As of January 3rd, 2017, Canadians can fill out an online form to indicate their desire to sponsor a parent or grandparent. From those forms, immigration officials will randomly draw 10,000 individuals who will then be asked to submit full applications within 90 days.

This removes the previous first-come, first-serve system that raised concerns over people paying hundreds of dollars to be at the front of the line. Some couriers were charging more than $400 to guarantee applications would be on the top of the pile.

Some of commented that this new system is more fair, despite the uncertainty of the application. Others are upset, as they have already paid fees and prepared documents for 2017 applications. In 2015, 15,489 people were admitted to Canada under the program, down from 18,150 the year before.

Read the full article here: Ottawa to use lottery in parent visa process instead of first-come, first-serve