2020 Parents and Grandparents Program

Much like the previous years, new Canadians interested in sponsoring a parent or grandparent to the country were eyeing January as the month when the 2020 Parents and Grandparents Program would reopen. However, it has been announced that the reopening of this program has been postponed until Ministerial Instructions are issued. This is to ensure that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) gets sufficient time to complete the development of a new intake process for the program.

IRCC’s website also states that the move would still give all interested sponsors the same opportunity to submit an interest to sponsor form and a fair chance to be invited to apply.

Watch out for the Municipal Nominee Program

In another immigration update, the federal government, following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s instruction to Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino in his recent mandate letter, plans to introduce the Municipal Nominee Program, reported CBC. The new program would allow cities and towns to pick newcomers based on local labour needs, and is reportedly aimed at tackling the challenge of motivating immigrants to settle in Canada’s smaller towns and cities and contribute to their economy.

The mandate letter states that “a minimum of 5,000 spaces per year will be available for the new program”. Further details on how it will work are yet to be announced.

Want to know more about The Parents and Grandparents program? Check out our articles:
“Invites to Parents and grandparents program continue to soar”.
“Parents and grandparents sponsorship program reopens for 2018”.