Employer-specific work permit? Since 17 September 2026 IRCC applies four genuineness tests to every job offer, LMIA or not.
Check your offerSuper visa · Parents & grandparents
Super Visa — make the income rule work for your family.
Since March 31, 2026 you can use either of your last two tax years, or add your parent’s own income to close a shortfall. Check where you stand in under a minute.
- 5 yearsper entry
- $100,000insurance minimum
- 10 yearsvisa validity
- Longest stay per entry, without extending
- 5 years
- Extension available from inside Canada
- +2 years
- Government fees per person
- $185$100 plus $85 biometrics
- Minimum medical coverage, paid before you apply
- $100,000
Two new ways to meet the income requirement, in force since March 31, 2026. They apply to applications already in processing as well as new ones, and nobody who qualified under the old single-year rule loses eligibility. IRCC’s notice →
Income checker
What does your household need to show?
The minimum necessary income is set by Canada’s Low Income Cut-Off for your family size. Counting that family size wrongly is the most common reason a super visa fails on money rather than merit — so start there.
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01
Who counts in your family size
Count yourself, your spouse or partner — a separated spouse still counts — the dependent children of either of you regardless of custody or child support, including any dependent children they have of their own, anyone you have sponsored who is still under undertaking, any previously approved super visa applicant covered by an invitation letter that still applies, and every parent or grandparent you are inviting. The visiting parent’s own family members back home are not counted.
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02
Line 15000 from your Notice of Assessment. Include a co-signing spouse or partner’s income.
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03
Only counts if it continues while they are in Canada — pension, remote employment, rental, investment or business income, documented over 12 months.
Since March 31, 2026
Two routes. One threshold.
Before this change, one bad tax year could sink an otherwise strong application. Now there are two alternatives, and either one is enough.
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Route A: Either of your last two tax years
Previously only the most recent tax year counted. Now the host — with a co-signing spouse or common-law partner if there is one — may rely on whichever of the last two years meets the threshold.
Best for anyone whose income dipped last year: contract work, parental leave, a job change, a slow year in trades or trucking.
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Route B: Add the visiting parent's own income
Where the host's income for the most recent 12-month period or tax year before the application is submitted reaches at least 75 per cent of the threshold on its own, the visiting parent's or grandparent's income can be added — counted up to 25 per cent of the threshold — to cover the rest. If both parents or both grandparents are applying together, their incomes can be combined for that remainder. This route runs off the most recent period only — the best-of-two-years option is Route A.
Best where the host is close but short. The parent must show the income continues while they are in Canada — pension, remote employment, rental, investment or business income, documented across a full 12 months. Foreign income converts at the exchange rate on the day you file.
Minimum necessary income (LICO) by family size
- 1 person$30,526
- 2 people$38,002
- 3 people$46,720
- 4 people$56,724
- 5 people$64,336
- 6 people$72,560
- 7 people$80,784
- Each additional+$8,224
Figures in force from July 29, 2025. The threshold is the Low Income Cut-Off itself — not LICO plus 30%, which is the separate requirement for sponsoring parents for permanent residence. Several sites conflate the two. Confirm on canada.ca →
Medical insurance
Insurance must be paid, and the insurer must qualify.
Every super visa applicant needs private medical insurance of at least $100,000, valid for at least 1 year from the date of entry, covering healthcare, hospitalisation and repatriation. It must be paid in full, or in instalments with a deposit, when you apply — a quote is not accepted — and proof is required on each entry to Canada, not just the first.
A foreign insurer is allowed, but only a specific kind. It must meet all three conditions together.
- i
Authorised by OSFI
Authorised by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions under the Insurance Companies Act to provide accident and sickness insurance.
- ii
On OSFI’s public list
The insurer appears on OSFI’s public list of regulated entities.
- iii
Issued while doing business in Canada
It issued or made the policy while doing insurance business in Canada. A policy from a foreign insurer must carry a statement saying so.
The name on it is often the broker or the claims administrator, neither of which will appear on OSFI’s list — the name that counts is the insurer or underwriter that issued the policy.
OSFI does not list insurers with no Canadian branch or subsidiary, so most genuinely overseas policies will not qualify. An overseas policy that is merely cheap and comprehensive does not qualify. The policy may always come from a Canadian company. Check the OSFI list →
Super visa or visitor visa
A longer stay, with a higher bar.
The super visa is not simply a better visitor visa. It asks more of the host and costs more to prepare — and in return it removes the six-month cycle entirely.
| Feature | Super visa | Visitor visa |
|---|---|---|
| Stay per entry | Up to 5 years | Usually 6 months |
| Extension from inside | Up to 2 more years | Visitor record, 6 months at a time |
| Who can apply | Parents and grandparents only | Any eligible traveller |
| Host income tested | Yes — against the LICO threshold | No |
| Medical insurance | Mandatory, $100,000 | Not required |
| Medical exam | Required | Sometimes |
Before anything is filed
Six checks before the application is assembled.
Most refused super visa files are not weak cases. They are strong cases assembled in the wrong order, where one number or one missing document undoes the rest.
Relationship
Birth certificates and, where names have changed, the documents that connect them. The whole category rests on this link being provable.
Host status and residence
Citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian, at least 18, and living in Canada. A spouse or common-law partner may co-sign; siblings and other relatives cannot.
Family size
Host, their spouse or partner, dependent children, anyone they have sponsored who is still under undertaking, and every parent or grandparent being invited. Counting this wrong is the most common reason a file fails on income.
Income evidence
Notices of Assessment are the anchor. Pay stubs, employment letters and an accountant's letter for the self-employed support them — they do not replace them.
Insurance
Bought and paid before you apply, not quoted. Check the insurer against OSFI's list if it is not a Canadian company.
Purpose and ties
A long stay still requires a credible reason to return home. The invitation letter has to read as a plan, not a formality — check it against the letter checklist before it is signed.
Related
Choose the right family route.
- Shorter visitsVisitor visa & eTA
No income test and no insurance requirement — but six months at a time.
- Already hereExtensions & restoration
Extending a stay that is running out, or restoring status inside the 90-day window.
- PermanentFamily sponsorship
Where the goal is permanent residence rather than a long visit.
Next step
Bring your family size and Notices of Assessment.
Send us your family size and your last two Notices of Assessment. We will confirm the threshold that actually applies to you, which of the two routes fits, and what the invitation and insurance need to say. Brampton, London, or remotely across Canada.
Reviewed August 2026 — general information only, not legal advice, and no consultant–client relationship is created by reading this page. Income thresholds are re-published annually and the figures above are those in force from July 29, 2025. Confirm current requirements on canada.ca and the document list before filing. IRCC makes all final decisions.
Questions, answered.
The questions we hear most on this topic, answered by our consultants. The full list is in the Help Centre.
How is a super visa different from a visitor visa?
Is medical insurance mandatory?
What income does the host need?
Can a super visa still be refused?
Can my parents apply for a super visa from inside Canada?
More questions on this topic are answered in the Help Centre.
Super visa review
Do your parents meet the super visa test?
Send a few details. A licensed RCIC reads your profile personally, then replies with the routes that genuinely fit, the ones that do not, and the consultation fee and next available times.
- 01Read personally by a CICC-licensed consultant
- 02A written shortlist of the programs you qualify for
- 03Fee-based; the fee and times come by reply
CHK Immigration Services, Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (CICC). Offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Submitting this form does not create a client–consultant relationship; IRCC makes all final decisions. Prefer to talk first? Call 647-948-7200 or book a paid consultation.