The Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship program will be subject to a new lottery system on or after January 3, 2017, according to an announcement by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. This will prevent the typical exhaustion of the program quota within one week.
Application Process
When the system opens on January 3, applicants will be required to fill out an online form within 30 days and Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will randomly invite 10,000 applicants to submit their complete application package. Submission details for the online form are forthcoming from IRCC.
What This Means for Employers and Foreign Nationals
Foreign nationals applying for visas for their parents and grandparents should contact their immigration professional for assistance with filling out the online form on or after January 3, and for application submission assistance if they are invited to apply through the lottery.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].
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