Canada plans to hold its Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) 2021 lottery over the coming days.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will draw 30,000 candidates from the lottery over a two-week period beginning the week of September 20. Those who receive an invitation will have up to 60 days to submit their completed sponsorship applications to IRCC. It is extremely important to submit an complete application, otherwise, the application will not be accepted and it will be returned 4 months later.
Individuals will lose their opportunity to sponsor will have to re-enter the draw again for the next year and be lucky enough to get another invitation to sponsor.
To be eligible to sponsor:
You must be a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident
You must be 18 years of age or older
You must meet or exceed the minimum necessary income (MNI) requirement for Family Sponsorship:
IRCC has made a temporary public policy change with respect to the income requirement for 2020; instead of LICO + 30%, the MNI requirement for the 2020 year specifically, is just LICO (and not grossed up by 30%). This has been done in the spirit of recognizing that many individuals were affected financially by business closures and layoffs due to COVID-19. For income calculation for 2020 specifically, IRCC will also allow Employment Insurance to be counted as part of an individual's income.
You must sign an undertaking agreement that commits you to provide financial support for your sponsored parents or grandparents and repay any provincial social assistance benefits paid to the sponsored family members for 20 years.
The undertaking period is 20 years for residents across Canada while it is 10 years for residents of Quebec.
Sponsors must provide three Notices of Assessment from the CRA to IRCC to prove that they meet the minimum necessary income requirement.
If you do not qualify for Parental PR sponsorship because you do not meet the MNI for the 3 year period, you can apply for a Super Visa as the income required is only for 1 year and it is about 30% lower.