Immigration Update 2025: Canada Halts Parent/ Grandparent Sponsorships: Canada has stopped accepting new applications for Parents and Grandparents sponsorships under the Family Class stream. This Immigration Update 2025 focuses on family reunification and prioritizes the applications submitted in previous years. As per the Immigration Minister Marc Miller statement, this pause is aligns with reunification and immigration goals, because country decide to work on existing backlog.
This halt will remain effective until further notice. The announcement specify that starting January 1, 2025, no sponsorship or PR applications for parents and grandparents will processed.
What is PGP
Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) enable the Canadian PR, citizens, and registered Indians to sponsor parents or grandparents for permanent residency. Because of high demand, IRCC uses the lottery systems to choose sponsors from those who submit the “Interest to Sponsor” form.
IRCC issued invitations from 2020 to 2024 to individuals who have applied in the 2023 intake process.
No new PGP applications: Immigration update 2025
IRCC decide to halt new applications from 2025, to proceed the 2024 applications. The high demand for sponsorship programs put an annual limit on permanent resident allocations, so the immigration authority decide to temporarily stop accepting new sponsorship applications.
PGP use lottery system because of high number of applicants. The sponsors who are interested submit an “Interest to Sponsor” form, and IRCC selects the individuals to invite for submission of application. Since 2020, the PGP applications are not open to new applicants, and the last invitations were issued to applicants of those who submit in 2020
Why Pause on PGP
IRCC has announce the pause on new PGP applications from 2025. Instead of it, the authority decide to process the 15,000 applications submitted in 2024, and clear backlogs and enhance efficiency. This immigration Canada 2025 update marks the key changes in immigration Canada 2025 and focus on the strategic situation of economic migration, backlog management and, temporary visas.
PR targets dropped by 20%, with 24,500 approvals planned for PGP, as compared to 34,000 in previous projections. This reduction marks Canada immigration focus on manage processing times and prioritize the applicants who have already submitted applications.
Processing times for existing applications
The applicants who are already existing in the PGP pipeline, will get the approval of their sponsorships in the following processing timelines.
- Canada (Excluding Quebec): The processing time is 2 years.
- Quebec: The average processing time is 48 months because of additional provincial requirements.
The pause of new Canada PGP applications in 2025 shows the significant shift in the immigration landscape. It may limit the new opportunities for permanent reunification, but there are some alternatives available for parents and grandparents to reunite in Canada. By halt the new applications and works to clearing backlogs, IRCC enhances the fairness and efficiency of the immigration system.
Super Visa Canada: An Alternative for Family Visits
Permanent residents and Canadian citizens who want to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada can consider a super visa program. This visa option allows them to visit Canada for up to 5 years of stay. This visa gives flexibility to parents and grandparents as compared to regular visitor visas.
Eligibility
The applicants are suggested to meet their financial and health insurance requirements. The super visa is an effective option for families who want to maintain close ties with their children without PR status.
Immigration update 2025: Updated Immigration Targets
The Canadian government aims to process the 24,000 parent and grandparent applications this year.
- For 2024, the cap of 15,000 applications has set in family reunification program.
- 35,700 people are invited to apply for the 2024 sponsorship program, with a target of 20,500 applications to accept
- On these updated immigration laws, Minister Miller reveal that over 40,000 applications in the 2023 system will processed in a period of 24 months.
Permanent Residency Target Adjustments
Canada immigrations has reduce the PR targets. The permanent residency goal for 2025 has reduced from 500,000 to 395,000. The target will reduce to 365,000 by 2027. PM Justin Trudeau focus on need to stabilize Canada immigration system, and state that,” Now t is time to make adjustments to clear the backlogs”.
This Immigration Update 2025 makes changes in the latest immigration targets and expands residency intake to500,000 by 2025.
Connect with us
The pause on PGP applications in 2025 represents the change in Canada Immigration policies. Alternatives like the Super Visa help parents and grandparents in their family reunification. IRCC currently focus on clear the backlogs and improve processing times. It makes the immigration system more efficient. As Canada works to make immigration levels transparent and clear previous applications, many families still have paths to connect with their children through temporary solutions.
For more updates and immigration on immigration policies, it is suggested to people to stay informed through IRCC channels and consider the alternatives for reunite with their loved ones. Contact with us at VLINK Immigrations for more immigration updates and latest news.