The Government of Canada is fully committed to helping families reunite. We recognize what parents and grandparents want most is to be able to spend time with their families.
In 2011, the then Minister for Immigration for Canada, Honorable Jason Kenney, introduced the Super Visa, a 10-year multiple entry visa that allowed sponsor’s parents and grandparents to stay in Canada for up to 2 years, as a countermeasure for the growing backlog of the parent and grandparents sponsorship program with significant changes to the program upon relaunch in 2014. Since its introduction, the program has seen high success rates for applications.
As a sponsor, there are two criteria that you need to meet, which are: one, be a Permanent Resident or Citizen of Canada, and two, be able to provide financial support to your parents and grandparents by meeting the minimum necessary income. You can provide the following documents as your proof of funds:
- Notice of Assessment (NOA) or T4/T1 for the most recent tax year
- Employment Insurance pay stubs (If applicable)
- Employment letter that has your date of hiring and salary information
- Your recent paystubs
- Your bank statements
The Minimum Necessary Income that you need to meet is as follows:
| Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) | |
| Size of Family Unit | Minimum necessary gross income |
| 1 person (your child or grandchild) | $25,921 |
| 2 persons | $32,270 |
| 3 persons | $39,672 |
| 4 persons | $48,167 |
| 5 persons | $54,630 |
| 6 persons | $61,613 |
| 7 persons | $68,598 |
| More than 7 persons, for each additional person, add | $6,985 |
In addition to meeting the minimum income criteria, you would also need to send a signed letter of invitation to your parents and/or grandparents that include the promise of financially supporting them for their stay in Canada. Your parents would also need minimum insurance coverage of $100,000 from a Canadian insurance company that would need to be included with the application.
