New PGP program criteria
After extensive consultations, draft regulations to redesign the PGP program were pre-published in the Canada Gazette on May 18, 2013, and were open to public comment for 30 days. Regulatory changes have now been finalized and will come into force on January 1, 2014.
The new qualifying criteria for sponsors of parents and grandparents:
Extends the undertaking period for sponsors of parents and grandparents and their accompanying dependants, from 10 to 20 years.Sponsors must sign a sponsorship agreement in which they commit to provide for the basic needs, such as food, clothing and shelter, of their parent or grandparent and any accompanying family members, for a period of 20 years.
Increases the minimum necessary income (MNI) for sponsoring PGPs equivalent to the annual MNI plus 30%. The MNI is based on the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) established annually by Statistics Canada. This new income threshold (MNI + 30%) will continue to be calculated based on the number of persons the sponsor is supporting and would be supporting.
Lengthens the period for demonstrating ability to meet the MNI from one year to three years for persons who are sponsoring a parent or grandparent. The sponsor and co-signer (if applicable) must demonstrate that for the three consecutive taxation years preceding the date of their application, their total income is equivalent to MNI plus 30%.
Requires that evidence of income be limited exclusively to documents issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Sponsors and their parent or grandparent’s accompanying family members will be required to demonstrate that they meet the new income threshold for three consecutive years using only documentation issued by the CRA. CIC will accept either a Notice of Assessment or an Option C print out.
Provides CIC staff with the authority to request updated evidence of income, if required. The Regulations now provide officers with the authority to request updated evidence of income from all sponsors who submit a sponsorship application for a member of the family class, in the following cases: (a) where the officer receives information indicating that the sponsor is no longer able to fulfill the obligations of that undertaking; or (b) where more than one year has elapsed since the time a sponsorship application was received.
