Family Sponsorship Update — June 4, 2026
Thursday, June 4, 2026
The 2025 Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) intake is closed; 17,860 invitations were sent to 2020 interest-to-sponsor registrants with a goal of 10,000 completed applications — no next intake date has been announced yet.
As of February 2026, processing times for family sponsorship applications, including PGP, had declined compared to January 2026, while study permit and work permit processing times increased.
What You Should Do
- If you were not invited to apply under the 2025 PGP intake, monitor canada.ca/sponsor-parents-grandparents and IRCC's social media channels for the next intake announcement — no date has been confirmed yet.
- If your parents or grandparents cannot wait for PGP, consider applying for a Super Visa at canada.ca/super-visa — note that income requirement calculations changed as of March 20, 2026 per the IRCC notice.
- If you are sponsoring a spouse or partner, submit biometrics within 30 days of receiving the biometrics request letter — delays in biometrics submission can stall processing.
- Check current spousal/partner sponsorship processing times at canada.ca/immigration-processing-times before applying to set realistic expectations, as times vary by submission location.
Sources
Topics Covered
Spousal Sponsorship Processing Improvements: Family sponsorship processing times, including spousal sponsorship, declined from January to February 2026 per IRCC's processing time update.
Parents and Grandparents Program Regional Disparities: The 2025 PGP intake drew only from the 2020 interest-to-sponsor pool (17,860 invitations for 10,000 spots) and is now closed with no next intake date announced, leaving many sponsors in limbo.
How these topics connect
- RelatedParents and Grandparents Program Regional Disparities→Spousal Sponsorship Processing Improvements
Applicants sponsoring family members destined for Quebec face compounding disadvantages across both spousal and parent/grandparent categories, suggesting the Canada-Quebec Accord's dual-assessment structure is the common structural bottleneck — regardless of the family class category being sponsored.
More Family Sponsorship Updates
Family Sponsorship Update — July 23, 2026
Jul 23, 2026
Family Sponsorship Update — July 20, 2026
Jul 20, 2026
Family Sponsorship Update — July 16, 2026
Jul 16, 2026
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