PGP is a basically a humanitarian program that is supplemented by Canadian taxpayers.