Canada immigration: Soon open for parents

The popular parent and grandparent immigration option to Canada may soon become available again, as the programme is expected to re-open for applications early next year.

Parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and residents are eligible for Canadian residency and perhaps, citizenship under the Parent and Grandparent Programme (PGP).

However, the programme has been closed for the past nine months, as the application cap for this year’s programme was reached in a matter of weeks.

In the first week of February, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced that 5,000 applications had been admitted and the programme would be closed, to be re-opened for a new round of applications in the following year.

At this point, no details about start of the 2015 programme have been released, but industry leaders suggest there is no reason for the programme to remain closed.

The last application round commenced on January 2, 2014.

Aspirant applicants are recommended to prepare their file and keep it ready to be submitted as soon as the intake resumes, because the popularity of the immigration option remains high.

A Canadian resident or citizen can sponsor parent(s) and/or grandparent(s) when at least 18 years of age, complying to a minimum necessary income, able demonstrate these funds for the period of three years prior to application and agree to accompany the family member(s), for a period of 20 years, if necessary.

Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification

Due to a backlog of applications and long processing times Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) stopped accepting applications for the immigration stream on November 5, 2011.

Since then, CIC has been pursuing the Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification, aiming to reduce the backlog.

In 2012-2013 it admitted approximately 50,000 parents and grandparents as Canadian permanent residents, and another 20,000 were accepted in 2014, of which 5,000 were new applicants.

Supervisa

Meanwhile, an alternative option was developed under the Supervisa Programme.

Under this programme, parents and grandparents of Canadian residents and citizens can apply for a visitor’s visa for up to two years, and renew this visa for a period of 10 years.

Last year around 1,000 applications were accepted under the programme every month, and on an average 87 per cent of the applications are approved.

(Shutterstock)

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