Canada’s Parents & Grandparents Visa To Accept Applications In October.
By Caroline Ameh
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has made an official announcement regarding the acceptance of applications for the Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship program in October 2023. They will be accepting a maximum of 15,000 complete applications.
For eligible applicants from Nigeria who have obtained Canadian citizenship, this presents an opportunity to apply for a visa on behalf of their parents or grandparents, enabling them to reside in Canada permanently.
Starting on October 10, 2023, IRCC will begin sending invitations to apply to prospective sponsors. A total of 24,200 sponsors will receive these invitations, but only up to 15,000 fully completed applications will be accepted. These invitations will be distributed over several weeks.
Interestingly, rather than launching a new interest-to-sponsor form, IRCC will select potential sponsors from the existing pool of submissions from 2020. This approach was also used for the 2021 and 2022 intakes. Individuals who submitted an interest-to-sponsor application in 2020 but didn’t receive an invitation in the past two years should check their email addresses.
For those invited to apply in 2023, the submission of applications will be done electronically through either the Permanent Residence Portal or the Representative Permanent Residence Portal.
To be eligible to sponsor parents and grandparents for Canadian Permanent Residency (PR), individuals must be at least 18 years old and fall into one of these categories: a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act. Additionally, they must demonstrate sufficient financial means to support the sponsored family, meeting the financial requirements set by IRCC.
For those who have been unable to participate in the sponsorship program since 2020, there’s an alternative option to apply for a super visa, valid for up to 10 years and allowing multiple entries. This makes it easier for Canadian citizens and permanent residents to reunite with their parents and grandparents in Canada.
