A super visa lets the parents and grandparents of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident visit for far longer than an ordinary visitor visa allows. IRCC issues it as a multiple-entry visa valid for up to ten years, and it permits stays of up to five years at a time.
It is a visiting status, not permanent residence, and it comes with requirements that catch families out: the host’s income, a letter of invitation with specific contents, private medical insurance meeting a set minimum, and an immigration medical examination.
How it differs from the alternatives
- An ordinary visitor visa generally allows a stay of up to six months at a time. A super visa generally allows an eligible parent or grandparent to stay for up to five years at a time under the current rules, but only parents and grandparents of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident can apply, and the additional requirements below apply to them.
- Sponsoring parents and grandparents leads to permanent residence, with a twenty-year undertaking outside Quebec. IRCC is not currently accepting new applications under that program, which is why the super visa carries so much of the demand.
- Family sponsorship generally is a permanent residence route for spouses, partners and children. A super visa has nothing to do with it and does not lead to permanent residence.
Who can apply
The applicant must be the parent or grandparent of the host, be outside Canada when the application is submitted, be admissible to Canada, and satisfy the officer that they are a genuine visitor who will leave at the end of the authorized stay. Dependants cannot be included in a super visa application; a spouse who also wants to come applies separately.
The host must be the applicant’s child or grandchild, be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or person registered under the Indian Act, be at least 18, live in Canada, meet the minimum necessary income, and sign the letter of invitation.
What the application has to include
The letter of invitation
The host writes and signs it. IRCC requires it to include proof that the host meets or exceeds the minimum necessary income, and the list of everyone counted in the family size used for that calculation, giving each person’s name and date of birth. Only a spouse or common-law partner may co-sign; another relative cannot.
The host’s income
IRCC publishes a table of minimum income by family size, and the figures are revised periodically, so the current table should be checked rather than relied on from memory. There are two ways to meet it.
Option 1. The host’s total income, including a co-signer’s, meets or exceeds the amount for their family size in either of the two tax years before the application is submitted. A notice of assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency is the document IRCC asks for.
Option 2. The host’s total income, including a co-signer’s, in the year before the application is at least 75 per cent of that amount, and the applicant’s own income is added to make up the remainder. The 75 per cent is not a reduced threshold on its own: the combined figure still has to meet or exceed the full minimum necessary income. Where the applicant contributes, their income has to be evidenced for the 12-month period before the application is filed.
Family size is wider than most people expect. It includes the host, the host’s spouse or common-law partner, their dependent children, the super visa applicants being supported, and people previously sponsored or previously approved for a super visa whose undertaking or support obligation is still running. A notice of assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency is the document IRCC prefers.
Current figures and the full list of accepted documents: IRCC, proof that your host meets the minimum necessary income.
Medical insurance
Requirements as published by IRCC, checked 20 September 2026
The policy must provide at least $100,000 in emergency coverage, cover health care, hospitalization and repatriation, be valid for at least one year from the date of entry, be valid for each entry to Canada, and be available for a border services officer to review on request. A quote is not enough: the policy has to be paid for, either in full or in instalments with a deposit.
It may be bought from a Canadian insurance company. It may also be bought from an insurer outside Canada, but the legal test there is that the company is approved by the Minister under section 15.1 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. In practice IRCC requires such an insurer to be authorized by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions under the Insurance Companies Act to provide accident and sickness insurance, to appear on OSFI’s public list of federally regulated financial institutions, and to have issued the policy while doing insurance business in Canada. The policy itself has to say so.
Sources: the Ministerial Instructions regarding the Parent and Grandparent Super Visa (2026) for the approval criterion, and IRCC’s super visa forms and documents page for the operational requirements. Coverage minimums and insurer rules have changed before and can change again.
The immigration medical examination
A super visa applicant must complete an immigration medical examination with a panel physician approved by IRCC. Biometrics may also be required. Both take time to arrange and should be started early rather than left until the rest of the application is ready.
Why super visa applications are refused
The technical requirements are the easy part. Most refusals turn on the officer’s assessment of the visit itself: whether the applicant is a genuine visitor who will leave at the end of the stay, judged on their ties at home, the purpose of the visit and their circumstances. Applications also fail on insurance that does not meet the terms above, income documents that do not support the family size claimed, an invitation letter missing the required contents, and inconsistencies with earlier visa applications or refusals.
A previous refusal is not the end of the matter, but a fresh application that does not address why the last one failed usually fails for the same reason. See refused applications for how a refusal should be approached.
Common questions
Does the invitation letter have to be notarized?
IRCC asks for a letter written and signed by the host, with the contents described above. It does not require the letter to be notarized. Some families choose to have the host’s signature witnessed or to swear a statutory declaration in support, and that can be done at the office, but it is not a substitute for the income documents IRCC actually assesses.
Can a super visa holder work in Canada?
No. A super visa admits the holder as a visitor. Working in Canada requires separate authorization.
How long can a super visa holder stay on each visit?
A holder who applied on or after 22 June 2023 is generally eligible to stay for five years at a time, and IRCC states that this applies even where the border services officer does not stamp the passport. People who entered before that date were normally given a shorter period set by the officer. A further extension of up to two years may be applied for from inside Canada, and the application has to be made before the current stay ends.
If the Parents and Grandparents Program reopens, does a super visa help?
It does not give any advantage in that program, and it does not lead to permanent residence. The two are separate decisions, and a family may pursue both.
How the practice assists
The work usually involves checking the host’s income against the current table and family size before anything is filed, drafting the letter of invitation so that it contains what IRCC asks for, reviewing the insurance policy against the published requirements, assembling the applicant’s evidence of ties and purpose of visit, and submitting and following the application through. Where an earlier application was refused, the starting point is the reasons given.
Related pages: family sponsorship · visitor visas and temporary residence · notary and commissioning · refused applications
Last reviewed: 20 September 2026 against Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada guidance on the super visa, including the published rules on length of stay. Requirements, income figures and insurance rules change; confirm the current position with IRCC before applying. This page is general information, not legal advice.