SPONSORSHIP OF PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS TO LAUNCH JAN 28, 2019

The Government of Canada has listened to and addressed concerns from clients and stakeholders about the previous intake process, and has taken steps to provide a first-in-first-served approach for 2019. 

This approach will further enhance the client experience by keeping the application process fair for all, while remaining an easy-to-access electronic method for applicants.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept interest to sponsor submissions for a limited time and then invite potential sponsors to submit a complete application, in the order their submissions were received, until the 2019 cap of 20,000 complete applications is reached.

The interest to sponsor form has also been enhanced from previous years to include features that will help IRCC detect duplicate submissions and potential fraud.

IRCC has increased the annual cap on applications it will accept in 2019 to 20,000 – 

4 times the number of applications accepted in 2015. This increase was made possible by an over 80% reduction of the application backlog and processing times that have been shortened from 7 to 8 years, to about 2 years.

Once invited, potential sponsors will have 60 calendar days from the date of their invitation to ensure IRCC receives their complete application for sponsorship.