Canada stops accepting new parents and grandparents sponsorship applications

Canada has temporarily halted new applications for its Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP), pausing a key immigration pathway that allows citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their relatives for permanent residency.

The federal government announced it will no longer accept new expressions of interest or invite prospective sponsors to apply until further notice. Officials cited demand that continues to far exceed the number of spaces available under the nation's immigration plan.

"The move is to maintain a well‑managed, sustainable immigration system that works for newcomers and Canadians alike," the government stated in an announcement on its website.

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) confirmed it will continue processing applications already in the system. The agency expects to approve up to 15,000 permanent residents through the program in 2026, aligning with the country's 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan.

Under the PGP, sponsors must agree to provide financial support for their parents or grandparents. They must also ensure their relatives do not rely on government social assistance for 20 years, or 10 years for sponsors living in Quebec.

A Canadian flag waving near homes in Milton, Ontario. Photo by Pexels

The government emphasized that family reunification remains a priority. Parents and grandparents can still visit relatives in Canada through the Super Visa, which permits stays of up to five years per visit and multiple entries over a 10-year period.

Long regarded as one of the world's most immigrant-friendly countries, Canada has recently scaled back its immigration targets. The country is seeking to slow population growth amid waning public support for higher immigration levels.

In a video shared on social media in May, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said the government is "working to restore control and sustainability to our immigration system," as reported by CBC.

This pause follows broader immigration reforms introduced by Prime Minister Mark Carney's government.

In March, Ottawa passed legislation tightening eligibility for asylum claims. This move retroactively invalidated thousands of claims filed after a newly established deadline and granted the federal government the authority to cancel large numbers of visas.

Canada's Immigration Department has faced persistent processing delays for years as it works through applications from hundreds of thousands of prospective immigrants across multiple programs.

Government data shows that as of April 30, the department was handling more than 2.1 million applications across all immigration streams.

Of those, more than 922,000 were considered backlogged, meaning they had exceeded the department's own processing time standards, according to CityNews Toronto.

Fewer than half of permanent residency applications were completed within the target service timelines.

From January through April this year, Canada granted permanent residency to 112,900 people under various immigration programs.