Individuals looking to sponsor their parents and/or grandparents in 2019 may begin the process by submitting an Interest to Sponsor form on January 28 at NOON Eastern Standard Time.

 The form will be available for a limited time and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will invite potential sponsors to submit a complete application, in the order their submissions were received, until the 2019 cap of 20,000 complete applications is reached.

This first-in, first-served approach will replace the randomized invitations process for IRCC's Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) that was used last year.

Canada's Minister of Immigration, Ahmed Hussen, said the Interest to Sponsor form has been improved to include features that can help the department detect duplicate submissions and prospective fraud.

Who is eligible to sponsor a parent or grandparent to Canada?

Potential sponsors must

• be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
• be 18 years of age or older;
• support the sponsored person and their dependants financially
• meet the minimum necessary income level for this program by submitting notices of assessment issued by the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) in support of their sponsorship.
• demonstrate they have met the minimum necessary income level for three consecutive years. If married or in a common-law relationship, the income of both persons can be included; and
• sign a sponsorship agreement that commits the sponsor to provide financial support for the sponsored person for up to 20 years.