The Parent And Grandparent Program (PGP), a Canadian family reunification immigration program, has reached its application intake threshold for the most recent application cycle.

The PGP reopened for receipt of new applications on January 4, 2016, and the cap of 5,000 new applications was reached by January 7. Demand for this program has outpaced supply over recent years. Consequently, the fact that the program cap was reached within days is not a major surprise. More than 14,000 applications were submitted from January 4 to January 7.

In its announcement this morning, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC, formerly known as CIC) stated that ‘Canada is committed to reuniting families and the Government of Canada is seeking to increase the intake of parent and grandparent sponsorship applications from 5,000 to 10,000 per year. In light of this commitment, IRCC will retain the first 10,000 complete applications.’

IRCC added that more information on this increase will be forthcoming, including information on when applications not added to the inventory would be returned to applicants.

The doubling of the cap for the PGP was an election pledge of the Liberal Party of Canada, which recently took office in Ottawa. The PGP formed the subject of Attorney David Cohen’s blog earlier this week.

For the most recent application cycle, the sponsor in Canada must have met the following requirements:

• Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
• Be 18 years of age or older;
• Exceed 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. Sponsors must also 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;
• The sponsor must sign an undertaking to repay any provincial social assistance benefits paid to the sponsor and accompanying family member(s), if any, for a period of 20 years, if necessary. If the sponsor resides in Quebec, an additional ‘undertaking’ must be signed.

Click here to learn more about the Parent and Grandparent Program.