Last reviewed: September 14, 2026 — by Natalie Ningjing Zhang, Principal Lawyer, BridgePoint Law Professional Corporation. This article is general information about the Canadian Parents and Grandparents Program and the parent and grandparent Super Visa, not legal advice for any particular case.
Quick answer
Canada has two separate pathways for bringing parents and grandparents: the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP), which leads to permanent residence but is capped and operates by lottery-style intake, and the Super Visa, a long-stay multiple-entry visitor visa that lets a parent or grandparent live in Canada with their family for extended periods without becoming a permanent resident. Both require the Canadian sponsor or host to meet an income test. In 2026 the PGP is paused: IRCC is not accepting new interest to sponsor forms or issuing new invitations, and is only finishing applications already received from the 2025 intake. For families who want a parent or grandparent in Canada now, the Super Visa is the realistic route this year.
PGP in 2026: intake paused
Under Ministerial Instructions 89, which took effect on January 1, 2026, IRCC is not receiving new parent and grandparent sponsorship applications for processing, apart from up to 10,000 applications from the 2025 intake, until further instructions are issued. On July 15, 2026, IRCC confirmed that it will not receive new interest to sponsor forms or invite potential sponsors to apply until further notice. It still plans to approve up to 15,000 people for permanent residence through the PGP in 2026, from applications already in its inventory.
The most recent intake opened on July 28, 2025, when IRCC invited potential sponsors from the 2020 interest to sponsor pool and accepted up to 10,000 complete applications.
What this means in practice:
- There is nothing to submit right now. No interest to sponsor form is open and no invitation round has been announced. Be wary of anyone offering, for a fee, to “register” you for a 2026 PGP draw.
- If you applied in the 2025 intake, your application continues to be processed.
- If you are planning ahead, keep filing your taxes and keep your CRA Notices of Assessment. The PGP income test looks back over the three tax years before you apply, and IRCC has not said when, or on what terms, the program will reopen.
- If your parent or grandparent needs to be here sooner, the Super Visa is the practical option in 2026.
How the PGP intake works
IRCC does not accept PGP applications on a rolling basis. Instead, potential sponsors submit an online interest to sponsor form during a limited window announced by IRCC, and IRCC then randomly selects sponsors from that pool to submit full applications. The number of invitations varies year to year based on the immigration levels plan. A name in the pool from a previous year does not automatically carry forward unless IRCC says so for a specific year. Because the invitation process is essentially lottery-style, families who need a fast or certain outcome usually plan around Super Visa and treat PGP as a secondary, longer-term plan.
The income test: MNI and LICO
The PGP sponsor must meet the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) test, which is based on Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-Off plus 30%, for each of the three tax years preceding the application. Income is proven with Canada Revenue Agency Notices of Assessment. The sponsor signs a 20-year undertaking to financially support the sponsored parent or grandparent (10 years in Quebec), which is significantly longer than the spousal sponsorship undertaking. Co-signing by a spouse or common-law partner is permitted and often necessary to meet the income threshold. The Super Visa uses a separate but conceptually similar income test at the baseline LICO level, without the 30% uplift.
Super Visa in detail
The Super Visa is a multiple-entry visitor visa valid for up to 10 years, which can authorize each stay in Canada for up to five years at a time with the possibility of extension inside Canada. It requires: a child or grandchild who is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian, meets the minimum necessary income and signs an invitation letter (only the host and the host’s spouse or common-law partner can count toward the income; siblings cannot co-sign); private health insurance with at least $100,000 of emergency coverage for health care, hospitalization and repatriation, valid for at least one year from the date of entry and for each entry, and paid in full or in instalments with a deposit (quotes are not accepted); a medical exam with an IRCC panel physician; and the usual admissibility assessment. The insurer can be a Canadian company or a company outside Canada, but a foreign insurer must be authorized by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) and must have issued the policy while doing insurance business in Canada. See IRCC’s Super Visa document requirements.
Choosing between PGP and Super Visa
The decision usually comes down to three things: how urgent is the arrival, how important is PR status versus long-term visitor status, and whether the family meets the higher MNI threshold for PGP. For a family with an aging parent who needs to be in Canada soon, Super Visa almost always wins on speed and certainty. For a family whose parent wants to eventually work part-time, access certain provincial benefits after the residency waiting period, or sponsor other relatives down the line, PGP — once invited — remains the better long-term fit. Many families end up using Super Visa first, and then applying for PGP when IRCC opens a window they actually get selected in.
Combining the two strategically
A common and sensible strategy is to submit an interest to sponsor form for PGP whenever IRCC next opens a window (none is open in 2026), while simultaneously applying for a Super Visa so the parent or grandparent can actually arrive and start living with the family. If the PGP invitation eventually comes, the file converts to permanent residence processing while the parent is already in Canada. Dual intent is fine in this context — Super Visa explicitly permits long stays and is not refused on the basis that the family hopes to eventually secure PR.
What to bring to your first consultation
To assess a PGP or Super Visa plan we want: the sponsor’s three most recent CRA Notices of Assessment (or the sponsor’s and co-signer’s combined NoAs); the number and status of all persons the sponsor is financially responsible for (this changes the MNI threshold); proof of the sponsor’s Canadian status; the parent or grandparent’s identity and travel history; and a sense of the timeline — how soon the family needs an arrival, and whether a temporary stay is acceptable while waiting for a PR route. With those items we can map both options out in a single meeting.
Why BridgePoint Law
BridgePoint Law is a Kingston, Ontario-based firm working across Canada on spousal and parental sponsorships, Super Visa applications, and humanitarian and compassionate applications where a family unit needs a bespoke solution. Principal lawyer Natalie Ningjing Zhang is a member of the Law Society of Ontario, the Canadian Bar Association, the OBA Citizenship and Immigration Section (East), and the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association, and works in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. We help families think about the full five- or ten-year horizon, not just the next filing.
Next steps
If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident hoping to bring a parent or grandparent to Canada, the most valuable first step is a consultation that maps Super Visa and PGP side by side against your income, your timeline, and your parent’s situation. We will tell you honestly which route is realistic, and usually we will recommend running both in parallel.
Call: +1 (613) 417-850 | Email: info@bridgepointlaw.ca | More on our Family Immigration practice
Frequently asked questions
Is the Parents and Grandparents Program open in 2026?
No. IRCC paused new PGP intake for 2026. Under Ministerial Instructions 89 it is only processing applications from the 2025 intake, and on July 15, 2026 it said it will not accept new interest to sponsor forms or send invitations until further notice. It still plans to approve up to 15,000 people for permanent residence through existing PGP applications in 2026.
Can I apply for PGP whenever I want?
No. IRCC only accepts PGP interest-to-sponsor submissions during specific intake windows, and then invites a limited number of sponsors from that pool to file a full application. Outside those windows, PGP applications are not accepted. In 2026 there is no window: IRCC has paused new interest to sponsor forms and invitations until further notice.
What is the income requirement for PGP?
PGP uses the Minimum Necessary Income test, which is Statistics Canada LICO plus 30%, calculated for the three tax years preceding the application and proven by CRA Notices of Assessment. A spouse or common-law partner can co-sign to meet the threshold. Family size — including the parents or grandparents being sponsored — affects the applicable number.
How long is a Super Visa valid?
A Super Visa can be issued for up to 10 years as a multiple-entry visa, and each stay in Canada can last up to five years, with the possibility of extending from inside Canada. It is a visitor visa, not permanent residence.
Does the parent or grandparent need Canadian medical insurance for a Super Visa?
Not necessarily Canadian, but it must meet IRCC’s rules. The policy needs at least $100,000 of emergency coverage for health care, hospitalization and repatriation, must be valid for at least one year from the date of entry, and must be paid in full or in instalments with a deposit. A company outside Canada is acceptable only if it is authorized by OSFI and issued the policy while doing insurance business in Canada.
Can I run Super Visa and PGP at the same time?
Yes, and it is often the right strategy. A family can use Super Visa to bring the parent or grandparent to Canada now, and simultaneously submit an interest-to-sponsor for PGP when IRCC opens a window, converting to PR processing later if an invitation is received. With the PGP paused in 2026, the Super Visa half of that plan is the one you can act on now.
How long is the sponsorship undertaking for PGP?
Twenty years outside Quebec, ten years in Quebec. This is considerably longer than the three-year undertaking for spousal sponsorship, and it means the sponsor remains financially responsible for the sponsored parent or grandparent long after they have become a Canadian permanent resident.