Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) began sending invitations to apply for the 2020 Parents and Grandparents Program. IRCC is encouraging those who submitted an interest to sponsor forms in the fall of 2020 to check their email accounts regularly throughout the week.

The interest to sponsor form was available on the IRCC website from October 13 to November 3, 2020. Since then, to ensure a fair, transparent, and equal opportunity for applicants, IRCC has removed duplicate submissions and randomly selected potential sponsors to invite them to apply.

The number of people interested in sponsoring their parents and grandparents always exceeds the number of applications we can accept. For the 2020 program, IRCC will accept up to a maximum of 10,000 applications for processing.

Those who receive invitations to apply must submit their complete applications to IRCC within 60 days. The deadline to apply will be clearly marked on the invitation. In the event of delays in providing documentation due to service disruptions caused by COVID-19, IRCC may grant a 90-day extension upon submission of satisfactory evidence.

If you successfully submitted an interest to sponsor form, but have not received an invitation in your email inbox, please check your junk mail and make sure you’re checking the email address you provided on your interest to sponsor form. Only those who have been randomly selected to apply will receive correspondence from IRCC. You can also check your invitation status on IRCC’s website—this information will be available after all the invitations to apply have been sent out.

Given that many sponsors may have been financially impacted by the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, IRCC has introduced a temporary public policy that reduces the income requirement for the 2020 tax year to the minimum necessary income, instead of the minimum necessary income plus 30%.

The government recognizes how important it is for families to be together, particularly during difficult times. If you submitted an interest to sponsor form in 2020, but are not selected to apply, you’ll have another opportunity to apply and show your interest when the 2021 Parents and Grandparents Program opens.

For the 2021 program, IRCC will accept a maximum of 30,000 new applications as part of the interest to sponsor forms intake process. Information and timelines on the 2021 Parents and Grandparents Program will be posted on IRCC’s website as soon as they’re available.

Those interested in bringing their parents or grandparents to Canada can also consider a parent and grandparent super visa, which allows them to stay in Canada for up to 2 years at a time.