In a notice released late on July 15, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) confirmed that it is **immediately pausing the intake of new “interest-to-sponsor” submissions** under the Parent and Grandparent Program (PGP). Officials say the move is designed to whittle down a ballooning inventory of more than 60,000 applications, some of which have been waiting almost five years for a decision. The pause will remain in place “until further notice,” although IRCC reiterated that it still intends to approve up to 15,000 parents and grandparents for permanent residence this calendar year in keeping with the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan. The ministry’s communiqué emphasises that family reunification remains a policy priority, pointing to recent enhancements to the multiple-entry Super-Visa. Since June, Super-Visa holders can now stay for up to five consecutive years per visit, carry private health insurance purchased from either Canadian or select foreign insurers, and rely on a broadened list of eligible income sources for sponsorship. Those tweaks make the Super-Visa a far more practical tool for parents and grandparents who need to spend extended periods in Canada without entering the permanent-residence queue. From a corporate-mobility standpoint, the pause removes one of the most popular pathways through which permanent residents and naturalised Canadians bring caregiving relatives to help with child care during foreign assignments inside Canada. HR teams planning moves to Canada should therefore review back-up childcare strategies or explore province-specific caregiver pilot programmes until the PGP intake re-opens. Immigration lawyers expect the hiatus to last at least six months, citing federal targets to reduce overall backlogs to under 600,000 files by year-end. They are advising interested sponsors to gather financial documentation early and to watch for a likely lottery-style re-opening in 2027. In the interim, employers may see a short-term uptick in requests for extended family leave as assignees attempt to travel abroad to visit ageing parents who now face longer waits for Canadian residency. Finally, the announcement carries political overtones. Opposition critics blame overstretched immigration targets for fuelling housing pressures, while the government argues that better inventory management—not lower admissions—is the answer. Either way, yesterday’s decision signals Ottawa’s willingness to use program-specific throttles to keep overall inflows on course while preserving public confidence in immigration.
Source: Government of Canada – IRCC
