Canada has carried out the lottery draw for the 2020 Parents and Grandparents Program.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is to notify the 10,000 sponsors selected to apply to the program over the next 10 days.
The lottery selection program comes after prospective sponsors filled out the interest to sponsor form in the fall.
The opening of the PGP has attracted significant controversy in recent years. IRCC has struggled to find a format considered fair by potential applicants.
In 2019, it opened an online first-come, first-served process of submitting the interest to sponsor form. However, many potential sponsors claimed they could never access the form after the program allocation was filled within eight minutes.
Many argued the process favoured sponsors with better internet connections, better computers and who were more able in using a computer.
In 2018, the government opened a month-long window for submitting the form, and received more than 100,000 forms for just 10,000 places.
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Do I Qualify to Sponsor My Parents and Grandparents?
Sponsors must:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Live in Canada
- Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or be a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act
- Have enough money to support the people you want to sponsor. Canada has lowered income requirements for 2020 to offset the impact of coronavirus. The income required is be the minimum necessary income, instead of the minimum necessary income plus 30 percent.
PGP Income Requirements for Last 3 Tax Years
| Total number of people you’ll be responsible for | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
| 2 people | $32,899 | $41,007 | $40,379 |
| 3 people | $40,445 | $50,414 | $49,641 |
| 4 people | $49,106 | $61,209 | $60,271 |
| 5 people | $55,695 | $69,423 | 68,358 |
| 6 people | $62,814 | $78,296 | $77,095 |
| 7 people | $69,935 | $87,172 | $85,835 |
| If more than 7 people, for each additional person, add: | $7,121 | $8,876 | $8,740 |
Parents and Grandparents Program 2020: Process
- Submit the interest to sponsor form
The interest to sponsor form is available here until November 3, 2020 - Receive an invitation to apply
Immigration officials will randomly select and invite potential sponsors. Canada aims to receive 10,000 applications in 2020. - Receive the application package
Those receiving an ITA will also receive an application package. - Pay your application fees
- Submit your application
The complete application must be received with 60 days of the date of the ITA.