August 20, 2018 – Surrey, BC – To help reunite even more parents and grandparents with their families in Canada, today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that the Government of Canada will accept up to 20 000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2019. This is 4 times the number of applications accepted when the program reopened in 2014, when the cap was set at 5000 applications.
This decision to increase the number of applications that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept for processing is a result of continually high demand in the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program and the fact that we have significantly reduced the inventory of applications. The inventory has dropped from a peak of 167 000 people, in 2011, to just under 26 000 people, in June 2018.
After increasing the 2018 cap to 17 000 complete applications, IRCC sent a second round of invitations to randomly selected potential sponsors who submitted an Interest to Sponsor form in early 2018. Those invited to the second round have until October 5, 2018, to submit a complete application.
Minister Hussen also announced that, as a result of listening to stakeholders and closely examining the PGP Program, the government is making further changes to the application intake process that will streamline access to the program and improve client experience.
Using this modified intake process will give the government more flexibility in the application process, ensuring that we receive as many applications as possible.
In 2019, as in previous years, the Interest to Sponsor form will be available online, at the beginning of the year, so eligible potential sponsors can let IRCC know they wish to sponsor their parents and grandparents to come to Canada. However, instead of randomly selecting the sponsors to apply, we will invite them to submit an application to sponsor their parents and grandparents based on the order in which we receive their Interest to Sponsor forms. This process will continue until we reach the 2019 cap of 20 000 complete applications.
Further details of these improvements to the system will be announced this fall.
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“Over the last few years, we have made substantial improvements to the parents and grandparents sponsorship process and eliminated the backlog of applications. Now, by accepting even more applications this year and next as well as enhancing the intake system, the Government of Canada is demonstrating its commitment to helping families live, work and thrive together, in Canada.”
– The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Quick facts
•IRCC will accept for processing 17 000 applications for sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2018, and 20 000 applications, in 2019.
•The number of parents and grandparents to be admitted to Canada in the coming years are as follows:
*In 2018, the government plans to admit 20 000 parents and grandparents in its immigration levels plan.
*Parents and grandparents admission levels will increase to 20 500, in 2019, and 21 000, in 2020.
By: Mathieu Genest
Minister’s Office IRCC
Canada and Australia Announce Amendment to Youth Mobility Arrangement
Expanded age range will give young Canadians the opportunity to travel and work in Australia through the International Experience Canada program.
August 29, 2018—Ottawa, ON
The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and the Honourable Peter Dutton, Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs, today announced an agreement to expand the age range in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Canada and Australia concerning Youth Mobility. Through the amended MoU, Canadian and Australian young adults aged 18 to 35 will now be able to work and travel through the International Experience Canada (IEC) program.
Reflective of our strong people-to-people ties, Australia is a major source of foreign participants in IEC and Australia is consistently the top destination for Canadian youth through the program. Increasing the eligible age from 30 to 35 will provide for more opportunities for experienced professionals from both countries to gain valuable skills in a global work environment.
The IEC program facilitates the process for young people to gain valuable international work experience and travel abroad. There are 34 destinations available to young Canadians looking for international work experience with IEC’s partner countries and territories.
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“I am pleased that we have agreed to amend this MoU with Australia and further strengthen the great relationship between our two countries. International travel and work allows our youth to immerse themselves in a different culture and develop life skills, all while improving their employ-ability back home. This expanded age range will give more young adults from Canada and Australia the opportunity to broaden their perspective of the world and gain professional work experience while traveling.”
