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New Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Lottery Re-opens Oct 13

Blog posted on by Evelyn Ackah in Family Class, Super Visa and Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship

New Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Lottery Re-opens Oct 13

Canada's updated 2020 Parent and Grandparent Program (PGP) sponsorship online lottery program will open October 13, 2020, and remain open for three weeks until November 3, 2020. The relaunch of PGP family sponsorship was delayed from its original planned reopening in January 2020 due to administrative issues followed by COVID restrictions. After the three-week period ends, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will randomly select potential sponsors and invite them to submit applications.

How To Apply For the Parent Grandparent Program Lottery

Eligible Canadians and permanent residents can submit an ‘interest to sponsor’ PGP form online to sponsor their foreign national parents and/or grandparents for Permanent Residence in Canada. Selected applicants have 60 days to complete their applications. In previous years there have been 20,000 PGP spots available, but due to the late re-opening caused by COVID-19, there will be 10,000 available PGP spots in 2020 and 30,000 in 2021.

Step 1
The online PGP Interest to Sponsor form will open on October 13 and stay open through 12 PM EDT through November 3 2020 until 12 PM EDT.

The Interest to Sponsor form requires sponsors to declare that they have the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) to support their parent or grandparent. Due to COVID-19, IRCC has introduced a temporary public policy to reduce the income requirement for the 2020 tax year to the minimum necessary income (based on family size) rather than the regular approach of minimum necessary income plus 30%.

Step 2
IRCC will review applications and issue an Invitation to Apply to 10,000 applicants.

Step 3
Applicants will have 60 days to complete and submit their PGP application.

The new PGP sponsorship lottery replaces the failed first-come, first-served online application system launched in 2019.

Now, more than ever, family reunification is an important component of Canada’s immigration system. It plays a key role in attracting, retaining and integrating the best and the brightest from around the world. Our government strongly believes in the importance of keeping families together—particularly during difficult times. The Parents and Grandparents Program is a dedicated pathway to reuniting more families in Canada.

- Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino

PGP Alternative: Parent and Grandparent Super Visa

Individuals who have a child or grandchild in Canada, and who wish to spend an extended period of time with their families in Canada, also have the option to apply for the Parent and Grandparent Super Visa. While they will not have access to health insurance or be eligible for employment, a Super Visa will permit them to stay in Canada for up to two years. A Super Visa is only available to someone who is either the parent or grandparent of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada. The parent and grandparent super visa is a temporary resident permit that allows parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents to visit Canada for up to 2 years per visit, and visit multiple times over 10 years without renewing their status.

FREE CHECKLIST: ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR CANADA
PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS SUPER VISA

To apply for a Super Visa you have to be able to:

  • demonstrate the relationship claimed
  • have a letter of invitation
  • meet other criteria, including income, medical coverage and more

For more information and solutions for crossing borders seamlessly to live and work in Canada or the United States, contact Ackah Business Immigration Law today at (403) 452‑9515 Ext. 100 or 1-800-932-1190 or email us directly.


Evelyn L. Ackah, BA, LL.B.

Founder/Managing Lawyer

Ms. Ackah is passionate about immigration law because it focuses on people and relationships, which are at the core of her personal values. Starting her legal career as a corporate/commercial ...

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It is one thing to earn a living; it is another thing to make a difference in the world.

This is our formal thank you note to Evelyn Ackah and the Ackah Law Team for all the effort they put into helping us navigate and finally resolve the hurdle that was Canadian Immigration back in the spring of 2012.

A friend referred us to Evelyn; he assured us that Evelyn would take good care of us. Our friend was confident we were in good hands and said Evelyn would do her very best to help us and she did! At the time we did not know that his referral would go far beyond finding us help. Slowly we realized that it would become our own personal story of how we received grace and were reminded of the power in paying it forward

We wrote a detailed page of our dilemma, explaining how we came to be in the position we were in (overwhelmed with the hurdle that was Canadian Immigration and the uncertainty that we faced as a young family in Calgary). Evelyn agreed to take on our file with her team. They found the time to personally call us and listened intently and understood the details of what we were dealing with. They gave us their time, an honest opinion and provided clear direction which proved to be invaluable advice. Months went by but in time, we received word from Ackah Law that the Immigration office had finally reviewed our file and a decision had been made allowing our family to finally put the immigration matter to rest. We were finally able to focus again to live our lives without fear or pending doom.

Looking back now, even the sun appeared to shine a little brighter that day. At first we didn’t know whether to bake them a cake, drive out to meet their team, find their offices and personally thank them with a mighty hug or simply cry out to the heavens in thankful relief. Instead we emailed them to express our heartfelt thank-you and we hoped that they would know deep in their hearts just how grateful we were for all of their help.

Even though we relied on emails and phone conversations to communicate with them that year, we will always remember their constant professionalism, their kindness and understanding at a time that brought us so much pain not to mention fear. As if all their hard work wasn’t enough, Evelyn then then casually mentions that all their work was done pro-bono! We were thoroughly humbled!

To this day we are still eager to share how wonderful they all are as human beings but even more than that, we continue to pay it forward in honour of them, their service to us and their continued dedication in helping others.

Eternally thankful

– The Brummunds

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