Invitations to apply will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis next year Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says it will scrap its controversial randomized selection process for its Parents and Grandparents Program in 2019 and revert to a first-come, first-served approach to inviting interested sponsors to apply.
The move was announced August 20 in a news release that also said Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) will accept up to 20,000 new sponsorship applications next year through the parents.
IRCC’s switch in to a randomized selection process for applications to the PGP was widely denounced as unjust despite the government’s claims it would make the system more fair and transparent.
At the time, the Government of Canada said a randomized approach would level the playing field and give everyone the same opportunity to be selected to sponsor their parents and/or grandparents.
At least one petition was created to oppose the lottery, which it said left family reunification to “chance.”
IRCC said these new changes to the PGP respond to user concerns.
“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,” IRCC said.
Canada’s Immigration Minister, Ahmed Hussen, said the changes are evidence of the Government of Canada’s “commitment to helping families live, work and thrive together, in Canada.”
Reduced backlog allows for increased quota
IRCC said its inventory of PGP applications stood at 26,000 in June 2018, down from a peak of 167,000 in 2011, and this reduction has allowed the government to increase its intake quota to 20,000 in 2019.
This doubles IRCC’s original applications cap for 2018, which was set at 10,000 at the start of the year and was increased to 17000 last month. To meet this increased 2018 quota, IRCC announced a second invitation round at the end of July and says those invited will have until October 5, 2018, to submit a complete application.
IRCC said those interested in sponsoring their parents and / or grandparents in the 2019 will have to complete an interest to sponsor online form at the beginning of the year. In 2018, they were accepted between January 2 and February 1.
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.
Using this modified intake process will give the government more flexibility in the application process, ensuring that we receive as many applications as possible.Further details of these improvements to the system will be announced this fall.
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.
