Is your family here with you in Canada? When establishing a life in a new country, having your parents and grandparents with you can go a long way to making that country feel like home, as well as potentially improving the living conditions of those who raised you.
If you and your family are seeking to be reunited in your new home, Citizenship and Immigration Canada has some good news for you.
Who can benefit from the re-opening of the parent and grandparent program?
The Parent and Grandparent Program (PGP) will reopen on January 4, 2016. If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident over the age of 18, you may be able to bring your parent(s) or grandparent(s) to Canada by sponsoring them. Citizenship and Immigration Canada elaborates, explaining that your income also factors into whether you will be able to sponsor a parent or grandparent, and the family member(s) to be sponsored will need to complete a permanent resident application if you are accepted as a sponsor.
Determining your eligibility is the first step of many in bringing your parent(s) or grandparent(s) to Canada.
When should you start the application process?
While no applications will be accepted prior to January 4, the time to start working on an application is now. The Canada Immigration Newsletter states that the application intake period will be “competitive, giving sponsors and sponsored persons who prepare before and during the holiday period an opportunity to maximize their chances of submitting a successful application.”
A limited number of applications will be accepted, and the 2016 application form is already available for download. Anyone who wants to get a head start can.
Looking for help with your application?
If you and your family member(s) are thinking of applying for the parents and grandparents program, we can help. Completing the required documents and including the necessary support materials and fees are essential steps when applying to Immigration Canada.
We can assist in presenting a good case and ensure that everything is done correctly to maximize the chances of a successful sponsorship application, as well as your parents’ or grandparents’ chances when applying for permanent residence.
To get started, simply fill our free online immigration assessment form here or contact us here. Once you fill out that form, we will get back to you (within 24 hours) to discuss your eligibility and immigration options.
President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
