Sponsor parents to Canada in 2026: the federal programme on hold, what is still possible

The steps

1. Check that IRCC invited you

   2025 invitations sent from 28.07.2025 to people registered in 2020. Without an invitation, no application is possible during the pause.

   first of all

2. Submit the sponsorship and permanent residence application

   Online, through IRCC's portal, only if you were invited. 2025 intake deadline: 09.10.2025.

   closed

3. In Quebec: receive IRCC's eligibility letter

   Addressed to the sponsor, it invites them to continue with Quebec. Send nothing to the MIFI before.

   varies

4. In Quebec: wait for your intake period

   The MIFI calendar depends on the date of the IRCC letter. An application sent too early is returned.

   per the calendar

5. In Quebec: send the undertaking application to the MIFI

   By post, with the forms, proof of financial capacity and fees (CA$335 + CA$135 per additional person).

   about 3 months

6. Permanent residence processing by IRCC

   Medical exam, biometrics, police certificates. IRCC estimate as of 09.10.2026: about 28 months outside Quebec, 63 months in Quebec.

   28 to 63 months

What it really costs

IRCC fees, sponsoring a parent or grandparent (with right of permanent residence fee)	CA$1,260
IRCC fees, spouse or partner of the sponsored parent	CA$1,260
IRCC fees, dependent child of the sponsored parent	CA$180 per child
Quebec, undertaking application processing, first person	CA$335
Quebec, each additional sponsored person	CA$135
Observed total	CA$1,595 for a single parent in Quebec (CA$1,260 IRCC + CA$335 MIFI), excluding medical exam, biometrics and documents; no new applications during the pause

Amounts recorded on 23.10.2026.

What most often gets stuck

• No IRCC invitation: no application possible while the programme is on hold.
• Undertaking application sent to Quebec without IRCC's eligibility letter, or before the date set by the calendar: file returned.
• Cap of 2,400 applications for parents and grandparents reached before 30.06.2028: file returned, fees not cashed.
• Incorrect Quebec fees, personal cheque or declined card: the whole file is returned, without notice.
• Insufficient income in any of the three years (outside Quebec) or over the last 12 months (Quebec).
• Social assistance received for a reason other than age or disability.
• Authorisation form missing in Quebec after a separation, a divorce or with children from a previous union.

Sponsoring parents to Canada is on hold: since 15 July 2026, the federal government has not accepted new interest to sponsor forms or invited anyone to apply, “until further notice”. Applications already submitted are still being processed. As of 23 October 2026, no reopening date has been announced. In Quebec, an undertaking application is only possible if you already hold the eligibility letter from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

These rules apply whatever the parent’s nationality, Lebanese included. For long stays without permanent residence, the route that remains open is the super visa, a visitor visa.

The federal programme as of 23 October 2026

• 15 July 2026: IRCC announces that it is pausing the intake of new applications under the Parents and Grandparents Program. It continues to process existing applications and plans to approve up to 15,000 people for permanent residence through the programme in 2026.
• Programme page (modified 18 August 2026): status “Paused”. “We will not accept new interest to sponsor forms or invite potential sponsors to apply until further notice.”
• Since 1 January 2026, the ministerial instructions already provide that no new parent or grandparent applications are received, except up to 10,000 applications from the 2025 intake.

The last intake was in 2025. Starting on 28 July 2025, IRCC sent 17,860 invitations, over about two weeks, to people who had submitted an interest to sponsor form in 2020. The goal: up to 10,000 complete applications. The deadline was 9 October 2025. The interest to sponsor form is closed: if you were not invited, you cannot submit anything today.

Applications already submitted: what continues

IRCC continues to process the applications it has received. Its wait time estimate, updated on 9 October 2026:

• outside Quebec: about 28 months, with about 35,600 people waiting;
• parents and grandparents settling in Quebec: about 63 months, with about 10,300 people waiting.

These are estimates, revised every month, which can go down or up. IRCC explains the gap by the fact that it receives more Family Class applications destined for Quebec than the number of admissions Quebec has set.

Worth knowing before arrival: the sponsor signs a 20-year undertaking (10 years in Quebec), which starts on the day the parent becomes a permanent resident. It cannot be cancelled after that, even after a job loss, a divorce or a move. Sponsored parents take a medical exam, give biometrics (ages 14 to 79) and provide police certificates if they are 18 or over.

In Quebec: the undertaking, intake periods and caps

In Quebec, sponsoring a parent goes through two governments, in this order:

1. an IRCC invitation to apply;
2. a sponsorship application to IRCC, then an IRCC eligibility letter, addressed to the sponsor, inviting them to continue with Quebec;
3. an undertaking application to Quebec’s immigration ministry (Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration, MIFI), by post only; if accepted, the MIFI issues the Quebec selection certificate (CSQ);
4. processing of permanent residence by IRCC, which can still refuse it.

IRCC is clear: send nothing to Quebec before it confirms, or Quebec will not process your application. As long as the federal stage is closed, an undertaking application only makes sense for sponsors who were already invited and have received the letter.

Cap: from 2 July 2026 to 30 June 2028, the MIFI accepts at most 2,400 undertaking applications for a father, mother, grandparent or other relative (out of 15,700 applications in total, including 13,300 for spouses and partners). If the cap is reached before 30 June 2028, later applications are returned unprocessed and the fees are not cashed.

Calendar: the date of your IRCC letter sets the day from which you can send your application. An application sent too early is returned.

• letter dated no later than 31 July 2024: from 2 July 2026;
• no later than 31 January 2025: from 1 September 2026;
• no later than 30 June 2025: from 1 November 2026;
• no later than 31 August 2025: from 1 January 2027;
• no later than 31 October 2025: from 1 March 2027;
• no later than 30 November 2025: from 1 May 2027;
• no later than 31 December 2025: from 1 July 2027;
• no later than 28 February 2026: from 1 September 2027;
• no later than 31 May 2026: from 1 November 2027;
• no later than 31 August 2026: from 1 January 2028;
• no later than 31 December 2026: from 1 March 2028;
• no later than 27 May 2027: from 1 May 2028.

Processing fees in 2026: CA$335 for one sponsored person, CA$135 for each additional person (for example CA$470 for two parents). Payment by credit card (form enclosed), Canada Post money order, bank draft or certified cheque from a Canadian bank, payable to the Ministre des Finances du Québec. No cash or personal cheques. An incorrect amount gets the whole file returned, without notice.

Wait time: most undertaking applications are processed within 3 months, according to the MIFI. On 23 October 2026, the MIFI said it was examining new applications for a parent or grandparent received on 3 September 2026.

Sponsor income requirements

Outside Quebec, you must meet the required income for each of the three tax years before you apply. IRCC’s table for the 2025 intake (income for 2024, 2023 and 2022):

• 2 people: $47,549, $44,530, $43,082;
• 3 people: $58,456, $54,743, $52,965;
• 4 people: $70,972, $66,466, $64,306;
• 5 people: $80,496, $75,384, $72,935.

Family size counts the sponsor, their spouse or partner, their dependent children, anyone already sponsored whose undertaking is still running, and the sponsored parents with their whole family, even those not coming to Canada. A spouse or partner can co-sign to combine incomes. The table for any future intake has not been published.

In Quebec, Quebec’s rules apply. Amounts in force from 1 January to 31 December 2026, indexed every 1 January: you add the basic income for your own family (table A) and the amount for the sponsored people (table B).

• Table A (sponsor and family): 1 person, $29,642; 2 people, $40,015; 3 people, $49,401; 4 people, $56,819; 5 people, $63,237; $6,418 per additional person.
• Table B (sponsored people): one adult, $21,682; two adults, $31,796; $10,107 per additional adult.

Example calculated from these tables: a single person sponsoring their father and mother must show $29,642 + $31,796, i.e. $61,438 a year. The basic income must come from Canadian sources; the amount for the sponsored people can also come from assets held in Canada. You must have had this income during the 12 months before applying. A spouse or partner can act as co-sponsor.

Other Quebec conditions: be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, be 18, live in Quebec, not receive social assistance (except because of age or disability), and have met past undertakings and support payments.

The alternative: the super visa

The super visa is not permanent residence. According to IRCC, it lets parents and grandparents stay in Canada for up to 5 years at a time, with multiple entries over a period of up to 10 years. A 2-year extension can be requested from within Canada. The inviting child or grandchild must meet a minimum income; the parent needs private health insurance for at least one year and must take a medical exam. Full conditions are on IRCC’s super visa page.

What to watch

• a reopening announcement on IRCC’s programme page (none as of 23 October 2026);
• in Quebec, the intake calendar and the count against the 2,400-application cap;
• Quebec’s new income and fee amounts on 1 January 2027;
• IRCC’s wait time estimate, updated monthly.

The only official sources are canada.ca (IRCC) and quebec.ca (MIFI). Private websites with names close to IRCC’s are not government sites.

Sources

• IRCC, “Canada takes steps to responsibly manage the Parents and Grandparents Program”, notice of 15 July 2026.
• IRCC, “Sponsor your parents and grandparents”, modified 18 August 2026.
• IRCC, “Find out if you’re invited to apply” (2025 intake), modified 10 October 2025.
• IRCC, Ministerial Instructions 89 (MI89): Parents and Grandparents, modified 29 December 2025.
• IRCC, “Income requirements for the sponsor” (2025 intake), modified 28 July 2025.
• IRCC, “What it means to be a sponsor” (undertaking period), modified 28 July 2025.
• IRCC, “How to apply” (portal, medical exam, police certificates, biometrics), modified 18 August 2026.
• IRCC, check processing times: parents and grandparents estimate updated 9 October 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
• IRCC, fee list, modified 21 September 2026.
• IRCC, Deputy Minister Transition Binder 2026, “Family Reunification”, modified 4 September 2026.
• IRCC, “Super visa for parents and grandparents: Who can apply”, modified 6 July 2026.
• Government of Quebec, “Rules for the reception of applications”, updated 22 July 2026.
• Government of Quebec, conditions for sponsoring your mother, father or a grandparent, accessed 23 October 2026.
• Government of Quebec, responsibilities and obligations of the undertaking, accessed 23 October 2026.
• Government of Quebec, submitting an undertaking application for a father, mother or grandparent (2026 fees, wait time), accessed 23 October 2026.
• Government of Quebec, demonstrating your financial capacity to sponsor a family member, accessed 23 October 2026.
• Quebec immigration ministry (MIFI), news release on the new family reunification intake period (in French), 18 June 2026.
• Radio-Canada, “Ottawa suspend le parrainage pour l’immigration des parents et des grands-parents” (in French), 15 July 2026.

Checked on 23.10.2026.