Canada Parent Sponsorship 2025: Complete Guide & Requirements

Reunite your family through Canada's Parent and Grandparent Program

On This Page You Will Find:

• Exact income requirements and qualification criteria for sponsoring parents
• Step-by-step breakdown of the 20-year undertaking commitment
• Co-signer rules that could save your application
• Common mistakes that lead to rejection (and how to avoid them)
• Appeal options if your application gets refused
• Humanitarian grounds alternatives when you don't meet standard requirements

Summary:

Planning to bring your parents to Canada? The Parent and Grandparent Program (PGP) offers 23,100 sponsorship opportunities, but success depends on meeting strict financial requirements and understanding the 20-year commitment involved. This comprehensive guide walks you through every qualification criterion, from minimum income thresholds to co-signer options, plus reveals the appeal process if things don't go as planned. Whether you're calculating your family unit size or exploring humanitarian grounds, you'll discover the insider knowledge that separates successful applications from rejections.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• You must meet minimum income requirements for 3 consecutive years based on your Notice of Assessment line 15000
• The 20-year undertaking begins when your parents land as permanent residents and covers all their family members
• Only your spouse or common-law partner can co-sign to help meet income requirements
• Criminal convictions, bankruptcy, or receiving social assistance (except disability) disqualify you as a sponsor
• You have 30 days to appeal a refusal, but certain grounds like misrepresentation cannot be appealed

Maria Santos stared at her Notice of Assessment for the third time that morning, calculator in hand. After five years of waiting for Canada's Parent and Grandparent Program to reopen, she finally had her chance – but the minimum income requirement seemed just out of reach. Sound familiar?

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the complexity of sponsoring your parents to Canada, you're not alone. The Parent and Grandparent Program represents one of the most sought-after yet challenging immigration pathways, with thousands of families competing for limited spots each year.

The reality is stark: while family reunification accounts for 30% of all Canadian immigration, parental sponsorship remains heavily restricted. In 2021, the government accepted only 20,000 parental applications compared to 40,000-70,000 spousal cases annually. The difference? Spousal sponsorship has no cap, while parent sponsorship operates under strict quotas.

But here's what this means for your family's future: understanding the exact requirements and avoiding common pitfalls could be the difference between bringing your parents home or waiting another year (or longer) for the next opportunity.

What Makes Parent Sponsorship Different from Other Immigration Programs

Parent sponsorship isn't just another immigration application – it's a 20-year financial and legal commitment that begins the moment your parents step off the plane as permanent residents.

Unlike spousal sponsorship where you're primarily proving the genuineness of your relationship, parent sponsorship centers entirely on your financial capacity and stability. The government wants absolute certainty that you can support your parents without them accessing social assistance for two full decades.

This program operates on a simple principle: family reunification balanced against public cost. Your parents will eventually access Canada's healthcare system and other services, so the government requires proof that you can cover their basic needs throughout their integration period.

The financial responsibility extends beyond just your parents. If they bring a spouse, dependent children, or even dependent grandchildren, your undertaking covers every single person in their family unit. Imagine sponsoring your father who remarries – suddenly you're responsible for his new wife and any dependent children she might have.

Who Qualifies as a Sponsor: The Complete Checklist

The Basic Requirements Everyone Must Meet:

Your eligibility as a sponsor depends on meeting every single criterion below. Missing even one requirement typically results in automatic rejection:

Age and Status Requirements:

• Canadian citizen or permanent resident (no exceptions)
• At least 18 years old when submitting your application
• Currently residing in Canada (not just visiting or temporarily present)

Financial Standing:

• Meet minimum income requirements for 3 consecutive tax years
• Income calculated solely from line 15000 of your Notice of Assessment
• No outstanding debts owed to the Canadian government
• Not currently receiving social assistance (disability assistance is permitted)
• Not an undischarged bankrupt

Legal Standing:

• No active removal order against you
• Not currently incarcerated or serving a sentence
• No criminal convictions involving domestic violence, sexual abuse, or significant violence against others
• Not facing certain ongoing criminal proceedings

The government doesn't offer partial credit or exceptions for "almost meeting" requirements. You either qualify completely or you don't – which is why understanding each criterion becomes crucial before investing time and money in the application process.

The 20-Year Undertaking: What You're Really Signing Up For

When immigration lawyers call the undertaking "the most serious commitment in Canadian immigration law," they're not exaggerating. This isn't a symbolic promise – it's a legally binding contract with real financial consequences.

When the Clock Starts Ticking:

Your 20-year obligation begins the exact day your parents land as permanent residents, not when you submit your application or receive approval. This timing matters because it affects when you can sponsor additional family members or when your obligations finally end.

What You're Promising to Cover:

During those 20 years, you're legally responsible for ensuring your parents don't access social assistance for basic needs including:

• Food and shelter costs
• Clothing and personal necessities
• Household supplies and utilities
• Healthcare costs not covered by provincial health insurance (dental, vision, prescription drugs in some provinces)

The Real Financial Risk:

If your parents access social assistance during the undertaking period, the government will demand full repayment from you. This isn't a suggestion or a payment plan option – it's a legal debt that can be collected through wage garnishment, asset seizure, or other enforcement measures.

Even more challenging: divorce, separation, job loss, or other life changes don't release you from undertaking obligations. The government designed this system specifically to prevent sponsors from walking away when circumstances change.

Extended Family Complications:

Your undertaking automatically covers any accompanying family members, including:

• Your parent's spouse or common-law partner
• Dependent children (yours or their spouse's)
• Dependent grandchildren
• Any future spouses if your parent remarries during the undertaking period

This means sponsoring one parent could potentially create financial responsibility for multiple people you've never met, depending on future family changes.

Minimum Income Requirements: Getting the Math Right

The minimum necessary income (MNI) calculation trips up more sponsors than any other requirement. Here's how to calculate your family unit size correctly:

Step 1: Count Your Current Household

• Yourself (the sponsor)
• Your spouse or common-law partner
• All your dependent children living with you

Step 2: Add Previous Commitments

• Anyone from previous undertakings still within their obligation period
• Anyone you're currently co-signing for (like a spouse's sponsorship application)

Step 3: Add New Sponsorship

• Your parents or grandparents being sponsored
• All their accompanying family members

Step 4: Match Against Income Requirements

For 2022-2024 applications, your income must meet these thresholds for all three consecutive years:

Family Unit Size → Required Annual Income

• 2 people: $32,270 (2020), $41,951 (2021), $41,951 (2022)
• 3 people: $39,672 (2020), $51,574 (2021), $51,574 (2022)
• 4 people: $48,167 (2020), $62,617 (2021), $62,617 (2022)
• 5 people: $54,630 (2020), $71,019 (2021), $71,019 (2022)

Add $6,027 for each additional family member beyond 5 people.

Critical Income Rules:

Only income reported on line 15000 of your Notice of Assessment counts. This means:

• Employment income: ✓ Counts
• Self-employment income: ✓ Counts
• Investment income: ✓ Counts
• Employment Insurance: ✓ Counts
• Pension income: ✓ Counts
• Social assistance: ✗ Doesn't count
• Gifts from family: ✗ Doesn't count
• Income not reported to CRA: ✗ Doesn't count

Co-Signer Rules That Could Save Your Application

If you're falling short of income requirements, a co-signer might be your solution – but the rules are extremely restrictive.

Who Can Co-Sign: Only your spouse or common-law partner. That's it. No exceptions for:

• Your adult children
• Your siblings
• Your parents already in Canada
• Close friends with high income
• Business partners

Co-Signer Requirements: Your co-signer must meet every single sponsor requirement independently:

• Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• At least 18 years old
• Residing in Canada
• Meet all financial, legal, and criminal background requirements
• Sign the same 20-year undertaking commitment

Combined Income Calculation: When you have a co-signer, you add both incomes from line 15000 of your respective Notice of Assessments. Both people must have filed taxes for all three required years, and the combined total must meet or exceed the minimum income threshold.

Joint Responsibility Reality: Co-signing creates "joint and several liability," meaning the government can pursue either of you for the full amount if your parents access social assistance. Divorce or separation doesn't change this – both co-signers remain fully responsible for the entire 20-year period.

Criminal Background: What Disqualifies You

Certain criminal convictions permanently disqualify you from sponsoring parents, while others may be overcome with time or legal remedies.

Automatic Disqualifications:

• Domestic violence convictions
• Sexual abuse or assault charges
• Significant violent crimes against others
• Crimes involving harm to family members

Potential Exemptions:

• Record suspension (pardon) granted in Canada
• Foreign convictions where 5+ years have passed since sentence completion
• Minor offenses not involving violence or family harm

The government evaluates each case individually, considering factors like:

• Nature and severity of the offense
• Time elapsed since conviction
• Evidence of rehabilitation
• Risk to sponsored family members

If you have any criminal background, consult with an immigration lawyer before starting your application. Attempting to hide criminal history constitutes misrepresentation and results in automatic refusal plus potential criminal charges.

Principal Applicant and Family Member Rules

Choosing Your Principal Applicant:

When sponsoring both parents, you must designate one as the principal applicant. Choose the parent with:

• Simpler medical history
• Cleaner criminal background
• Fewer previous immigration issues
• Less complex family situation

Qualifying Relationships:

• Biological parents (birth certificate required)
• Adoptive parents (legal adoption documents required)
• Biological grandparents
• Adoptive grandparents

Step-parents don't qualify unless they legally adopted you. Foster parents, guardians, and in-laws cannot be sponsored under this program regardless of your relationship closeness.

Accompanying Family Members:

The principal applicant can include:

• Their spouse or common-law partner
• Dependent children (including step-children)
• Dependent grandchildren

Each additional family member increases your income requirements and extends your financial responsibility. A "simple" parent sponsorship can quickly become responsibility for 4-5 people if your parent has a spouse with dependent children.

Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds: Your Last Resort Option

When you don't meet standard requirements, humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds offer a potential alternative – but success rates remain extremely low without compelling circumstances.

Qualifying H&C Factors:

• Serious medical conditions requiring family care
• Extreme hardship in home country
• Best interests of children involved
• Significant family ties and integration in Canada
• Exceptional circumstances beyond normal family separation

Evidence Requirements: H&C applications require extensive documentation:

• Medical reports from qualified specialists
• Country condition evidence
• Psychological assessments
• Community support letters
• Financial hardship documentation

Realistic Expectations: Most H&C applications get refused at the initial stage, requiring appeals to Immigration Appeal Division. The process typically takes 2-3 years and costs significantly more than standard applications.

Only pursue H&C grounds with strong evidence and professional legal assistance. Immigration officers maintain high standards for approving exceptions to established requirements.

Appeal Process: What Happens After Refusal

If your application gets refused, you have 30 days from receiving the refusal letter to file a Notice of Appeal with the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD). Missing this deadline means losing your right to appeal permanently.

Grounds You Can Appeal:

• Sponsor doesn't meet income requirements
• Relationship evidence deemed insufficient
• Medical inadmissibility of applicants
• Minor criminal issues
• Administrative errors in application processing

Grounds You Cannot Appeal:

• Misrepresentation by sponsor or applicants
• Serious criminal inadmissibility (security, organized crime, serious criminality)
• Human rights violations
• Non-family member relationships

The Appeal Timeline:

• File Notice of Appeal: Within 30 days of refusal
• Receive hearing date: 12-24 months later
• Attend hearing: 1-2 days of testimony and evidence
• Receive decision: 2-6 months after hearing
• Total process: 2-3 years from start to finish

Appeal Success Factors: Successful appeals typically involve:

• New evidence not available during initial application
• Significant changes in circumstances
• Administrative errors by immigration officers
• Strong H&C factors that weren't properly considered

Common Mistakes That Destroy Applications

Income Calculation Errors:

• Using gross employment income instead of line 15000
• Forgetting to include previous undertakings in family unit size
• Assuming this year's income meets requirements (you need 3 years of history)
• Including non-taxable income in calculations

Documentation Problems:

• Submitting unsigned or outdated forms
• Missing police certificates from all countries of residence
• Incomplete medical exams
• Poor quality translations of foreign documents

Relationship Proof Issues:

• Insufficient evidence of parent-child relationship
• Missing adoption documents for adoptive relationships
• Unclear family composition documentation

Timeline Misunderstandings:

• Applying before meeting 3-year income requirement
• Missing application deadlines
• Failing to respond to additional document requests promptly

The government processes thousands of applications annually and has little patience for incomplete or incorrect submissions. Getting it right the first time saves months of delays and potential refusal.

Your Next Steps: Building a Winning Application

Success in parent sponsorship requires meticulous preparation and realistic timeline expectations. Start by gathering three years of Notice of Assessment documents and calculating your exact family unit size using the steps outlined above.

If you're close but not quite meeting income requirements, explore whether your spouse can co-sign or if waiting another year for higher income makes sense. Remember, you get one chance when invitations are issued – incomplete preparation wastes that opportunity.

For families facing complex situations like criminal backgrounds, medical issues, or unique family compositions, professional legal assistance often proves essential. The cost of expert help typically pays for itself by avoiding refusals and appeals.

The Parent and Grandparent Program represents more than just an immigration pathway – it's your chance to reunite with the people who shaped your life and give them the opportunity to build new memories with their Canadian grandchildren. With proper preparation and realistic expectations, that reunion can become reality within the next 18-24 months.

The application window won't stay open forever, and competition remains fierce for available spots. Start preparing now, and give your family the gift of being together again in Canada.