How to Sponsor Your Parents or Grandparents to Canada

IRCC has paused the Parents and Grandparents Program. Its current guidance states that it will not accept new interest to sponsor forms, and will not invite new sponsors to apply, until further notice. Applications already submitted continue to be processed.

That is the first thing to know, because most of what is written about this program online describes an intake that is not currently open.

How the program is structured when it is open

Parent and grandparent sponsorship has never worked on continuous intake. It runs in two stages. A person who wants to sponsor first submits an interest to sponsor form during an intake window. IRCC then randomly selects from that pool and sends invitations to apply. Only an invited sponsor can submit a sponsorship application, and an application sent without an invitation is returned.

The pool IRCC has been drawing from is the one built in 2020. The most recent round of invitations ran from 28 July 2025, and the window to apply under that round closed on 9 October 2025.

The undertaking is the part people underestimate

A sponsor signs an undertaking to support the person being sponsored financially, so that they do not need to rely on government social assistance. For a parent or grandparent that undertaking runs 20 years from the day they become a permanent resident. In Quebec it runs 10 years.

IRCC is explicit that it cannot be undone: once the sponsored family members become permanent residents, there is no way to cancel or shorten the undertaking period. It continues through job loss, a move, or a relationship breakdown. It is a long commitment and it is worth understanding before an intake reopens rather than during one.

The income requirement

A sponsor has to show enough income to support everyone they are already responsible for, plus the people being sponsored. IRCC assesses this across each of the three tax years before the application date, using Canada Revenue Agency notices of assessment as the proof.

Family size is counted year by year, and it includes people who are not immigrating: the sponsor, a spouse or common-law partner, dependent children, and the family members of the person being sponsored. IRCC publishes the income table itself, and Quebec applies its own requirements.

The Super Visa is a different thing, and it is open

While the sponsorship program is paused, the super visa is not part of that pause. It is a temporary resident visa rather than permanent residence, so there is no nomination, no permanent status and no 20 year undertaking attached to it.

It allows multiple entries over a period of up to 10 years, with stays of up to five years at a time, and an extension of up to two further years can be applied for from inside Canada. It asks for an invitation letter from the child or grandchild in Canada, medical insurance, proof of the host's income and a medical exam. Dependants cannot be included on a super visa application. Anyone planning a visit of six months or less would use an ordinary visitor visa instead.

If the goal is for a parent to spend long periods in Canada while the sponsorship route is closed, the super visa is the route that is currently available. Our super visa page sets out what it involves.

What to do while the program is paused

There is no form to submit and no queue to join right now. What a prospective sponsor can usefully do is work out whether the income position across three tax years would support an application, and understand what a 20 year undertaking commits them to, so that a decision is ready rather than rushed if an intake reopens.