Permanent residents and Canadian citizens from all over Canada are able to sponsor their parents and grandparents to come to Canada as well, although this program was suspended in 2011 because the backlog of applications had become too high for applications to be processed in a reasonable amount of time.
The government has cleared out much of this backlog and is now ready to start accepting applications again, which they will do beginning on January 2, 2014. However, there are some significant changes that will be in effect once the program re-opens, and if you’re considering sponsoring your parents or grandparents, you need to know about them.
What’s new about the parent and grandparent sponsorship program?
There are two major changes within the program that involve the requirements that the sponsors must meet when they apply to sponsor their parents and grandparents to come to Canada.
The first major change is that sponsors will now have to have an income that is 30% higher than the income they previously required to qualify to sponsor their parents or grandparents. Sponsors must be able to demonstrate that they will be financially responsible for those who they sponsor, as usual, but they also must be prepared to support their parents or grandparents for 20 years instead of the previous 10.
In addition to these changes, parents and grandparents will still be able to apply for the Super Visa, which is now a permanent offering instead of a temporary compromise while the program was suspended as it was initially intended to be. This means that parents and grandparents can choose to apply for this 10-year, multiple entry visa to visit Canada for periods of up to two years at a time instead of being permanent residents.
There will be a total of 5,000 applications accepted in 2014 when the program re-opens, while the government will continue to process applications currently in the backlog.
UPDATE: The above is an archived article. Learn more about the newest information regarding the Super Visa.
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.
