How does IRCC select sponsors for the Parents and Grandparents Program?

Aug 5, 2024 / 2 min readspscanadaahd

Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP)

The Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their parents and grandparents for permanent residence. Every year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) selects sponsors from its system. Because IRCC uses a lottery-style process, many families find the selection confusing. However, recent government updates provide a clearer picture of how IRCC chooses sponsors.

How Does IRCC Select Sponsors for the PGP?

IRCC uses a random selection method. Here is how the process works:

  1. IRCC reviews the pool of interest-to-sponsor forms submitted in 2020.
    They continue to use this same pool for all intakes, including 2024.
  2. IRCC randomly selects sponsors from this pool.
    A computerized system chooses names without giving preference to anyone.
  3. IRCC sends invitation letters by bulk email to the selected sponsors.
    The invitation asks them to submit a full sponsorship and PR application.

For the 2024 intake, IRCC sent 35,700 invitations. Their goal is to approve 20,500 applications, so they invite more people because not everyone will apply.

PGP 2024: Key Points

Since IRCC keeps using the 2020 pool, the same rules apply every year:

  • Sponsors must match the information they submitted in 2020.
  • They must meet the income requirement for the last three tax years.
  • IRCC may continue using this pool for future intakes until it is cleared.

Required Documents for PGP 2024

Sponsors who received an invitation had to include:

  • The same status-in-Canada document they submitted with their 2020 interest-to-sponsor form.

If any information changed (such as name, address, or status), the sponsor needed to:

  • Explain the reason for the change, and
  • Provide documents showing it is still the same person who filled out the 2020 form.

How IRCC Processes PGP Applications

IRCC processes applications in the order they arrive. Older applications always move first, while newer ones join the queue behind them.

Over the past four years, IRCC has continued to use the 2020 pool. Even though they increased the number of available spots, demand is still much higher than the number of applications they can accept. As a result:

  • Wait times remain very long.
  • Many sponsors are frustrated with the slow pace.
  • Thousands of people from the 2020 pool are still waiting for selection.

Based on the current rate, IRCC may need up to three more years to finish selecting everyone from the 2020 submissions—even though new interest-to-sponsor forms have been submitted in later years.

Get in touch with us

Receive professional advice on any of your questions regarding Canadian immigration. get in touch with us, experienced immigration consultants from SPS Global. For additional information, contact support@spscanada.com (Canada) or support.amd@spscanada.com (Ahmedabad), or by phone at (1) 905-362-9393 (Canada) or +919586226232 (Ahmedabad).

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