I’m sure by now you must be wondering what happened to the parents’ and grandparents’ Sponsorship Program (PGP). January is the time of the year when we, at the office, open our computers and struggle to create the Expression of Interest profile for our clients for the parents’ and grandparents’ Sponsorship application. However, it did not happen this year.
I was surprised to learn, just before the new year, of the release of IRCC’s Ministerial Instructions 36 (M136) with respect to the processing of applications for a permanent resident visa made by parents or grandparents of a sponsor as members of the family class and the processing of sponsorship applications made in relation to those applications.
The New Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Hon. Marco Mendecino, announced on the above mentioned MI36 that, “as of January 1, 2020, no permanent resident visa applications made by parents or grandparents of a sponsor and no sponsorship applications made in relation to those applications are accepted for processing until further instructions are issued. This will allow IRCC sufficient time to complete the development of a new application intake management process for the parents’ and grandparents’ sponsorship program, to be implemented in 2020 and they are expected to issue further instructions relating to the program by April 1, 2020, at the latest.”
If you recall in 2017, the Liberal government introduced a lottery system for the PGP. In this initiative, sponsors who are planning to apply to sponsor their parents or grandparents were given 30 days to submit an “expression of interest” profile. Following this submission, the government then randomly selects candidates and invites them to submit the application package of their family.
Last year (2019), we were anxious to access the form online but it only lasted 10 minutes. All our clients were not happy whey they learned that we were unable to access the form. We then learned that there were more than 100,000 people who have tried to access the online form at the same time. Many could not access the online form while others, including us, could not complete it on time, which resulted to criticism of the process.
About 20,000 people are admitted annually under the PGP and IRCC website is showing 24 months processing time.
To those who are planning to sponsor their parents and grandparents this year, the best advice would be to keep yourself informed of any updated instructions from IRCC, which are expected to be released by April 2020.
If you have questions regarding the above article you may contact Marjorie at [email protected]
Source: Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulation (IRPR)
A word of caution: You should not act or rely on the information provided in this column. It is not a legal advice. To ensure your interests are protected, retain or formally seek advice from a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) in good standing of ICCRC. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of RCIC’s.
