Canada Suspends Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program: What You Should Know

If you’ve been hoping to sponsor your parents or grandparents to come to Canada permanently, you’ve probably already heard the disappointing news: Canada isn’t accepting new applications for the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) in 2025.

This represents a pretty significant shift from how things have worked in recent years. Previously, Canada would open a window for new applications annually, using a lottery system to select sponsors from the thousands of people who wanted to bring their family members over. The demand has always far exceeded the spots available, but at least there was hope of getting selected.

Now? That window isn’t opening at all for 2025.

What the PGP Actually Does

The PGP is a program where Canadian citizens or permanent residents can sponsor their parents or grandparents to come and stay as permanent residents. It has been one of the primary means through which families are reunited permanently in Canada, but it has never been easily available owing to the high demand.

The lottery system they used wasn’t perfect, but it gave everyone a chance. You’d submit an “Interest to Sponsor” form during a brief application period, then hope your name got drawn. If selected, you could then submit the full sponsorship application.

That process isn’t happening this year.

Why Canada Made This Decision

The suspension comes down to numbers and capacity. Canada has reduced its overall immigration targets for 2025, which means fewer spots are available across all programs. Rather than run a lottery for new PGP applications they couldn’t process, the government decided to focus on clearing the existing backlog.

They are scheduled to process approximately 15,000 sponsorship applications in 2025, all of which were submitted by holders who applied in 2024. New applications will not be taken or processed.

The move is a sign of the new attitude toward immigration in Canada: an effort to control numbers more delicately and deal with backlogs that have left applicants under several programs aggravated.

What This Means If You Haven’t Applied Yet

If you never submitted an “Interest to Sponsor” form in previous years, you’re out of luck for 2025. There is no application process or lottery to enter, and no system of getting your parents or your grandparents into the queue this year to gain permanent residence.

It does not imply, however, that there is nothing you can do. It is possible to still sponsor family members to Canada, but not on the permanent residence system.

Alternative Options Worth Considering

1. The Super Visa Program

The Super Visa, which enables long stays of parents and grandparents in Canada, would likely be the most viable option. It is not a permanent residence, but rather generous in its applicability in comparison to normal visitor visas.

The Super Visa is appealing because it can be used during a period of up to 10 years with a multiple-entry permit, and the maximum length of stay is five years with each trip. Basically, your parents or grandparents may be living in Canada most of the time, only without permanent status.

The requirements are manageable for most families:

• Your parents or grandparents need private medical insurance from a Canadian company
• They’ll need to pass a medical exam
• They must show ties to their home country
• You need to meet certain income requirements as the host

The Super Visa isn’t perfect: your family members can’t work, access healthcare, or enjoy other benefits of permanent residence. But it does allow extended family time together while you wait for the PGP to reopen.

2. Provincial Programs

There are also family sponsorship programs in other provinces, but these are far less prevalent and generally have very restricted requirements. The criteria and procedures differ greatly depending on the province, and not all provinces provide them.

In case you are interested in domestic routes within a provincial scope, it would be necessary to do some research in the province of your interest. Remember that such programs tend to be even more limited in space than the federal PGP.

Planning for the Future

This suspension has been labelled as temporary, but an exact date for when new applications will be considered again is not specified. Canada will assess the program’s performance, likely after reducing the existing backlog and determining its capacity to accept new applications.

This means that you must always keep abreast of any information related to immigration announcements, in case you happen to be interested in an application in the near future when the program opens again. The government could also institute systems and practices in how it conducts the PGP, thus leading to changes in selection eligibility or even selection itself.

Given that application windows have sometimes opened and closed at lightning speed, it will be critical to be ready to apply when an opportunity presents itself. It is at this point that the assistance of professionals proves its worth. Get in touch with the team at Kurfeld Law Firm and see how we can help you achieve your immigration goals.

Managing Expectations

The reality is that family sponsorship has always been one of the more challenging aspects of Canadian immigration. The demand consistently outstrips supply, processing times are long, and requirements can be complex.

The 2025 suspension reflects these ongoing challenges rather than creating new ones. Canada wants to facilitate family reunification, but it also needs to balance this with processing capacity and broader immigration goals.

For families affected by this suspension, it’s frustrating but not necessarily permanent. The key is understanding what alternatives exist now and staying prepared for when new opportunities become available.

Moving Forward

The suspension does not remove the option of permanently bringing your parents or grandparents to Canada; however, it postpones the option. Meanwhile, there are alternatives such as the Super Visa that can ensure families remain connected and be able to spend more time together.

Although the suspension of PGP can be disappointing to many families, as long as you get to comprehend the rationale behind it and examine the alternatives that exist, you may be able to make the most effective choices. The aim of family reunification remains the same, albeit the route is temporarily closed.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why is Canada putting the PGP- Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program on hold in 2025?
   Canada suspended the PGP to solve an application backlog. The government has reduced immigration plans in 2025 to concentrate on clearing the backlog instead of taking in new applications into the program.
2. Under what circumstances will I be able to bring my parents or grandparents to Canada in 2025?
   Although the possibility of new PGP applications is suspended as of 2025, you may consider other opportunities, such as the Super Visa, which allows parents or grandparents to remain in Canada for visits of up to five years.
3. What is the Super Visa, and what does it do?
   Parents or grandparents with a Super Visa can enter Canada and stay up to 10 years with multiple entries of up to 5 years. It is not permanent residence; however, it gives more time with family.
4. Can one expect a future reopening of the PGP program?
   The PGP suspension is not definitive, yet there is no specific plan regarding the future acceptance of new applications. To reopen the program, the government intends to audit the backlog and immigration capacity.
5. Do the provinces have any family sponsorship programs?
   Family sponsorship programs exist in some provinces; they have limited capacity and are limited to particular sets of individuals. You should look into the programs offered in the province of interest.