Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship Pause

Summary#

These are Ministerial Instructions under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that pause most new parent and grandparent permanent residence applications. As of January 1, 2024, the Department of Citizenship and Immigration will only process parent/grandparent applications and related sponsorships that were received in 2023 and meet the rules below, with a cap of 15,000 such sponsorships for processing in 2024.

What it does#

• Stops the intake of new permanent resident visa applications made by parents or grandparents and related sponsorship applications until further instructions. This pause starts January 1, 2024.
• Only allows processing in 2024 of parent/grandparent visa and sponsorship applications that were received in 2023 and that meet specific conditions.
• Limits the number of sponsorship applications accepted for processing in 2024 to a maximum of 15,000.
• Requires that eligible 2023 applications:
  • were linked to an invitation based on an interest-to-sponsor form submitted between October 13, 2020 (noon EDT) and November 3, 2020 (noon EST);
  • were submitted online (with limited alternate formats for those who cannot apply online);
  • include the documents and information required by the application package;
  • be received by the Department no later than the sponsor’s invitation deadline (at least 60 calendar days), with a possible ordinary extension of 30 calendar days to supply missing documents in some cases.
• States that applications are processed in the order they were received.
• Says applications that do not meet these conditions will be returned, and certain humanitarian-and-compassionate requests from outside Canada tied to excluded applications will not be processed.

Who's affected#

• People in Canada who want to sponsor a parent or grandparent under the family class and their family members.
• Parents and grandparents who applied for a permanent resident visa and whose applications were received in 2023.
• People who submitted an interest to sponsor in 2020 (the random selection in 2023 used those interests).
• Immigration representatives who handle parent/grandparent sponsorships.
• Others seeking family-class sponsorship not involving parents or grandparents are not directly affected by this notice.

If it is unclear whether a particular application qualifies under these instructions, the notice says those applications will be returned.

Why it matters#

• If you hoped to start a new parent or grandparent sponsorship in 2024, you cannot — unless your application was already received in 2023 and meets the conditions. That delays reunification plans for many families.
• There is a firm cap (15,000) on the number of previously received sponsorships to be processed in 2024, so not all existing applications may move forward that year.
• Deadlines and document requirements matter: missing the required online forms or the sponsor’s invitation deadline can lead to return of the application, though limited short extensions may be allowed to provide missing documents.
• This is an administrative decision by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration and takes effect January 1, 2024.