Super visa for parents and grandparents

Conditions you must meet

• HOST: must be your biological or adopted child or grandchildThe first of five conditions that bind the host, not the applicant. No document the applicant supplies can substitute for a host who does not qualify.

  To be eligible for a super visa, you must have a host who you can prove is your biological or adopted child or grandchild

• HOST: Canadian citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian, at least 18, living in Canada

  is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada or registered Indian is at least 18 years old and lives in Canada

• HOST: meets or exceeds the minimum necessary incomeThe figure depends on family size and is published on IRCC's proof-of-financial-support page — see the income entries below.

  meets or exceeds the minimum necessary income

• You must be outside Canada when you apply, and the visa is printed abroad

  To be eligible, you (the applicant) must be outside Canada when you submit your application have your visa printed by a visa office outside Canada (wait for visa office instructions) be allowed to enter Canada

• Private health insurance valid at least 1 year from the date of entryFrom a Canadian insurer, or a foreign one approved by the Minister — see the policy conditions entry for what that approval means in practice.

  show proof that you have private health insurance valid for a minimum of 1 year from the date of entry from a Canadian insurance company or from a company outside Canada that has been approved by the minister

• Take an immigration medical exam

  take an immigration medical exam (opens in a new tab) meet certain other conditions

• You must satisfy IRCC that you are a genuine visitor who will leave by choiceNot a document but a judgement, and IRCC names what it weighs: ties to the home country, purpose of visit, family and finances. Worth stating because an application can be complete and still fail here.

  Before we make a decision on your application, we’ll also consider whether you’re a genuine visitor to Canada who will leave by choice at the end of your visit your ties to your home country the purpose of your visit your family and finances

• The policy must cover health care, hospitalisation and repatriation, with at least $100,000 emergency coverCAD 100,000 minimum emergency coverIRCC states a quote is not accepted — the policy must be paid in full or on instalments with a deposit — and it must be valid for EACH entry, not once. A foreign insurer's policy must carry a statement that it was issued while the company was doing insurance business in Canada.

  The health insurance policy should include the insurance company name that issued the policy (sometimes known as “the insurer” or “the underwriter”) be valid for a minimum of 1 year from the date of entry be paid in full or in instalments with a deposit (quotes aren’t accepted) cover the applicant’s health care, hospitalization and repatriation provide a minimum emergency coverage of $100,000 be valid for each entry to Canada be available for review by the border services officers on request

• A non-Canadian insurer must be OSFI-authorised and on OSFI's public listIRCC adds the trap explicitly: OSFI keeps no list of foreign insurers unless they are registered as Canadian branches or subsidiaries, and brokers and claims administrators are not insurers and will not appear.

  Your insurant must be from either a Canadian insurance company or an insurance company outside Canada that is authorized by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) under the Insurance Companies Act to provide accident and sickness insurance, and appears on OSFI’s publicly available list of federally regulated financial institutions, and has issued or made the policy while doing insurance business in Canada

• The invitation letter must include the host's income proof and the family-size list, with each person's name and date of birthA rule about what the host's letter says, not a separate document: the letter shows the same family-size count used to set the income floor, person by person.

  Your letter of invitation, written and signed by your host child or grandchild, must include proof that they meet or exceed the minimum necessary income ... the list and number of people included when your child or grandchild calculated their family size to determine the minimum necessary income The letter must also include the name and date of birth of each person.

• Family size counts previously approved super visa holders and previously sponsored peopleTHE COUNTER-INTUITIVE PART OF THE INCOME TEST. The count includes people who are not in Canada and may never have been — anyone on a still-applicable invitation, and anyone the host or co-signer sponsored whose undertaking is still in effect. IRCC gives four worked examples for exactly this reason.

  To determine your host’s minimum necessary income, include the following people in the family size count: you and any other super visa applicants the host will be supporting (such as your spouse or common-law partner) the host child or grandchild the host’s spouse (which might include a separated spouse) or common-law partner dependent children of the host and of their spouse or common-law partner

• Dependent children count regardless of custody or child-support arrangements

  Children who meet the definition of a dependent child must be included in the count, regardless of custody and child support arrangements.

• Minimum necessary income by family size, from CAD 30,526 for one to CAD 80,784 for sevenCAD 30,526 family of 1 · CAD 38,002 family of 2 · CAD 46,720 family of 3 · CAD 56,724 family of 4 · CAD 64,336 family of 5 · CAD 72,560 family of 6 · CAD 80,784 family of 7 · CAD 8,224 each additional memberEach additional member beyond seven adds CAD 8,224. IRCC stamps the table 'updated july 29, 2025' — the date the figures took effect, stored as in_force_since rather than read as the page's age.

  Minimum income your host needs based on the size of the family Updated July 29, 2025 Number of family members Minimum income the host needs (in Canadian dollars) 1 $30,526 2 $38,002 3 $46,720 4 $56,724 5 $64,336 6 $72,560 7 $80,784 If more than 7 people, for each additional family member, add $8,224

Official forms

• Application for Visitor Visa (Temporary Resident Visa) (IMM 5257)The super visa is applied for on the visitor visa application: choose “Super visa — Parents and grandparents” as the purpose of your visit.

  This form must be completed by each person applying for a Temporary Resident Visa to visit Canada. ... Super visa — Parents and grandparents

  Official form
• Use of a Representative (IMM 5476)Required when anyone — paid or unpaid, including a friend or relative — represents you on this application. Complete and sign IMM 5476, have your representative sign it, and upload it with your application. A paid representative must be authorized (a licensed immigration consultant, a lawyer or a Quebec notary in good standing). Your representative can never sign the application for you.

  You must also fill out the Use of a Representative (IMM 5476) form

  Official form

Documents you must provide

• Your passport (valid, with a blank page for the visa)A clear copy of the bio page of the passport you will travel on. IRCC needs at least one blank page, other than the last page, to place the visa.

  There must be at least one blank page (other than the last page) available on your passport so we can stamp it.

• Letter of invitation from your host (your child or grandchild)Written and signed by your host. IRCC requires it to include proof that the host meets or exceeds the minimum necessary income, and the list and number of people counted in the host's family size, with each person's name and date of birth. The host's spouse or common-law partner may co-sign if they are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian; other relatives, such as a sibling, cannot.

  writes and signs a letter of invitation (opens in a new tab) for you to come Canada

• Proof of Canadian medical insurance (the policy, not a quote)CAD 100,000 minimum emergency coverFrom a Canadian insurer, or a foreign insurer authorized by OSFI and on its public list. The policy must name the insurer, be valid at least 1 year from your date of entry and for each entry, cover health care, hospitalization and repatriation with at least $100,000 emergency coverage, and be paid in full or in instalments with a deposit. Quotes are not accepted.

  You must have proof of a health insurance policy on each entry to Canada.

• Proof of your immigration medical exam (upfront exam with a panel physician)The confirmation sheet a panel physician gives you after an upfront immigration medical exam. IRCC's medical exam page tells super visa applicants to get the exam before applying; if you have not had one, the visa office tells you what to do next after you apply. It does not block preparing your forms.

  You must provide proof that you had a medical exam with an approved panel physician.

• Host's proof of status: Canadian citizenship, permanent resident document, or status cardIRCC asks for a copy of the host's Canadian citizenship (for example the citizenship certificate), permanent resident document, or Secure Certificate of Indian Status / status card, and the same for the host's spouse or common-law partner if they co-sign.

  You must provide proof that your host is one of the following: a Canadian citizen Provide a copy of Canadian citizenship for your host (and their spouse or common-law partner if applicable). a permanent resident Provide a copy of a permanent resident document for your host (and their spouse or common-law partner, if applicable). a registered Indian Provide a copy of a Secure Certificate of Indian Status or Certificate of Indian Status (status card) for your host (and their spouse or common-law partner, if applicable).

• Proof you are the host's parent or grandparent (e.g. the host's birth certificate)IRCC accepts the HOST's birth or baptismal certificate — the document names the applicant as parent, which is the reverse of what most applicants expect to be asked for.

  You must prove that you’re the parent or grandparent of your host. We accept the following documents as proof: a copy of the host’s birth certificate or baptismal certificate another official document naming you as the parent or grandparent of your host

• Host's proof of income: CRA notice of assessment (or T4/T1, pay stubs, employer letter)IRCC prefers the host's (or co-signer's) notice of assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency. If it is unavailable, IRCC accepts their T4 or T1 for the last tax year, pay stubs for the most recent 12 months, an original employer letter stating job title, job description and salary, bank statements from the last calendar year, or other income proof such as pension statements or rental contracts. Option 1: the host's income meets the full minimum in either of the 2 tax years before you apply. Option 2: it reached at least 75% in the year before you apply and your own income covers the rest.

  Option 1 Your host can show that their total income (including the co-signer’s income, if applicable) meets or exceeds the minimum required amount in either of the 2 tax years before the application is submitted. Documents to prove the income requirement Your host, or their co-signer, must include their notice of assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Also stated by the authority

Not requirements in themselves. These are alternatives, exemptions, rights and warnings the authority publishes alongside the requirements — quoted here because they can change what applies to you.

• Visa-exempt applicants still get a super visa — and still need an eTA to flyTwo facts that are easy to miss together: the route is open to visa-exempt nationals, and the eTA is a SEPARATE application linked to the passport used for it.

  Even if you don’t need a visitor visa to enter Canada, you can still get a super visa to stay in Canada for 5 years. If we approve your application, we’ll issue you a letter to give to a border services officer when you arrive in Canada. If you travel by air, you may also need to apply for an electronic travel authorization (eTA) separately to allow you to travel to and enter Canada.

• A pending sponsorship application does not block a super visaRecorded because families in the parent-and-grandparent sponsorship queue routinely assume they must choose. IRCC says they may do both.

  If you’ve already submitted a sponsorship application, you can apply for a super visa while you wait for a decision or withdraw your sponsorship application at any time and apply for a super visa

• Five years per entry, since 22 June 2023 — with or without a passport stampAn outcome, and the reason this route exists. IRCC adds the detail that matters at the border: the five years apply even if the officer does not stamp the passport.

  You’re eligible to stay for 5 years at a time. If a border officer grants you entry to Canada, you can stay for 5 years, even if the border officer doesn’t stamp your passport.

• Only the host's spouse or common-law partner may co-sign — not a sibling

  Your host child’s or grandchild’s spouse or common-law partner may co-sign the letter of invitation and provide proof of income, if required, to meet the minimum necessary income. Other family members of your host, such as siblings, can’t co-sign.

• Your local visa office may require additional documentsIRCC serves those requirements from a per-country picker covering ~200 territories. The obligation to check is recorded; no country's list is quoted, because there is no general statement to quote.

  Your visa office may require additional documents. Tell us where you’re applying from to get the visa office requirements for your country or territory.

• Option 2: host reaches 75% of the amount and the applicant's own income covers the restAn alternative to Option 1, not a separate upload: the host's income proof goes in the host income slot, and the applicant's own income proof in its own optional slot. If the applicant's income is counted, IRCC requires proof it will CONTINUE while they are in Canada, stated in the currency it is paid in.

  Option 2 Your host can show that their total income (including the co-signer’s income, if applicable) in the year before the application is submitted was at least 75% of the minimum required amount. You can add your own income to cover the remaining amount, if needed. The combined amount must meet or exceed the minimum necessary income requirements.

• Your own income proof: only if your host uses Option 2 (75%)Pay stubs, an employer letter, bank statements or pension statements, showing the income continues while you are in Canada and stating the currency you are paid in.

  You must provide proof that you’ll continue to earn an income while in Canada. The document you use to prove this must include the currency you’re paid in.