Canada: Invitations to Apply Under Parents and Grandparents Program Forthcoming

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that it will accept up to 15,000 applications for sponsorship for the Parents and Grandparents Program this year, allowing those sponsors to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada as permanent residents. Starting October 10, 2023, IRCC will be sending out invitations to apply to 24,200 interested potential sponsors, selected randomly from the pool of those who submitted an interest to sponsor form in 2020 but did not receive an invitation to apply in 2021 or 2022. IRCC will send invitations over the course of two weeks. Those who are invited to apply will be able to submit online applications using the Permanent Residence Portal or the Representative Permanent Residence Portal. As a reminder, those who are not invited to apply this year may consider having their parents or grandparents apply under Canada’s super visa program, which allows parents and grandparents to visit their Canadian or permanent resident children or grandchildren in Canada for up to five years per entry, renewable for up to two years at a time while in Canada.