The Government of Canada has announced will accept up to 20,000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2019. This is 4 times the number of applications accepted when the program reopened in 2014, when the cap was set at 5000 applications. This will help more families to reunite in Canada.
The decision to increase the applications is because IRCC significantly reduced the inventory of applications. The inventory has dropped from a peak of 167 000 people, in 2011, to just under 26 000 people, in June 2018.
- IRCC will accept for processing 17 000 applications for sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2018, and 20 000 applications, in 2019.
- In 2018, the government plans to admit 20 000 parents and grandparents in its immigration levels plan.
- Parents and grandparents admission levels will increase to 20 500, in 2019, and 21 000, in 2020.
IRCC sent a second round of invitations to randomly selected potential sponsors who submitted an Interest to Sponsor form in early 2018. Those invited to the second round have until October 5, 2018, to submit a complete application.
