In November 2011, parents and grandparents sponsorship went into pause until December 31st, 2013. As a result, by December 2014, the backlog went to 57%. In 2015, 5,000 cap was met within 48 hours (January 2 and January 5, 2015). 5,000 cap will not be increased – for 2016, it is anticipated to meet 5,000 cap within 24 hours.
In the meantime, supervise for parents and grandparents are successful in over 75% of cases. The major issue is the issuance of insurance certificates or the sufficiency of funds for parents or grandparents for their support in Canada.
Thus, for a long term plan, I recommend parents to file for supervise for ease of traveling and visiting in Canada, along with full sponsorship application completed and sent by December 31, 2015. However, I caution everyone that it would be more likely a lottery-like system on January 2nd, 2016, since there are only 5,000 spots available.