Announcement and Criteria for 2021 Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) Intake

Policy effect

Sets the operational criteria and timeline for the 2021 Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP), issuing up to 30,000 invitations to apply (ITAs) to randomly selected potential sponsors who submitted an Interest to Sponsor form in autumn 2020.

Conditions and exceptions

Validated condition or limit: Sets the operational criteria and timeline for the 2021 Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP), issuing up to 30,000 invitations to apply (ITAs) to randomly selected potential sponsors who submitted an Interest to Sponsor form in autumn 2020.

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

… contribute to our success as a country. Building on the success of the PGP Program in recent years, the Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, today announced that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will invite a record number of people to apply under the 2021 intake of the Program. IRCC will accept up to 30,000 additional applications, giving more Canadians and permanent residents than ever before the opportunity to bring their loved ones to Canada. Using the same random selection process as used in previous years, IRCC will send … invitations to potential sponsors who have already submitted an interest to sponsor form in 2020. This will give additional interested sponsors the opportunity to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada. Invitations to apply will be sent over the course of 2 weeks, starting the week of September 20, 2021. Those invited to apply as part of this process will be able to use our new Permanent Resident Digital Intake tool, which allows applications to be submitted electronically. This is part of our commitment to modernize Canada’s immigration system, and will speed up and simplify the application process. We know that many Canadian families have experienced financial difficulties in the last year because of the pandemic. For this reason, we will continue to implement a more facilitative income requirement to ensure that more people can apply. For the 2020 tax year, the income requirement will continue to be the minimum necessary income, instead of the minimum necessary income plus 30%, and will allow regular Employment Insurance benefits and temporary COVID-19 benefits, such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, to be included towards the sponsor’s income. This measure will … Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship ## Quick facts - IRCC aims to receive up to 40,000 complete applications in 2021—10,000 from the 2020 intake process and 30,000 from 2021. - IRCC invites more people to apply than the number of applications we aim to receive because not all sponsors who are invited to apply submit an application. - Those not invited to apply may consider applying for a super visa, which would allow a parent or grandparent to visit them in Canada for up to 2 years at a time, without the need to renew their status. A super visa allows multiple entries for up to 10 years. - Invitations …

Review method

Two separate automated exact-claim source reviews

Other Canada changes operative in 2021

• 2021-01-05Parents and Grandparents Program 2020 Income Requirement Relief
• 2021-01-27Temporary public policy for former students in Canada with expired or expiring post-graduation work permits
• 2021-02-01Ministerial Instructions on Mandatory Online Applications
• 2021-02-22Enhanced COVID-19 Border Compliance and Quarantine Mandates
• 2021-04-01Temporary public policy to exempt certain visitors in Canada from immigration requirements during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
• 2021-05-17Expansion of Education Requirements for Hong Kong Open Work Permit Pathway
• 2021-06-17Rules Amending the Federal Courts Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection Rules (SOR/2021-149)
• 2021-06-21Expansion of Travel Exemptions for Approved Permanent Residents
• 2021-06-28Special PR Policy for Over-Cap International Graduate Applicants (TR to PR Pathway)
• 2021-06-28Temporary public policy exempting some foreign nationals in Canada from requiring an immigration medical exam
• 2021-06-29Express Entry Invitation to Apply (ITA) Submission Period Restored to 60 Days
• 2021-07-09Expansion of the Student Direct Stream (SDS) to Seven New Countries
• 2021-07-16Launch of a Dedicated Refugee Stream for Human Rights Defenders
• 2021-07-30Updated Temporary Public Policy for Out-of-Status Construction Workers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
• 2021-08-12Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Seizure Provisions) — SOR/2021-202
• 2021-08-13Establishment of the Special Afghan Resettlement Programs
• 2021-08-31Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP) Eligibility Expansion to Quebec Economic Streams
• 2021-08-31Expiration of Broad COVID-19 Restoration Public Policy
• 2021-09-01Mandatory Electronic Filing for Temporary Resident Applications
• 2021-09-07Border Reopening and Quarantine Exemption for All Fully Vaccinated International Travelers
• 2021-09-09Re-issuance of Exemption Policy for Excluded Family Members (IRPR 117(9)(d) and 125(1)(d))
• 2021-09-19Temporary Public Policy for Resettlement of NATO's Afghan Locally Engaged Staff
• 2021-09-30Resettlement Pathway for Afghan Human Rights Defenders
• 2021-10-06Extension of In-Person Exemption for Inland Refugee Claimants
• 2021-10-18Changes to the pre-removal risk assessment for Afghanistan
• 2021-10-25Afghan Families Resettlement Program Status Update
• 2021-11-05Closure of Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident (TR to PR) Pathway
• 2021-11-30Mandatory ArriveCAN Vaccine Disclosure for Essential Services
• 2021-12-09New Permanent Residence Pathway for Extended Family of Afghan Interpreters
• 2021-12-16Fee Exemptions and Status Extensions for Foreign Nationals Directly Affected by British Columbia Floods