Canada Suspends Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship Program

On 15 July 2026 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced a pause on new applications for the Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship (PGP) programme. The agency cited a large existing inventory of pending cases and a policy limit of roughly 15,000 people a year – about 4 % of Canada’s overall immigration target – as reasons for halting further intake.

IRCC reported a backlog of about 60,500 PGP applications, each typically representing 1.8 family members. Demand for the programme remains high; a 2023 IRCC report showed more than 200,000 Canadian citizens and permanent residents expressed interest during a three‑week period in late 2020, and between 2020 and 2022 a total of 50,825 applications covering 92,640 family members were processed. Until the pause is lifted, no new interest‑to‑sponsor forms will be accepted.