On October 5, 2020 the honorable Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, has announced details for the opening of the 2020 Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program.
The key points of the announcement are as follows:
- The selection system for 2020 is back to the same Lottery system. No first come first served.
- A 3-week window will be provided to complete an online “interest to sponsor” form. (From 12 p.m. EST on Oct 13, 2020, to 12 p.m. on Nov 3, 2020)
- Then, the potential sponsors will be randomly picked and IRCC will send them an invitation.
- Invited candidates will get 60 days of time to submit the complete PR application.
- Accommodation will be provided to persons with disabilities who are unable to use the online form. They can request the interest to sponsor form in an alternative format (paper copy, Braille, or large print) by contacting the IRCC Client Support Centre at 1-888-242-2100 or by email until November 3, 2020.
- The minimum necessary income for parents and grandparents is always LICO+30%. Due to COVID 19 pandemic, IRCC has reduced the minimum income requirement ONLY for the 2020 tax year as just the minimum income LICO. For the rest of the years, the candidate needs to meet the minimum necessary income LICO+30%.
- A maximum of 10,000 applications will be accepted for processing as part of the 2020 PGP intake. In 2021, IRCC will open a new intake of interest to sponsor forms to accept a total of 30,000 new applications.
