Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has sent emails to invite potential candidates to apply under the Parents and Grandparents Program 2023 to sponsor their parents or grandparents. Continue reading to find the steps to apply for the PGP in 2023. 

If you have got the invitation under PGP 2023, you and your parents and grandparents whom you desire to sponsor are required to submit a complete application via the Permanent Residence Portal. 

The main applicant, i.e., your parent or grandparent, must submit the PGP application. However, an authorized representative is also allowed to submit the application on their behalf. 

In case an authorized representative submits the PGP application on the main applicant’s behalf, they must first sign into their Representative Residence Portal account. 

Note that you must submit your PGP application before 22 December 2023 at 11:50 pm Eastern Standard Time. The IRCC department will not accept incomplete or late applications. 

In cases where you, your parents or grandparents, or the representative are unable to apply online, you may request to submit your application in an alternative form. 

Steps to apply for the PGP in 2023 

This section will guide you through the steps to apply for the PGP in 2023. 

When you receive an email from IRCC containing a PGP invitation, it should include a barcode that would match your application to the information you provided when you showed your desire to sponsor your parents or grandparents through the PGP. 

You are required to upload a digital copy of that page to the portal in the section “Additional Supporting Documents” with the Document name “Other” in the portal. 

It’s crucial that your PGP application is complete. To ensure everything is correct, you must follow the below-mentioned steps: 

  • Complete all the steps outlined in the PGP application guide linked here. 
  • Make sure the information you provided in your sponsorship application is identical to the information you provided in your Interest to Sponsor form in 2020. This must also include a copy of the similar status in the Canada record you supplied. 
  • You have to pay all the eligible fees online. IRCC does not accept any other payment method. Also, you must provide proof of payment for the fees. If you fail to do so, your sponsorship application will be considered incomplete, and IRCC will not process it further. 
  • Determine whether you require biometrics. If yes, you should pay the biometric fee simultaneously, along with your application fees. 
  • You can provide your Social Insurance Number (SIN) and provide IRCC your support on the monetary assessment for Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship (IMM 5768) form. IRCC can use these to collect your personal income tax details directly from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to determine if you fulfill the income requirements. 
  • In case you don’t agree to give IRCC your consent and STN, you have to submit a completed Income Sources for the Sponsorship of Parents and Grandparents (IMM 5748) form as well as the Notices of Assessment issued by the CRA for 2020, 2021 and 2022 tax years. 
  • You can use the My Account online service of CRA to obtain your personal tax information. 

The Minimum Necessary Income Requirement for PGP 

For PGP sponsorship, the sponsor and the co-signer (if present) have to fulfill the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) requirement for each of three consecutive tax years. The years are counted prior to the date of application. For the 2023 admissions under PGP, the sponsors’ income will be considered for the 2022, 2021, and 2020 tax years. 

The PGP income requirement for the 2020 and 2021 tax years remains to be decreased to the minimum necessary income. This means that instead of needing to meet the Minimum Necessary Income and, an additional 30% of applicants were only required to meet the Minimum Necessary Income. This change is intended to ensure that individuals and families are not penalized for experiencing a temporary loss of income during the pandemic. 

For PGP, MNI is a vital eligibility factor. The Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) demonstrates that a sponsor is financially capable of supporting the family members (Parents and grandparents) financially, whom they desire to invite to Canada under the Parents and Grandparents Program 2023.