2025 Agri‑Food and Parents/Grandparents Intake Caps

Summary#

These are two sets of ministerial instructions from Marc Miller about how some immigration applications will be handled in 2025. They set a strict cap and processing rules for the Agri-Food Immigration Class and close the intake for parents and grandparents except for applications already received in 2024; both take effect January 1, 2025.

What it does#

• For the Agri-Food Immigration Class:

  • The department will accept up to 1,000 applications submitted online in 2025.
  • It will accept up to 10 applications submitted using alternate formats.
  • Applications are counted toward those caps based on when they are received, even if incomplete under section 10 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, but only complete applications that meet those rules will be entered into processing.
  • Applications that fail section 11 requirements will not be counted or accepted.
  • Applications are processed in order of receipt.

• For parents and grandparents (family class):

  • No new parents/grandparents permanent resident applications or related sponsorships will be accepted for processing in 2025, except those that were received in 2024.
  • Up to 15,000 sponsorship applications received in 2024 may be processed in 2025.
  • To be processed, those 2024 applications must meet conditions tied to the earlier interest-to-sponsor and invitation process (the interest period ran in 2020) and generally must have been submitted online; some alternate-format exceptions apply.
  • Sponsors who were invited must meet document and deadline rules (invitations give at least 60 days, with a typical 30-day extension if requested documents are missing).
  • Humanitarian and compassionate requests from outside Canada that accompany an application not accepted for processing will not be handled.

• Also published on the same page: a routine list of current Governor in Council appointment opportunities (a separate, administrative notice).

Who's affected#

• People applying or planning to apply under the Agri-Food Immigration Class in 2025, especially those who rely on online filing or need alternate formats.
• People who hoped to sponsor a parent or grandparent but did not submit an interest in 2020 or did not have an application received in 2024 — they cannot have new applications processed in 2025.
• Sponsors and applicants who did submit in 2024 and who received invitations in 2024 — their applications may still be processed if they meet the listed conditions.
• People submitting humanitarian and compassionate requests from abroad tied to an application that isn’t accepted — those requests will not be processed.
• Canadians interested in public appointments listed in the Privy Council Office notice (routine opportunity postings).

Why it matters#

• Caps and intake rules limit how many people can start these immigration streams in 2025. If you weren’t in the earlier intake windows, you’ll likely have to wait.
• For the parents-and-grandparents stream, family reunification is effectively frozen for new applicants in 2025 unless their application was already received in 2024 and meets the conditions.
• If you applied but didn’t follow the electronic filing or documentation rules, your application may be returned and fees refunded.
• The changes affect planning: employers, immigration advisers, families, and applicants should check whether their application was received and complete under the rules before expecting processing to begin.