A person who is a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident meeting the eligibility criteria of Parents and Grandparents program (PGP) may become a sponsor to their family members and sponsor them to become permanent residents of Canada.

Sponsor – a child or grandchild who is a permanent resident or citizen of Canada and meets the eligibility criteria may help its parents / grandparents to become permanent residents of Canada.

Applicant – a person being sponsored as a parent or grandparent who meets the eligibility requirements to come to Canada as a permanent resident.

Dependent child – a child of the applicant and child of the spouse or common-law partner, meeting the requirements may be considered to be included in the application with the applicant.

Make the first step and prepare the interest to sponsor form.

As a sponsor you can make a difference in your life and your family member’s life as well. However, by becoming a sponsor the person also commits to responsibilities and obligations for the sponsored individuals.

Follow the instructions and begin assessing your eligibility process today.

Parents and Grandparents program Eligibility

Meet the eligibility criteria requirements to sponsor your family members.

PGP Initial eligibility requirements are as follows:

• • Be 18 years of age,
  • Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
  • Residing in Canada,
  • Have enough income to meet the criteria of MNI (Minimum necessary income) level,

Family size including family members in Canada and parents, grandparents, or eligible dependents.

Family size is an important factor for the calculation as the sponsor needs to calculate all family members who are residing in Canada and include parents, grandparents, or eligible dependents.

Income

The sponsor (and co-signer who is a spouse of sponsor) needs to prove that he or she has enough income to support all the people who are financially dependent of the sponsor including themselves.

Proofs of income

To prove that MNI requirement, potential sponsors must provide their NOA (Notice of Assessment) from CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) for last 3 taxation years before applying.

Co-signer

Co-signer is spouse of sponsor or common-law partner.

The sponsor’s spouse or common-law partner can be the co-signer regardless of the period they have been married or in common-law relationship. They must also provide proof of income for the last 3 taxation years before the date of applying.

Undertaking

As a sponsor a person must commit to financially take care of their sponsored individuals for a certain period of time. This commitment is called undertaking.

If you live in Quebec

The sponsor must meet Quebec’s immigration sponsorship requirements after the person is approved as a sponsor. The income will be assessed by the Quebec ministry in charge of immigration.

An undertaking must also be signed with the province of Quebec.

A sponsor must sign an undertaking promising to provide for the basic requirements of the person being sponsored.

Once the sponsor meets criteria requirements for Parents and Grandparents (PGP) family size and properly calculates the MNI, if needed also includes the co-signer and signs the undertaking, the sponsor is ready to proceed with the sponsorship of Parent and Grandparents.

Sponsors must meet or exceed MNI level which is calculated as LICO PLUS 30%.

Parents and Grandparents program Process

The sponsor needs to provide basic requirements for parents and grandparents, and this includes food, clothing, utilities, shelter, fuel, personal requirements, and household supplies. The sponsor also needs to provide other health care which is not provided by public health, such as eye and dental care.

Sponsor’s obligations begin on the day the person being sponsored (and their family members, if applicable) becomes a permanent resident of Canada.

If sponsor’s circumstances change, the undertaking is still valid. This means the sponsor is still obligated to provide basic requirements for the period of the undertaking even in the case of:

• marital breakdown, separation, or divorce
• family rifts
• unemployment
• change in financial circumstances
• death of the principal applicant if person is sponsoring their family members

Sponsors (and co-signers) are in default of an undertaking if the sponsored person receives social assistance during the validity period of the undertaking.

Parents and Grandparents program Supporting Documents

To gather the documents required the sponsor should use the document checklist (IMM 5771) and ensure to submit all the listed documentation.

The sponsor must include his or her own completed forms, and the forms completed by the principal applicant, so the application is considered as complete. Also, for a complete application all required documents must be submitted together in one envelope for each set of family members (parents and grandparents) being sponsored.

In case the sponsor cannot provide document(s) required on the document checklist, they should provide a written explanation for each missing document and provide proof if possible, so the application is not delayed while processing or returned as incomplete.

As already mentioned, all incomplete applications will be returned. So, before submitting re-check the document checklist, documents attached and if the payment of the processing fees is enclosed.

There is an option for the sponsor to withdraw the application if there are some reasons however, the processing fees might not be returned which depends on the certain stage of the sponsorship application.

PGP Application eligibility requirements

The applicants are the sponsor’s parents and grandparents and their dependents who must meet the eligibility requirements and provide:

• All required forms and documents with their application
• Any additional information IRCC requests during processing, including:
  • Medical exams
  • Police certificates
  • Biometrics

Note: Parents/Grandparents-in-law

A person can sponsor his or her parents and grandparents however, the person cannot sponsor parents’ in-law and grandparent’s in-law but can be a co-signer on their in-laws’ application.

There are some rules determined for the applicants which need to be met otherwise the applicants might not be eligible for sponsorship.

The applicant needs to be admissible to Canada, should not have a medical issue or be a criminal or safety risk to Canada and its residents.

The last stage of finalizing the sponsorship application after it is approved, is the preparation to arrive to Canada.
The sponsored individuals must arrive to Canada and present their Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) and permanent resident visa to the border services/immigration officer in Canada before the expiration of their documents.