Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has the responsibility of managing the intake of the Parent and Grandparent (PGP) sponsorship program. Henceforth, it will carry out these responsibilities in a different manner. New Ministerial Instructions (MIs) came into force on January 01, 2017. These Ministerial Instructions (MIs) serve to support the implementation of a new Randomised Selection Intake Management process, while maintaining the cap of 10,000 complete applications.

The objective of this Operational Bulletin (OB) is to provide instructions to staff on the new Randomised Selection Intake Management process, which will govern the application intake into the Parent and Grandparent (PGP) sponsorship program.

The authorities had put in place an application intake cap of 5,000 complete applications in place for the Parent and Grandparent (PGP) sponsorship program. This has been in place since January 2014. Each year, the number of applications received has led to the filling of the cap within days. Therefore, the authorities published Ministerial Instructions (MIs) on February 27, 2016 to increase the cap from 5,000 to 10,000 applications.

In the past, the Parent and Grandparent (PGP) sponsorship program used the first-in first-out principle for accepting applications for processing. As such, many applicants used courier services for ensuring that their applications arrived as quickly as possible at the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga (CPC-M) so that the applications would be well within the prescribed cap. The authorities have had concerns that courier services could give an unfair advantage to applicants who are able to pay additional courier fees. This, in turn, could lead to concerns about couriers potentially overcharging applicants.

To ensure that all clients have the same opportunity to get the authorities to accept their applications for processing under the Parent and Grandparent (PGP) sponsorship program, in addition to managing the intake cap of 10,000 applications, the Department has decided to launch a Randomised Selection Intake Management process. Under this process, the authorities will provide potential sponsors a timeline of 30 days for indicating their interest in sponsoring their parent or grandparent. From among those potential sponsors who indicate their interest in sponsoring their parent or grandparent, the Department will randomly select 10,000 potential sponsors and invite them to apply to sponsor their parents or grandparents.

The program will re-open annually at 1200 hrs Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the first working day of the year. Thus, the authorities will give potential sponsors time until 1200 hrs EST 30 days later for indicating the sponsors’ interest in making applications to sponsor their parent or grandparent by using the Interest to Sponsor web form, which is available on the website of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for that purpose. It is worth highlighting that the Interest to Sponsor web form is not an application for sponsorship. Potential sponsors will need to complete all the required information on the form for the authorities to consider them eligible for randomised selection.

As mentioned earlier, the potential sponsors will need to submit their Interest to Sponsor web form online. Thereafter, a computer-generated confirmation number will appear on the webpage. The applicant will need to retain this number.

Some potential sponsors might not be able to complete the required information on the web form. In addition, some potential sponsors might experience technical issues that render them unable to successfully transmit the Interest to Sponsor web form. These individuals will typically come across messages on their computer screens inviting them to try again later.

• Step 1
  • The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Call Centre will forward a referral to the Immigration Program Guidance Branch and mail a paper copy to the potential sponsor
  • The last name
  • The first name
  • The date of birth
  • The country of birth
  • The main home address
  • The postal code
  • The e-mail address (this is the e-mail address that the Department will need to use for all future communications) and,
  • The e-signature
  • The Interest to Sponsor web form will be available from noon Easter Standard Time (EST) on the first working day of the year
  • The potential sponsor will need to complete the web form available on the website of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
  • The authorities will give potential sponsors 30 days for expressing their interest in applying to be sponsors in the Parent and Grandparent (PGP) sponsorship program
  • Potential sponsors who are unable to fill out the form online because of exceptional circumstances (including those with a disability) will need to contact the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Call Centre for a paper copy
  • The potential sponsor will need to provide the following details on the web form:
• Step 2
  • Once a potential sponsor submits the Interest to Sponsor web form, they will receive a confirmation number
  • If the potential sponsor is successful in submitting the online form, they will see a computer-generated confirmation on the webpage
  • The potential sponsors will need to include this number in the sponsor’s application form, if they are among those whom the authorities randomly select to apply
  • In case the potential sponsor is unable to successfully submit the online form, they will come across an error message on the webpage
  • This error message would indicate that the potential sponsor was unable to transmit the submission and that the individual would need to try again later
• Step 3
  • The system will automatically collect the information submitted via the Interest to Sponsor web form in a database
  • The system will automatically export the potential sponsor’s biodata information and alphanumerical id to a Master list in GCDocs
• Step 4
  • At the end of the 30-day period, the Interest to Sponsor web form will close and the system will remove duplicate Interest to Sponsor web forms
  • The Centralised Network (CN-RHQ) will review the Master list and remove duplicate Interest to Sponsor web forms
• Step 5
  • The Centralised Network (CN-RHQ) will need to provide the final number of Interest to Sponsor web forms that they will send to Operations Performance and Planning (OPP) for randomisation
  • The authorities will randomly select 10,000 people and invite them to submit complete applications for sponsoring their Parent and Grandparent (PGP) to the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga (CPC-M)
  • The people whom the authorities do not select randomly will receive e-mails advising them that the authorities did not select them
  • Operations Performance and Planning (OPP) will randomly shuffle the numbers and provide the Centralised Network (CN-RHQ) with the randomised list of numbers

The authorities will notify the people whom they do not randomly select for applying via e-mail. This notification will serve to inform these individuals that they are free to submit the Interest to Sponsor web forms when the program reopens.

The authorities will randomly select potential sponsors for submitting applications to sponsor. They will send these individuals e-mails inviting them to submit applications. These invitations are not transferable. The people who submitted the Interest to Sponsor web forms will need to be the sponsors, otherwise the authorities will not accept these applications for processing.

The applications would need to:

• Be complete
• Include all the relevant supporting documents in accordance with the document checklist and,
• Be submitted within 90 days of the date on which Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) sent the e-mail to the potential sponsors inviting them to apply

It is worth mentioning that the potential sponsors will need to pay all the appropriate processing fees in full online.

The authorities will need to send all applications for sponsoring a Parent and Grandparent (PGP) to the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga (CPC-M). The Case Processing Centre in Mississauga (CPC-M) will need to verify that the authorities invited the person to apply once they receive these applications. In addition, the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga (CPC-M) will need to verify that their information matches the associated information submitted on the web form. The Case Processing Centre in Mississauga (CPC-M) will need to feel satisfied that the authorities invited the person and that the information provided in the Interest to Sponsor web form matches the information on the application and the supporting documents.

The officers will need to check the application for completeness. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in sections 10 and 11 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). The Ministerial Instructions (MIs) also specify that the applications must include the documents specified in the application package. The authorities will accept complete and documented applications from people who received the invitations to apply in the cap of 10,000. However, these authorities will need to receive these applications within the required timeframe.  The authorities will not accept incomplete or undocumented applications into the cap. Instead, the authorities will return all such applications. In addition, the authorities will not issue another invitation to apply to the sponsor. As such, the sponsor will need to re-submit the Interest to Sponsor web form once the Parent and Grandparent (PGP) sponsorship program re-opens.

The officers will continue to refer Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class (SCLPC) applications to local officers in the Domestic Network. This is especially so in case they feel that the case warrants further review or even, the requirement of an interview. This is in accordance with current procedures.

Situations could arise where some sponsors fail to submit their applications for sponsoring their Parents and Grandparents (PGP) within 90 days of the day on which the authorities sent the e-mail notifying these sponsors that the authorities had randomly selected them to apply. Once the 90-day period concludes, these people will no longer remain eligible for having their applications processed. In some cases, the authorities might receive sponsorship applications after the 90 days have passed. In this scenario, the officers will need to return these applications. As such, these sponsors will need to re-submit the Interest to Sponsor web form once the Parent and Grandparent (PGP) sponsorship program re-opens.

The Department will process applications for sponsoring Parents and Grandparents (PGP) received after they have invited the sponsors to apply in accordance with regular office procedures.