Generally, a Canadian permanent resident or a Canadian citizen has the option of sponsoring their non-Canadian parent or grandparent to become a Canadian permanent resident provided that the sponsor and those they intend to sponsor meet the necessary eligibility requirements. If you are a Canadian permanent resident or a citizen who wants to sponsor your non-Canadian parent or grand parent to become a Canadian permanent resident, then it is almost time for you to do so.
Parental Sponsorship Program 2021
For the year 2021, the government of Canada has announced that there will be an opening for a record number of applications under the parental sponsorship program. A record number of persons will be able to submit applications on behalf of their parents or grandparents once the program opens up. Starting 20th September 2021, the immigration authorities will start sending out invitations to apply to eligible candidates. The invitations to submit applications to sponsor will continue over a two week period.
Interest to Sponsor
It is worth noting that this time around, only persons who submitted an interest to sponsor their parents or grandparents in 2020 will be eligible to get selected for an invitation in 2021. This change was effected due to the overwhelming demand that there has continually been for this program. Hence, the government devised a lottery system where persons were first invited to submit an interest to sponsor their parents or grandparents. At this stage, any person can submit an interest to a sponsor and there is no quota limitation.
The Selection Process
Once you have submitted an interest to sponsor, the government then does a random selection process using the lottery system to determine which of the interested Canadian candidates will actually get the allocated spaces for a particular year. When the government did this in 2020, there was a significant number of applicants and the number of expressions of interest to sponsor was way more than there were actually available slots.
As a result, the government decided to select from the pool of persons who applied in 2020 for invitations in 2021. Therefore, if you applied in 2020, it means that you still have a chance to have your application of interest to sponsor your parents or grandparents being selected in the 2021 round. The 30,000 slots in 2021 will come from persons who had already submitted an expression of interest in 2020.
If you had not submitted an expression of interest in 2021, then it appears that you will not have an opportunity to have your sponsorship application submitted in 2021 and you would have to wait until 2022. However, if you submitted an expression of interest to sponsor your parents or grandparents in 2020 then you should be preparing to start checking to see whether or not you have been issued an invitation to sponsor as from the 20th of September 2021.
Permanent Residency Application
Once you have been issued an invitation to sponsor, you typically have 60 days within which to submit the actual application for permanent residency. The application for permanent residency for your parents and grandparents is really where the bulk of the work will be required. All the issues regarding your eligibility to sponsor will have to be addressed in this application as well as all the issues surrounding your parents’ and grandparents’ eligibility to be sponsored.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you are a Canadian permanent resident or a Canadian citizen who wishes to sponsor your non-Canadian parent or grandparent and you had submitted an interest to sponsor in 2020, then it is likely that you may be eligible to receive an invitation to submit an application to sponsor your parent or grandparent in 2021.
Therefore, you should be on the lookout and ready to submit your application as soon as the program opens up. The invitations will be sent out starting 20th September 2021 and will continue for a period of two weeks thereafter. Once you have received the invitation to apply, you will need to submit your application to the sponsor within 60 days after receipt of the invitation.
Let Us Help
Should you receive or are expecting to receive an invitation to sponsor your parent or grandparent and you require legal support with putting together the sponsorship application, please feel free to reach out to us and we will be happy to provide the assistance you need.
In case you have any questions or inquires about the Canadian parental sponsorship program, we are available to advise you accordingly. Book a call with us today!
