On July 15, 2026, the government revealed that no new applications under the Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship will be considered for the rest of 2026.
Thousand Canadians and permanent residents are denied the opportunity to have their parents and grandparents join them in Canada in 2026.
This development affects all prospective sponsors hoping to submit their new interest to sponsor form or get an invitation to apply for the first time in 2026.
It is coming at a time that the number of applications pending approval stands at a record high of 60,500.
Families have tough questions regarding when or even if the permanent residence route will be opened again for their relatives.
What IRCC Announced On July 15
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada issued an official notice on its website regarding the suspension of PGP intake on July 15, 2026.
The government made it clear that it is making these moves to ensure that the immigration system is being run sustainably.
IRCC assured the public that it will still process existing applications and is expected to approve 15,000 applicants for permanent residency under the PGP program in 2026.
The 15,000 limit is in keeping with the Immigration Levels Plan for 2026-2028, where admission limits for parents and grandparents are stated.
No applications for sponsoring will be accepted from the government and no invitations for sponsorship will be issued until a decision has been made by the government.
Why IRCC Paused The Program
The PGP program has been facing immense pressure for many years now due to the large number of applicants compared to the number of spaces available.
At the time when the program introduced the Interest to Sponsor form in 2020, more than 200,000 permanent residents and citizens had put in their names.
Currently, there are over 100,000 applicants waiting for an invitation which might not come in this structure.
The total number of applications currently pending is 60,500 all over the nation, causing a lot of pressure on IRCC officers.
The time to process such applications outside of Quebec takes about 33 months.
For the people who applied from the province of Quebec, the waiting period is even longer because it takes about 66 months to be processed.
IRCC said that the temporary halt will enable them to reduce the waiting period for the families who were still in line.
Current PGP Processing Times At A Glance
| Category | Estimated Wait |
| PGP outside Quebec | Approximately 33 months |
| PGP inside Quebec | Approximately 66 months |
| Applications in progress | 60,500 nationwide |
| 2026 PR admission target | 15,000 through PGP |
How PGP Admission Targets Changed Over Recent Years
This was not an instant change.
The levels plan for Canada’s immigration has been progressively allocating more space to economic immigration programs.
Family class immigrants have stayed at around 21% to 22% of all immigrants to Canada, but the proportion of PGP immigrants within the family class immigration has fallen tremendously.
| Year | PGP Target | Total Family Class |
| 2024 | 32,000 | 114,000 |
| 2025 | 24,500 | 88,000 |
| 2026 | 15,000 | 84,000 |
| 2027 | 15,000 | 81,000 |
| 2028 | 15,000 | 81,000 |
PGP immigrants were reduced from 32,000 in 2024 to 15,000 in 2026, which is a cut by over 50% in only two years.
This number of 15,000 would stay constant up to 2027 and 2028 according to Canada’s current federal documents.
The family class immigrants fell from 114,000 in 2024 to 84,000 in 2026.
What Happens To Applications Already Submitted
IRCC will process PGP applications from those submitted for the 2025 intake until 10,000 applications are completed.
These applications must be from people who have an invite to apply from the 2020 interest-to-sponsor list.
IRCC issued 17,860 invites in approximately two weeks starting from July 28, 2025, while the final date to apply is October 9, 2025.
It is important for sponsors to make sure that all their application information matches their information on the original 2020 submission or provide a reason for the difference.
All applications are required to be done online unless there is a documented disability or any other valid reason for not doing so.
Applicants are required to submit all necessary forms and documentation within the 60 days as specified in their invitation letters.
This Is Not The First Time Canada Paused PGP
This freeze comes three years in a row where the government has failed to initiate any intake round for PGP.
IRCC did not take new applications in 2025 as well, preferring to continue processing the pending applications from the previous intake rounds.
In 2023, IRCC invited 24,200 applications from the pool of 2020, with the target of accepting 15,000 applications.
No new Interest to Sponsor form is available for submission after the initial 2020 application round, leaving applicants outside the system for those who have failed to submit their applications before the deadline.
According to IRCC, this is merely an administrative suspension of the program and not its cancellation.
The Super Visa Remains The Best Available Alternative
Without the option of permanent residence sponsorship for new applicants, the Super Visa is perhaps the most realistic way to get parents and grandparents into Canada.
The Super Visa is a multiple entry temporary resident visa created exclusively for the parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
It entitles the holders to a maximum of five years stay upon each entry as well as multiple entries to Canada within a period of 10 years, depending on the passport validity.
Super Visa holders can even apply for an additional two-year extension to their initial stay of five years, which means that families can reunite for a period of seven years.
Recent modifications in the calculation of income requirements for Super Visa applications, done by IRCC, have made it much easier to acquire the visa starting from March 31, 2026.
The hosts now have two options to fulfill the income requirement criteria.
This will enable the hosts to satisfy the financial threshold requirement by means of either of the two tax years preceding the date of application.
The second way allows the income of the visiting parents or grandparents to contribute to fulfilling the financial requirements provided that a certain percentage is met.
The Government of Canada reduced the Health Insurance requirements in January 2025 by allowing the applicant to acquire insurance from an international company recognized by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.
Super Visa Versus PGP Sponsorship Comparison
| Feature | Super Visa | PGP Sponsorship |
| Status granted | Temporary resident | Permanent resident |
| Stay duration | Up to 5 years per entry | Indefinite once approved |
| Visa validity | Up to 10 years | Not applicable |
| Healthcare access | Private insurance required | Provincial healthcare eligible |
| Work rights in Canada | No | Yes |
| Path to citizenship | No | Yes after residency |
| Currently accepting apps | Yes | No (paused) |
What Families Should Do Right Now
Those families that intended to sponsor their parents or grandparents in 2026 should now change their plans.
The first thing to do would be initiating a Super Visa application because this type of visa provides a longer time of stay for parents and grandparents in Canada.
Future hosts should obtain their Notices of Assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency right away.
New Super Visa income requirements that became applicable from March 31, 2026, could be beneficial for those families that did not meet previous income requirements.
Health insurance coverage of $100,000 Canadian from a company that is authorized by Canada or OSFI is still required for each Super Visa applicant.
Everyone with a pending PGP application should track their status on the IRCC portal.
