Limited Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Visas for 2025

The Government of Canada has issued updated Ministerial Instructions regarding the processing of applications for permanent residence under the Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program. These changes are effective as of January 1, 2025,

Key Highlights of the New Instructions

1. Pause on New Applications for 2025
No new sponsorship or permanent resident visa applications for parents and grandparents will be accepted in 2025 unless further instructions are issued. Only applications received in 2024 will be processed during the calendar year.

2. Eligibility for Processing in 2025
To qualify for processing in 2025, applications must meet the following criteria:

• They were submitted in 2024 using the electronic application system or an approved alternative for those unable to apply online.
• They adhered to all documentation and submission requirements outlined by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.

3. Limited Intake for 2024 Applications
The program allows a maximum of 15,000 sponsorship applications submitted in 2024 to be processed in 2025. This number may be adjusted if further instructions are issued.

4. Selection Process
Invitations to apply in 2024 were issued through a randomized selection process, based on expressions of interest submitted in 2020. Only those who received an invitation were eligible to submit a sponsorship application. This means that, in effect, IRCC is only processing parents and grandparents who applied in 2020!

Application Conditions

For Sponsors
To be processed, sponsorship applications must:

• Be submitted by individuals invited to apply.
• Include consistent and accurate information as provided in the original expression of interest, with explanations for any discrepancies.
• Meet all documentation requirements and deadlines, with a grace period of 30 days to submit missing documents if requested.

For Permanent Residence Applicants
Applications for permanent residence must:

• Be submitted by parents or grandparents of eligible sponsors.
• Include all required documentation and meet submission deadlines.

Other Notable Points

• Humanitarian and Compassionate Requests: Applications accompanied by humanitarian and compassionate grounds requests from outside Canada will not be processed if they do not meet the established conditions.
• Processing Order: Eligible applications will be processed in the order received.
• Application Return Policy: Applications failing to meet the outlined requirements will be returned, and associated fees will be refunded.