Canada freezes new parent and grandparent sponsorship applications for permanent residence

(Horizon Media / OTTAWA) — The federal government has indefinitely paused new applications under Canada’s Parents and Grandparents Program, leaving Canadian citizens and permanent residents without a current pathway to sponsor additional parents or grandparents for permanent residence.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced on July 15 that it will neither accept new “interest to sponsor” forms nor issue invitations to potential sponsors until further notice. The department will continue processing applications already in its system and plans to admit up to 15,000 people through the program in 2026.

Approximately 50,900 applications remain in the inventory, including 40,400 from applicants intending to settle outside Quebec and 10,500 destined for Quebec. Ottawa has set annual admission targets of 15,000 parents and grandparents for each year from 2026 through 2028.

The program has not accepted new expressions of interest since 2020, when more than 203,000 potential sponsors entered the lottery. Invitations issued between 2020 and 2025 were drawn from that same pool, meaning families who missed the 2020 intake have had no opportunity to join the process.

The government says the pause is intended to reduce backlogs and make processing more predictable. However, with no date provided for reopening the program, many families may remain excluded from permanent reunification for the foreseeable future.

Ottawa is directing affected families toward the super visa, which allows eligible parents and grandparents to remain in Canada for up to five years per visit and provides multiple entry privileges for as long as 10 years. Unlike permanent residence, however, the super visa is temporary and requires applicants to obtain health insurance, meet entry requirements and demonstrate that they will leave Canada when their authorized stay ends.