What this visa is, and what it is not
A Super Visa is a multiple entry temporary resident visa for the parent or grandparent of a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian. It buys years of lawful presence rather than status, and for most families today it is the only route to a parent being here at all.
The income test changed, and it changed in your favour
New Ministerial Instructions came into force on 31 March 2026 and replaced those given in September 2023. The threshold itself did not move. What moved is how you may satisfy it.
The host may now meet or exceed the requirement in either one of the two tax years before the application, rather than only the year immediately before. And where the host, together with any co-signer, reaches at least 75 per cent of the threshold, the visiting parent's or grandparent's own income may be added to make up the remainder.
The change applies to applications already in processing as well as those filed on or after 31 March 2026, and the government has stated that families who were previously eligible continue to qualify. Anyone relying on one of the two alternatives has to file the documents that prove it.
- Five years on each entry rather than six months, if the officer grants entry. The published position is that you are eligible to stay for five years at a time, and that if a border officer grants you entry you can stay for five years even where the officer does not stamp your passport. Entry itself remains the officer's decision, as it is for any visitor. For an entry made before 22 June 2023 the published position is that you can stay only for the length of time the border officer granted. An ordinary visitor is normally admitted for six months, and that gap is the whole point of this visa.
- Extensions of up to two years at a time, from inside Canada. Without leaving the country, which is the second thing that makes this different from an ordinary visit.
- It is temporary status and does not lead to permanent residence. No amount of time on a Super Visa converts into it. If permanent residence is the goal, the sponsorship route is a different application with a different test, and it is closed to new applications right now.
- No work and no study. The visa authorises visiting. A parent who wants to work needs a work permit on its own merits.
- The applicant must be outside Canada to apply. And the visa is printed by a visa office outside Canada. A parent already here as a visitor cannot convert.
- You cannot include dependants in the application. Each parent or grandparent applies on their own footing. There is no accompanying family member on a Super Visa the way there is on a permanent residence application.
- A visa exempt parent still applies. If approved they receive a letter to present to the border services officer, and may separately need an electronic travel authorisation to fly.
What is required, of the host and of the parent
| What is required | |
|---|---|
| The relationship | The applicant must be the biological or adopted parent or grandparent of the host, and it must be provable. A brother, sister, aunt, uncle or other relative is outside this visa entirely. |
| The host | A Canadian citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian, at least 18, who resides in Canada and meets the income requirement. |
| The letter of invitation | Written and signed by the host, promising financial support for the length of the authorised stay and listing every person counted in the income calculation. This is a substantive document, not a formality, because it fixes the family size the income is measured against. |
| Income | The low income cut off for the family size, satisfied by one of the two routes described above. Not the sponsorship figure, which is thirty per cent higher and tested over three years. |
| Medical insurance | Private coverage valid for at least one year from the date of entry, from a Canadian insurer or a foreign insurer meeting the conditions set out below. It must be maintained for the whole stay and proved on each entry. |
| Medical examination | An immigration medical examination is required. |
| Admissibility | The applicant must be allowed to enter Canada, and an officer still assesses them as a genuine visitor who will leave at the end of the authorised stay, weighing ties to their home country, the purpose of the visit, their family and their finances. |
| Where the application is made | From outside Canada, with the visa printed by a visa office outside Canada. |
A co-signer may be used to reach the income threshold. It is the host's spouse or common law partner who can co-sign, they must themselves be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian, and a co-signer is counted in the family size.
Work out the income the host needs
The published low income cut off for the family size, with the two routes to satisfying it since 31 March 2026. An indication only, not an eligibility decision and not legal advice.
The family size
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The published figures, and how to prove them
| Family size | Income required |
|---|---|
| 2 | $38,002 |
| 3 | $46,720 |
| 4 | $56,724 |
| 5 | $64,336 |
| 6 | $72,560 |
| 7 | $80,784 |
| Each additional person | add $8,224 |
These are low income cut off figures, not the sponsorship figures. The table starts at two because the published count always includes the host child or grandchild and the invited parent or grandparent, so a family size of one cannot arise on this visa. The published example of the smallest family is one host child inviting one parent, where the host is not married and has no children. The Government of Canada revises these figures, and we check them against the live source on every file.
- Route one, either of two tax years. The host and any co-signer meet or exceed the threshold in one of the two tax years before the application. The notice of assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency is the proof.
- Route two, seventy five per cent plus the parent's own income. The host and any co-signer reach at least 75 per cent of the threshold in the year before the application, and the visiting parent's or grandparent's income makes up the remainder. The combined figure must meet or exceed the threshold.
- What counts as proof on route two. A notice of assessment is preferred for the host and co-signer. Otherwise the last tax year's return or employment slips, twelve months of recent pay stubs, an original employer letter giving job title, description and salary, bank statements for the last calendar year showing investment income or regular employment or pension deposits, pension statements, or proof of rental property ownership with the leases.
- A parent contributing income has an extra burden. They must show the income will continue while they are in Canada, and every document must state the currency it is in.
The insurance requirement, and what changed for foreign insurers
A foreign insurer is now acceptable, on three conditions
Coverage no longer has to be bought from a Canadian company, which was the single biggest practical obstacle for many families. A policy from an insurer outside Canada is accepted where all three of the following hold. The insurer is authorised by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to provide accident and sickness insurance. It appears on that office's list of federally regulated financial institutions. And the policy is issued under the company's insurance business in Canada.
An insurer that is merely large, or merely reputable, does not satisfy this. The test is regulatory, so check the list before buying rather than after.
- Valid for at least one year from the date of entry. Not one year from purchase, and not one year from the visa being issued.
- Maintained for the whole stay and renewed if it lapses. A five year stay on a one year policy means renewing four times, and the obligation sits with the family rather than with anyone reminding them.
- Proved on every entry. Including on re-entry after a trip abroad. A parent who lets coverage lapse and then travels can be refused entry on return, which is a worse outcome than never having left.
- A minimum of $100,000 in emergency coverage. The policy must provide at least $100,000 of emergency coverage, and it must cover health care, hospitalisation and repatriation. Repatriation is the limb most often missing from a cheap policy.
- It must be paid for, not quoted. The policy has to be paid in full, or paid in instalments with a deposit. A quotation is not accepted, which catches families who shop for cover and file the estimate.
Super Visa against sponsoring a parent
These are different applications with different tests and different outcomes, and families routinely compare them on the wrong axis. The honest summary is that one is available now and one is not.
| Super Visa | Sponsorship for permanent residence | |
|---|---|---|
| Available now | Yes | No. Closed to new applications and to invitations since 1 January 2026, with no announced reopening |
| What you get | Temporary status, five years per entry, extendable by two years at a time | Permanent residence |
| Income test | The low income cut off for the family size, in either of the two preceding tax years, or 75 per cent of it topped up by the parent's own income | That figure plus thirty per cent, in each of three consecutive tax years, evidenced by three notices of assessment |
| Who applies | The parent or grandparent, from outside Canada | The sponsor in Canada, and only if invited to apply |
| Ongoing obligation | A letter of invitation promising support for the authorised stay, and private insurance | A twenty year undertaking to repay any social assistance the sponsored person receives |
| Health coverage | Not eligible for provincial health plans. Private insurance is mandatory | Permanent resident, with provincial coverage according to the province |
| Work | Not permitted | Permitted, as a permanent resident |
You may apply for a Super Visa while a sponsorship application is pending, or withdraw a sponsorship application at any time and apply for a Super Visa instead.
One practical point about the ten years. The program page states that the Super Visa provides multiple entries for a period of up to ten years, so the figure is published rather than informal. How the length is arrived at is less settled than it is usually presented. A formula directing that the visa be issued for the validity of the passport less one month, up to a maximum of ten years, appears in a Ministerial Instruction from 2011. That instrument has been superseded. The instructions now in force came into force on 31 March 2026 and replaced those given on 15 September 2023, and we could not locate the formula in the instructions now in force. The same 2011 document also directs that the period of authorised stay normally be fixed at two years, which the published five years contradicts, so we do not treat it as current on this point either. We therefore do not present the formula as the rule, and we confirm the position on each file. Renewing a passport that is close to expiry before applying is sensible in any event, because a visa is never issued beyond the passport.