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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has now reopened its Parents and Grandparents Program to Canadian citizens and permanent residents who wish to sponsor their parents and grandparents in 2018.

The Interest to Sponsor online form went live around 12 p.m. on January 2. All interested sponsors must first fill out this form, which will be available until February 1, 2018, at 12 p.m.

Submitting the Interest to Sponsor form is not an application but it is the necessary first step for those who want to participate in the Parents and Grandparents Program, or PGP, which allows selected Canadian citizens and permanent residents over the age of 18 to sponsor their parents and grandparents to come to Canada as Canadian permanent residents.

All interested sponsors are asked to first review to ensure they qualify for the program, including its income requirements. Please note that the updated Interest to Sponsor form now asks interested sponsors to declare that they have the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) to support those they hope to sponsor.

The MNI is as follows for interested sponsors in every Canadian province and territory other than Quebec, which has its . Interested sponsors must provide proof that they meet the minimum income requirements for each of the last three taxation years.

Total number of people for whom you would be responsible	MNI 2017	MNI 2016	MNI 2015
2 people	$39,813	$39,371	$38,618
3 people	$48,945	$48,404	$47,476
4 people	$59,426	$58,768	$57,642
5 people	$67,400	$66,654	$65,377
6 people	$76,015	$75,174	$73,733
7 people	$84,631	$83,695	$82,091
Each additional person over 7	$8,616	$8,522	$8,358

IRCC selects potential sponsors at random from the Interest to Sponsor submissions that it receives and invites those selected to apply to sponsor their parents and grandparents.

All individuals who submitted an online form will be notified whether they have been invited or not.

Those invited to apply will have 90 days to submit a completed application, including all supporting documents.

IRCC says its aim is to receive 10,000 new applications in 2018.

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