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Pathway

Canada Residence for Parents or Grandparents

Canada Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

Canada's Parents and Grandparents Program can let Canadian citizens and permanent residents sponsor parents or grandparents for permanent residence, but the program is invitation-based and the latest intake is closed.

Type
Invitation-based family sponsorship
Sponsor
Adult Canadian child or grandchild
Core requirements
Invitation, sponsor income, relationship records, and admissibility
What to know
2025 intake is closed
Duration
Permanent residence from approval.
Renewal / path
Can support Canadian citizenship after physical-presence rules are met.

Summary

The Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) is Canada's permanent-residence sponsorship route for eligible parents and grandparents. It is not currently open to new applications.

IRCC paused intake on July 15, 2026 and says it will not accept new interest-to-sponsor forms or issue new invitations until further notice. Existing applications continue to be processed. The last intake used invitations sent from the 2020 interest pool, and its application deadline was October 9, 2025.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

No one can start a new PGP application while intake is paused. For an existing invited application, the sponsor normally had to:

The parent or grandparent and all declared family members must meet medical, criminality, security, and other admissibility requirements. Quebec sponsors complete an additional provincial undertaking and are subject to Quebec's intake controls.

What This Route Allows

If an existing application is approved, the sponsored parent or grandparent and eligible accompanying dependents receive Canadian permanent residence. The sponsor is financially responsible for 20 years outside Quebec; Quebec sets its own undertaking period.

Permanent residents may live, work, and study in Canada and may later qualify for citizenship if they meet the ordinary requirements.

What This Route Is Not

PGP is not continuously open and cannot be filed without a valid invitation for an active intake. A previously submitted expression of interest was not an application and did not guarantee an invitation.

The Super Visa is not permanent residence, but it remains the main long-stay visitor alternative while PGP is paused. A parent or grandparent can also pursue an economic or other immigration route independently if eligible.

Next Steps

  1. If no PGP application is already pending, do not pay anyone to submit a new one while IRCC lists the program as paused.
  2. Monitor IRCC's PGP page for a future reopening or new instructions; do not rely on old 2020-pool or 2025-intake procedures.
  3. If an application is pending, keep family composition, address, civil-status, and contact information current and respond promptly to IRCC requests.
  4. Keep the relevant tax records and evidence of family relationships organized.
  5. Review the Super Visa for visits of up to five years per entry, including its income, insurance, medical, and visitor-intent rules.
  6. If the sponsor lives in Quebec, check the province's current undertaking intake and exemption rules before taking any step.
Compare your options

Other routes in Canada.

Sources