In a significant move, Canada will stop accepting new applications for permanent residence under the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) sponsorship programme in 2025. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that only family sponsorship applications submitted in 2024 will be processed under this programme, with the 2025 intake being suspended altogether.
For 2025, IRCC aims to process a maximum of 15,000 sponsorship applications under the PGP, down from previous years. To address the needs of Canadian citizens and permanent residents wanting extended stays for their parents and grandparents, the super visa option remains available. This visa permits visits of up to five years per stay, offering an alternative for family reunification.
The PGP allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their parents or grandparents for permanent residency. Due to high demand, the programme operates using a lottery system to send application invitations, as the number of interested sponsors far exceeds the available spots. IRCC has been inviting sponsors who expressed interest during the 2020 intake period, continuing this process annually through 2024.
The suspension stems from IRCC’s decision to reduce overall permanent resident targets by 20% for 2025. This adjustment has significantly impacted the allocation for the PGP. The revised 2025 target for PGP landings is now set at 24,500 foreign nationals, a substantial decrease from the earlier targets of 32,000 for 2024 and 34,000 for 2025 outlined in the 2023 Immigration Levels Plan.
