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The short answer
To sponsor parents or grandparents from Nigeria for permanent residence, you must meet IRCC's income threshold for your family size in each of the three tax years before you apply, and you prove it with CRA notices of assessment. For the 2025 intake, the figures IRCC lists for a family of four were $70,972 for 2024, $66,466 for 2023 and $64,306 for 2022.
Sponsoring a parent under the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) is a permanent step: your mother or father becomes a permanent resident and you take on a long financial undertaking for them. Because of that, the income test is stricter than the super visa's. It looks back three years, not one or two, and it relies on what the CRA assessed, not what your payslips say. This page sets out the rule as IRCC published it on its sponsor income page (last modified 28 July 2025). IRCC publishes new figures for each intake; check the page for the current one.
The rule in one paragraph
You must show that your income met the threshold for your family size in each of the three tax years immediately before you apply. For the 2025 intake those years were 2024, 2023 and 2022. Missing the figure in any one year is enough to fail. If you live in Quebec, Quebec sets its own income requirement and you follow that instead.
The figures for the 2025 intake
| Family size | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 people | $47,549 | $44,530 | $43,082 |
| 3 people | $58,456 | $54,743 | $52,965 |
| 4 people | $70,972 | $66,466 | $64,306 |
| 5 people | $80,496 | $75,384 | $72,935 |
| 6 people | $90,784 | $85,020 | $82,259 |
| 7 people | $101,075 | $94,658 | $91,582 |
| Each extra person | $10,291 | $9,636 | $9,324 |
Family size includes you, your spouse or partner, your dependent children, the parents or grandparents you are sponsoring and their dependants, and anyone else you are still financially responsible for under an earlier sponsorship. Count carefully: a younger sibling coming with your parents as their dependant adds one.
Proof: CRA notices of assessment
IRCC's page names the notice of assessment from the CRA for each of the three tax years as the proof. You can provide it in one of two ways:
- consent to IRCC getting your tax information directly from the CRA, by answering "Yes" to question 8 on form IMM 5768 and giving your social insurance number, signature and date; or
- send paper copies of your notices of assessment with form IMM 5748, downloading them from CRA My Account if you do not have them.
This has two practical consequences. First, every one of the three returns must have been filed and assessed; a late return for 2022 is a problem. Second, it is the assessed income that counts. If you under-declared self-employed income from a side business, you cannot add it back later with bank statements.
Co-signing with a spouse
If your income alone falls short, your spouse or common-law partner can co-sign and combine incomes. IRCC says a co-signer must be counted in the family size for all three tax years, even if the relationship began partway through that period. A sibling or other relative cannot co-sign.
A worked example
Example only, using the 2025 intake figures. Emeka and his wife in Mississauga have two children and want to sponsor his mother and father from Enugu. Family size: six.
| Tax year | Combined assessed income | Threshold for 6 | Met? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $96,500 | $90,784 | Yes |
| 2023 | $88,200 | $85,020 | Yes |
| 2022 | $79,900 | $82,259 | No |
Despite two strong years, the 2022 shortfall of $2,359 ($82,259 − $79,900) would fail the test. The family would need to apply in a later intake whose three-year window no longer includes 2022, or consider the super visa, whose income test is lower and looks at fewer years.
Problems that trip up Nigerian sponsors
- A year spent studying. Many sponsors arrived as international students; a low-income year as a student can sit inside the window.
- Income earned in Nigeria. Only what appears on your Canadian assessed return counts. Nigerian rent or business profit that was not part of your assessed income does not help.
- A late or unfiled return. No assessment for a year means no proof for that year. File and get assessed well before you apply.
- Self-employment losses. Business losses reduce assessed income; a bad year for a side business can pull you under.
- Changes in family size. A new baby or a spouse joining you changes the threshold you must meet.
Fees, for context
IRCC's fee list, modified 21 September 2026, shows $1,260 to sponsor a parent or grandparent (sponsorship, processing and right of permanent residence fees together), $1,260 again to include their spouse, and biometrics of $85 per person or $170 for a family.
Where Pryme fits
The income test depends on CRA records, which Pryme cannot change. What Pryme can help with is the waiting period: Send shows the rate and fee before you approve support payments, and verifiable receipts through VerifyDoc.ai keep a clean record of what you sent. Outside Nigeria, Pryme's services are provided through regulated partners.
Questions people ask
How many years of income do I need to sponsor my parents?
Three consecutive tax years immediately before you apply, according to IRCC.
Can I use payslips instead of notices of assessment?
IRCC's sponsor income page names CRA notices of assessment as the proof, sent as copies or obtained with your consent.
Does my wife's income count?
Yes, if she co-signs. She must then be counted in the family size for all three years.
What if I live in Quebec?
Quebec sets its own income requirement for sponsors; follow Quebec's rules.
Sources
- IRCC: Income requirements for the sponsor, parents and grandparents (modified 28 Jul 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
- IRCC: Citizenship and immigration application fees, fee list (modified 21 Sep 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.