Parent and Grandparent Program, who are you?
As reported by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, starting January 2, 2014, applications for the family sponsorship program Parent and Grandparent Program (PGP) will be accepted. What was the precondition for its emergence?
As is known, applications under the Family Class program had not been accepted since November 2011 due to the large number of accumulated applications and long processing times. As an alternative, the temporary Super Visa program was developed, allowing parents of Canadian residents to obtain a 10-year entry visa with the right to live in Canada for up to 2 years at a time. Based on this program, the Family Class was created. It should be noted that since the introduction of the Super Visa in December 2011, more than 15,000 such visas have been issued, with an approval rate of 86%.
The Super Visa was a good and correct solution, but it cannot replace the Family Class program, as it does not provide many of the benefits that sponsored parents receive after completing the immigration process. In particular, after obtaining permanent resident status, parents have the right to live in Canada indefinitely, receive government health insurance, can work or run a business without any restrictions, etc. Super Visa holders, on the other hand, are only allowed to stay in Canada as tourists: that is, with a limited period of stay, and in case of illness, all medical expenses fall on their shoulders. But most importantly, they do not receive the right to work and do not have the opportunity to earn a living.
As a result, despite all the positive qualities of the Super Visa, the inability to fully sponsor parents causes irritation among immigrants. So sooner or later, especially in the run-up to federal elections, when the votes of immigrants are especially needed by any party, the family sponsorship program for parents had to be resumed.
On the other hand, a large part of Canadians, especially those who have nothing to do with immigrants, oppose the massive influx of elderly people from all over the world into Canada, as it places a heavy burden on the country's social system, which is reflected in higher taxes and a reduction in the amount of social benefits received.
The Parent and Grandparent Program is a compromise solution of the current government. Its development followed the principle of "giving each his due." What are the initiatives of the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, besides separating the sponsorship of parents, grandparents, and grandchildren from the general Family Class flow into a separate Parent and Grandparent Program?
The most important thing is that new selection criteria are being introduced for the family sponsorship program for parents to increase the financial responsibility of sponsors and shift the burden of caring for sponsored parents onto them. In particular, sponsors face the following changes.
1. The minimum income required to sponsor parents is increased by 30%. This is explained by the fact that the current minimum income requirements do not reflect the actual costs of supporting elderly parents.
2. The period during which the minimum income must be shown is increased from one year to three years. Thus, for newly arrived immigrants, the opportunity to provide family sponsorship for parents is delayed by at least three years.
3. As evidence confirming the level of income, only one document issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will be accepted – the Notice of Assessment.
4. The period of financial responsibility for parents is increased from 10 to 20 years. This means that if parents apply for government benefits during this 20-year period, sponsors will be obliged to reimburse the state for all funds spent on social benefits. This applies to all relatives, including sponsored parents and their family members, as well as grandparents.
5. An annual cap on the acceptance of applications is introduced under this program. In 2014, it is planned to accept only 5,000 applications.
It is worth noting that restrictions on the number of applications accepted have also become a distinctive feature of the federal government's actions in the area of immigration. The ministry itself explains that this will allow it to clear the backlog of applications and prevent the situation of their uncontrolled growth. Undoubtedly, this makes sense. For instance, in 2012-2013, it is planned to issue 50,000 immigrant visas under the parent sponsorship program, the highest figure in the last 20 years. By January 2014, it is planned to halve the number of applications awaiting processing.
Therefore, as in the case of the Federal Skilled Worker Class program (opened in May 2014 with a quota of 5,000 applications per year), which also has a large number of accumulated applications, the admission conditions under the Parent and Grandparent Program appear temporary. There is a feeling that the government could not avoid opening these two programs, but made this act more symbolic.
Of course, 5,000 applications per year is quite small. For comparison, recall the 50,000 immigrant visas that will be issued in 2012-2013 for sponsored parents. At the same time, it is obvious that the immigration department is actively working to bring the situation with accumulated applications back to normal, and while this work is ongoing, one should hardly expect major relaxations. Therefore, the main question now is when, finally, those applications that are waiting in line will be processed, and what will happen after that?
Personally, I am inclined to think that federal agencies are in a hurry to complete the work by 2015, that is, by the time of the federal elections. In particular, if the government continues to issue up to 50 thousand applications per year under the family sponsorship program for parents, then practically all remaining applications should be processed before 2015.
Consequently, 2014 can be called not very favorable for those who plan to immigrate to Canada, including sponsoring parents. However, when it comes to what will happen after 2014, I am much more optimistic. First, there is hope that the backlog of applications will be cleared, given how actively federal agencies are currently dealing with this issue. This could lead to a noticeable increase in the quota for the number of applications accepted.
Second, the tightening of requirements for sponsors will lead to a significant reduction in the number of Canadians who want and are able to sponsor their parents, which will reduce the risk of a large number of applications being submitted and thus avoid the situation that the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration is currently forced to deal with.
Undoubtedly, the conditions for sponsoring parents have become much stricter than before. However, we need to be realistic and understand that this approach gives a chance to those who want to bring their parents to Canada and are ready to support them, rather than put them on the state's neck. Especially since compared to the Super Visa, this is a more attractive option.
And although the new parental sponsorship program now looks more like a symbolic gesture (primarily due to the small number of applications accepted), in the near future the situation should apparently change for the better.
Change in the age of dependent children
Another innovation is the change in the age limit up to which a child was considered a dependent family member – it has been reduced from 22 to 18 years. In addition, the condition under which a child older than the permitted age was considered dependent if he or she was studying at an educational institution and was supported by parents has been abolished.
This means that a child over 18 years old will no longer be able to immigrate with their parents as a dependent family member, and will have to immigrate on their own if they have a chance to do so.
It is worth noting that for a long time, a child under the age of 19 was considered a dependent family member in terms of immigration law. In 2002, after the introduction of the new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), this age was increased to 22, which even then caused bewilderment. Therefore, reducing the age at which a child is considered a dependent family member to 18 is a quite logical step.
What can really be considered serious changes in Canada's immigration policy is that children over 18 who are studying and not earning their own living have ceased to be considered dependent family members.
Summing up, it can be said that changes in the area of parental sponsorship are in line with the general transformation of Canada's immigration policy, which is currently undergoing a radical restructuring. Distinctive features of the new approach include stricter requirements for those immigrating, as well as control over the number of applications submitted in order to be able to process them quickly. Because what is happening now looks more like temporary measures while the work is not yet complete, it is too early to judge the effectiveness of the new system. It only remains to hope that the government's efforts will not be in vain, and that from 2015 the situation will change for the better.
Elena RYABININA,
«Russian Toronto».