Everything You Wanted To Know About The Super Visa

Ottawa: The first applications for the recently announced Parent and Grandparent Super Visa started in Dec.2011.

The Parent and Grandparent Super Visa is one element of Phase I of the Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification, announced in November by the Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney. The Super Visa will allow applicants to remain in Canada for up to 24 months at a time without the need for renewal of their status.

To be eligible, the applicant must:

Be a parent or grandparent of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;

Provide a written commitment of financial support from their child or grandchild in Canada, including proof that the child or grandchild meets the minimum necessary income (Low-Income Cut-Off);

Complete the Immigration Medical Examination;

Submit proof that they have purchased comprehensive Canadian medical insurance, valid for at least one year; and

Satisfy the visa officer that they meet all other standard admissibility criteria.

Current processing times through the Family Class indicate that many parents and grandparents could wait for eight years or more to be accepted to Canada. With the Super Visa, they could be enjoying the company of their family in about eight weeks.

For more details on applying for the Parent and Grandparent Super Visa, please see the attached backgrounder.

Applying for a Parent and Grandparent Super Visa

Requirements
An application for a Parent and Grandparent Super Visa is made using the Application for a Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside of Canada[IMM 5257] form.

In addition to the information required for completing the IMM 5257, the applicant must also provide proof of the parent/grandparent relationship to the Canadian citizen or permanent resident and a signed letter pledging financial support to the parent/grandparent for the duration of their visit to Canada by their child/grandchild.

Evidence of the family’s ability to provide that financial support must be submitted with the application. The ability to support visiting parents/grandparents is based on a minimum necessary income (known as the low-income cut-off, or LICO). The chart below is also used to determine an individual’s ability to sponsor family members through the Family Class. The minimum necessary income is updated each year on January 1^st.

Size of Family Unit	Minimum necessary income
1 person (the sponsor)	$22,229
2 persons	$27,674
3 persons	$34,022
4 persons	$41,307
5 persons	$46,850
6 persons	$52,838
7 persons	$58,827
More than 7 persons, for each additional person, add $5,989.

The applicant must also submit proof that they have purchased Canadian medical insurance that:

.      is valid for a minimum period of one year from the date of entry to Canada;

.      provides a minimum of $100,000 in coverage; and

.      covers the applicant for health care, hospitalization and repatriation.

·The applicant must also meet all standard admissibility criteria. There are a number of reasons you can be found inadmissible, denied a visa and refused entry to Canada.

·In order for the visa officer to determine whether the applicant is medically admissible to Canada, the applicant will also be required to undergo an Immigration Medical Examination (IME) prior to being issued a Super Visa.

For parents and grandparents already visiting Canada

·Parents and grandparents who are currently in Canada may apply for an extension of their status for up to two years by submitting an Application to Change Conditions, Extend Stay or Remain in Canada (IMM 1249) to the Case Processing Centre in Vegreville, Alberta, as long as they meet all the criteria. These applications will be examined on a case by case basis.

For parents and grandparents from visa-exempt countries

·Parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents from a country whose citizens are not required to have a visa to enter Canada are also eligible to enjoy the Super Visa’s authorized stay of two years. They may apply at a Canadian visa office (no fee required) and demonstrate that they meet all of the requirements for the Super Visa.

·If the applicant has met all the criteria, they will be issued a letter by the visa office that the applicant will present to a Canada Border Services Agency officer at the port of entry upon their arrival in Canada. The officer may authorize a visit to Canada for up to two years.