Quebec reopens family sponsorship under a 15,700-application intake cap
Quebec's MIFI will accept up to 15,700 family-sponsorship applications from July 2, 2026 to June 30, 2028 — 13,300 for partners, 2,400 for relatives.
Quebec's Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI) will accept up to 15,700 family-sponsorship undertaking applications during a two-year reception period running from July 2, 2026 to June 30, 2028. The ceiling allows a maximum of 13,300 applications to sponsor spouses and partners and 2,400 for parents, grandparents, and other relatives.
What's changed
Under the rules published by MIFI, Quebec will receive family-sponsorship undertaking applications up to a combined ceiling of 15,700 over the two-year period. The ceiling is split into a maximum of 13,300 applications for spouses, common-law partners, and conjugal partners, and 2,400 for parents, grandparents, and other relatives. If the maximum for a category is reached before June 30, 2028, MIFI will not receive further applications in that category.
Applications are accepted in phases rather than all at once, staggered according to the date of the applicant's eligibility letter or acknowledgment of receipt from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, beginning July 2, 2026 and continuing through May 1, 2028.
Who's affected
The caps apply to Quebec residents seeking to sponsor a family member for permanent residence, who file an undertaking with MIFI as part of Quebec's two-step selection process. Certain applications are exempt from the caps and the phased schedule and may be submitted at any time — including applications to sponsor dependent children, adopted minors, orphaned close relatives, and family members accompanying an already-sponsored person. The exemption now covers dependent children aged 18 or older, who were previously counted against the cap.
When it takes effect
The reception period opens on July 2, 2026 and runs until June 30, 2028, or until a category's cap is reached, whichever comes first. Applications submitted outside a category's scheduled phase are not received. Family sponsorship in Quebec follows a two-step process: MIFI assesses the sponsorship undertaking, after which the federal government processes the permanent-residence application.