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Feds hike income threshold for people seeking to sponsor parents, grandparents
OTTAWA – People seeking to bring parents or grandparents to settle in Canada will have to have higher incomes and agree to financially support them longer.
The two changes come as part of a revamp of the family reunification program announced Friday by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.
The overhaul was designed to reduce backlog of applications that neared 165,000 with a wait time of almost eight years.
Kenney says the backlog is now on track to be cut by half by 2014 so he’s reopening the program to a limited number of applications next year.
At the same time, the government is making a 10-year multiple-entry visa for parents and grandparents a permanent fixture of the immigration system.
Kenney says the reforms are aimed at reuniting families faster while at the same time not placing a major burden on health and social programs.
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