Bringing parents and grandparents to Canada: the super visa, and the income rule that changed in 2026

What a super visa is

A super visa lets a parent or grandparent visit their child or grandchild in Canada, where that child or grandchild is a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or a person registered under the Canadian Indian Act. It allows stays of 5 years at a time, with multiple entries over a validity period of up to 10 years. Fees start at Can$100.

You cannot include dependants in the application. Each person applies separately.

If the plan is to stay six months or less, a visitor visa is the appropriate application rather than this one.

Both sides have to qualify

The host

The host must be able to prove they are the applicant's biological or adopted child or grandchild; be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian; be at least 18 and living in Canada; meet or exceed the minimum necessary income; and write and sign a letter of invitation.

The applicant

• must be outside Canada when the application is submitted
• has the visa printed by a visa office outside Canada, following that office's instructions
• must not be inadmissible. Inadmissibility is a defined set of grounds in immigration law, covering health, criminality, security and misrepresentation among others
• must hold private health insurance valid for at least one year from the date of entry, from a Canadian insurer or from an insurer outside Canada approved by the Minister
• must take an immigration medical exam

The general visitor conditions apply as well. IRCC assesses whether the applicant is a genuine visitor who will leave at the end of the visit, their ties to their home country, the purpose of the visit, and their family and finances.

Applicants who do not need a visitor visa can still obtain a super visa for a 5-year stay. If approved, IRCC issues a letter to present to a border services officer. Those travelling by air may also need an electronic travel authorization (eTA), applied for separately, and must travel on the passport used for it.

People who have already filed a PGP sponsorship application can apply for a super visa while waiting for a decision, or withdraw the sponsorship application at any time and apply for a super visa instead.

The income rule changed on March 31, 2026

Ministerial Instructions issued in 2026 came into force on March 31, 2026, replacing the September 15, 2023 instructions. Applications already in processing when they took effect are assessed under the new instructions.

The minimum necessary income can now be met in either of two ways:

One. The host's income in either of the two taxation years immediately preceding the application, as reported in a notice of assessment or equivalent document, reaches the threshold.

Two. The host's income for the most recent taxation year, or other documents sufficiently showing their Canadian income over the preceding 12 months, plus the income of the parents or grandparents applying over their preceding 12 months, together reach the threshold.

The second route is the new one. It is where a good number of families previously fell short.

A spouse or common-law partner may co-sign the letter of invitation, and their income is included in the calculation. A co-signer must also meet the host definition, apart from being the child or grandchild.

Two clarifications. A requirement to meet the threshold across several consecutive years does not hold under the current instructions. And this is not the same as the income requirement for PGP sponsorship, which is a separate program with its own rules.

The thresholds

Based on the low income cut-off for urban areas of 500,000 or more, as published by IRCC (table updated July 29, 2025):

Counting family size

The threshold depends on family size, and getting the count right comes first. The people to include:

• the applicant, and any other super visa applicants the host will support, such as a spouse
• the host
• the host's spouse or common-law partner, which may include a separated spouse
• dependent children of the host and of their spouse or partner. Any child meeting the definition of a dependent child counts, regardless of custody and support arrangements
• previously approved super visa holders covered by a letter of invitation that still applies
• people previously sponsored by the host or co-signer where the undertaking is still in effect

IRCC's own examples show how quickly the number grows. An unmarried host with no children inviting one parent counts 2. A host inviting two parents, with a spouse and two dependent children, counts 6. A host who is divorced with two children in shared custody, inviting two parents, counts 5.

One example is worth reading twice: a grandchild inviting one grandparent, with a spouse and one dependent child, where the spouse is already hosting their own two parents on super visas, counts 6. IRCC notes specifically that those two parents count even if they are not currently in Canada.

Miss one person and the threshold you prepare against is a row too low.

How long you can stay, and extending

For applications submitted on or after June 22, 2023, the stay is 5 years at a time.

For applications submitted before that date, the entry date also matters. Entering on or after June 22, 2023 gives a 5-year stay, and a border officer granting entry gives that even without a passport stamp. Entering before that date gives whatever period the border officer granted; to stay longer, you either leave and re-enter, or apply from inside Canada for an extension of up to two years.

Before status expires, the holder must either leave Canada or apply to extend. Maintaining valid visitor status is the holder's own responsibility.

Where PGP stands now

The Parents and Grandparents Program is the permanent residence route, and a different thing from the super visa. Its current status is paused. IRCC's wording is that the program was paused on July 15, 2026, that it will not accept new interest to sponsor forms or invite potential sponsors to apply until further notice, and that existing applications continue to be processed.

"Until further notice" is the official position. No end date has been given, so any particular reopening date circulating elsewhere is not an official one.

IRCC's own page points people who were not invited to apply toward the super visa, and notes that super visa holders can apply for two-year extensions to their stay while in Canada.

For the spousal route, see Spousal sponsorship: inland or outland.

Two columns to settle before filing

Income is the first. Two routes now exist, and which one a family actually meets depends on which years and whose income are counted. Family size is the second, and it decides which row of the table applies.

If those two do not line up, it is not a matter of correcting one form. The whole package is assembled again, and the time already spent does not come back.

The consultation rates are here.

Processing times vary by country. For current times, use IRCC's processing times tool.

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