CICC Licence R710149 · MAK Canadian Immigration Services
Last reviewed: July 2026
The Parents and Grandparents Program in 2026: Where It Actually Stands and How to Be Ready
No program in Canadian immigration generates more false hope than this one. Every few months a wave of posts announces that the Parents and Grandparents Program has opened, and every few months a large number of people submit forms that go nowhere, or pay someone to submit them on their behalf. This article is the unglamorous version: what the actual status is, what IRCC has said about invitations, and what you can usefully do while you wait.
The short version is that being ready matters more than being fast. When an intake does open, the people who get through are the ones who already have three years of tax documents organised, an eligible sponsor confirmed, and no surprises in their income history. That preparation takes weeks. An intake window does not wait for it.
Quick answer: There is no open PGP intake. IRCC has stated that it will not receive new interest to sponsor forms and will not invite potential sponsors to apply until further notice. Applications already in the system continue to be processed, and IRCC plans to approve up to 15,000 people for permanent residence through the program in 2026. Anyone offering to submit an interest to sponsor form for you today is either mistaken or selling something.
The current status, stated plainly
IRCC published a notice on responsibly managing the Parents and Grandparents Program setting out its current approach. The operative sentence is that IRCC will not receive new interest to sponsor forms or invite potential sponsors to apply until further notice. At the same time, IRCC continues processing the applications it already holds, and it has set out a plan to approve up to 15,000 people for permanent residence through the program in 2026.
Read those two facts together, because they explain a lot of the confusion online. The program is not cancelled. It is not accepting new expressions of interest either. Files already in the queue keep moving, which is why people continue to post approval news while nobody new is being let in.
Everything beyond that, including confident predictions about intake dates and quota sizes for the next round, is speculation. We do not publish speculation on this program, because people make financial decisions on it, and some of those decisions are not reversible.
One term worth defining, since it comes up constantly. Ministerial Instructions set the operating rules for how IRCC accepts and processes applications in a given category, including how many will be accepted and how candidates are selected. New instructions taking effect signals that the framework has been reset. It is not, by itself, an announcement that an intake is open.
Who can sponsor
To sponsor a parent or grandparent, you must:
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Live in Canada.
- Be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or a person registered under the Indian Act.
- Be invited to apply. This is the structural feature of the program and the reason preparation matters. It is not open to walk in applications.
- Show you have enough income to support everyone you will be financially responsible for, including yourself.
- Sign an undertaking.
You cannot sponsor if you have unpaid immigration debts, a previous sponsorship default, an undischarged bankruptcy, certain criminal convictions, or an active removal order against you. You also cannot sponsor if you are in jail, prison or a penitentiary, if you have failed to pay court ordered support such as alimony or child support, or if you are receiving social assistance for a reason other than disability. These are disqualifiers, not factors to be weighed, and they are checked.
The income requirement is the part that quietly disqualifies people
IRCC assesses your income over the three consecutive tax years immediately preceding the date of your application, using Canada Revenue Agency notices of assessment. For the 2025 intake, that meant tax years 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Three practical consequences follow, and they are the reason to read this now rather than when an intake opens.
First, you cannot fix a past tax year in a hurry. If your 2024 income was low, no amount of 2026 earnings changes that. The only lever available to most people is time, and time only helps if you start counting it early.
Second, you can combine your income with a spouse or common law partner as a co-signer. If you are borderline on your own, this is usually the answer, and it needs to be decided before you file rather than after a refusal.
Third, the income threshold is set by family size, and family size includes people you might not expect, including anyone you have previously sponsored and are still responsible for. Count it properly. Miscounting family size is one of the most common reasons an otherwise strong sponsorship fails.
Sponsors residing in Quebec are assessed against Quebec’s income requirements rather than the federal figures, and Quebec’s ministry administers its own undertaking process after federal approval. Quebec has applied its own intake caps on this category in the past, and the cap IRCC publishes was set to run until June 25, 2026. That date has now passed, so if you are sponsoring to Quebec, put the current intake position directly to Quebec’s immigration ministry before you rely on any published figure. The federal timeline is only half your answer.
The undertaking is a serious long term commitment
Sponsoring a parent or grandparent means signing an undertaking to repay any social assistance they receive. The term is 20 years outside Quebec and 10 years in Quebec, and it starts when the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident.
Read that number again, because it is the single most underestimated part of this program. Twenty years is not a formality. The undertaking also survives events people assume would end it. Divorce does not end it. Losing your job does not end it. The sponsored person becoming a Canadian citizen does not end it.
Confirm the exact term and its conditions on IRCC’s undertaking page before you sign, and read it as a financial instrument rather than a form, because that is what it is. Most people who regret a sponsorship regret the undertaking, not the immigration.
What to do between now and the next intake
Concrete, in order:
- Confirm your own eligibility as a sponsor, including the disqualifiers listed above.
- Pull your notices of assessment for the last three tax years from CRA. Do it now, not when a window opens.
- Calculate your family size precisely and compare it against the current published income table.
- If you are short, decide whether a co-signer solves it, and get that person’s documents in order too.
- Get your parents’ and grandparents’ civil documents in order: passports, birth certificates, marriage certificates, and police certificates where they will be needed. Foreign document retrieval takes months in many countries.
- Watch IRCC’s page and official channels rather than a forum. Intake announcements come from IRCC first, and every other source is repeating them late.
If your parents need to be in Canada with you sooner than this program can deliver, the Super Visa is the practical alternative. It is a long stay visitor route, not permanent residence, and it comes with its own income and private health insurance requirements. It solves a different problem, but for many families it is the problem that actually needs solving. For the wider picture on sponsoring relatives, our guide on family sponsorship covers the other categories.
If you want to know now whether your last three tax years clear the threshold for your family size, that is a calculation, not a guess.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Parents and Grandparents Program open right now?
No. IRCC has stated it will not receive new interest to sponsor forms or invite potential sponsors to apply until further notice. Details of any future intake will come from IRCC.
Is the program cancelled?
No. IRCC continues to process applications already in the system and has set out a plan to approve up to 15,000 people for permanent residence through the program in 2026. What is paused is new intake, not the program.
Can I submit an interest to sponsor form today?
No. IRCC is not receiving new forms. Be cautious of any website or agent offering to file one on your behalf now.
How many years of income are assessed?
Three consecutive tax years immediately preceding the date of the application, evidenced by CRA notices of assessment.
Can my spouse’s income be counted?
Yes. A spouse or common law partner can co-sign and their income can be combined with yours. That decision needs to be made before filing, not after.
How long is the undertaking?
20 years outside Quebec and 10 years in Quebec, starting from the day the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident. It is not ended by divorce, job loss, or the sponsored person becoming a citizen.
What if I live in Quebec?
Quebec applies its own income requirements and its own undertaking process through its immigration ministry, and it has applied intake caps on this category. Check Quebec’s current position separately from the federal one.
Is the Super Visa a substitute?
It is an alternative, not a substitute. The Super Visa allows long visits, not permanent residence, and carries its own income and private health insurance requirements. For families who need parents here soon, it is often the more realistic route.
Official sources reviewed
- IRCC, Responsibly managing the Parents and Grandparents Program. canada.ca
- IRCC, Sponsor your parents and grandparents. canada.ca
- IRCC, Sponsor your parents and grandparents: Check if you are eligible. canada.ca
- IRCC, Income requirements for the sponsor. canada.ca
- IRCC, Guide 5772, Application to Sponsor Parents and Grandparents. canada.ca
- IRCC, Sponsor your parents and grandparents: Your undertaking. canada.ca
Official sources last checked: July 28, 2026.
This article is general information about Canadian immigration law and policy. It is not legal advice and it does not create a consultant and client relationship. Immigration rules change without notice. Confirm your own situation with a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant or a lawyer before you act.
