Super Visa for Parents of Canadian Citizens by Descent

Your Canadian citizenship certificate arrives and one of the first questions you ask is about your parents. You want them to spend real time with you in Canada, not just a long weekend. The standard answer is that a US citizen can visit Canada for up to six months without any visa. For most vacation trips, that is enough. For an extended stay, six months becomes the ceiling, not a guarantee.

The Super Visa is the program that removes that ceiling.

If you got your citizenship through a grandparent or great-grandparent, your parents are likely in the same citizenship chain. That means they may already hold Canadian citizenship by descent under Bill C-3 and simply have not applied for their certificate yet. A parent who is Canadian by descent does not need a Super Visa. They need their own CIT 0001 application, a $75 CAD fee, and a few months of patience.

Check the chain before you assume Super Visa is the right tool. If your parent is between you and your Canadian ancestor in the generational line, they are likely eligible for their own certificate. The citizenship through a grandparent guide explains how the chain works.

The Super Visa applies when your parent is not in the ancestry chain and cannot claim citizenship by descent. Step-parents, parents whose citizenship connection runs through a different and ineligible branch, and parents-in-law are the most common cases.

The Super Visa is a multi-entry visa that allows parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents to stay in Canada for up to five years per authorized entry. A regular visitor visa, by contrast, caps authorized stays at six months per entry and requires reapplying each time.

The Super Visa itself remains valid for up to 10 years, so the parent can enter and exit Canada repeatedly across that period. Each entry can be authorized for up to five years. If your parents want to spend long winters in Canada or move between Canada and the US seasonally, the Super Visa handles that cleanly.

The Parents and Grandparents Program, which offers permanent residency, has been paused since mid-2026 under Ministerial Instructions 89, with no announced reopening date. The Super Visa is the only active pathway for extended family visits until PGP reopens.

To sponsor a parent on the Super Visa, you must demonstrate that your household income meets the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) plus 30 percent. IRCC updated the income tables as of April 2026.

Your household size for this calculation includes you, your spouse or partner, your dependent children, anyone you are already sponsoring, and the parent you are applying for.

Some illustrative thresholds for 2026:

• Household of 2: $38,002 CAD
• Household of 3: $46,722 CAD
• Household of 4: $56,724 CAD
• Household of 5: $64,642 CAD
• Household of 6: $72,560 CAD

A 2026 rule change allows you to use income from either of your two most recent tax years. If your 2025 income was lower because of a career transition, you can use 2024 figures instead. Another 2026 change: your parent's own Canadian income can now count toward the household threshold if they have earned Canadian income.

Proof of income is your Notice of Assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency, or a letter of employment with a pay stub if the most recent tax year is not yet assessed.

Every Super Visa applicant must carry private health insurance for the full duration of their stay in Canada. The minimum coverage is $100,000 CAD in emergency medical benefits, covering healthcare, hospitalization, and repatriation. The policy must be:

• Issued by a Canadian insurance company or an IRCC-approved international insurer (a rule expanded in January 2025)
• Valid for at least one year from the expected date of first entry into Canada
• In effect before the visa is issued

Your parent purchases the policy before the application is approved, not after. The cost varies by the parent's age and health history. Annual premiums typically range from $1,500 to $3,500 CAD depending on the applicant's age. Policies for applicants over 70 tend to run higher.

All Super Visa applicants must complete an Immigration Medical Examination conducted by a physician approved by IRCC. In the United States, the Civil Surgeon network includes IRCC-designated panel physicians. The exam covers a physical examination, chest X-ray, and blood and urine tests depending on the applicant's age and country of origin. Your parent does not book the medical exam in advance of applying; IRCC instructs the applicant to undergo the exam after the application is submitted and reviewed.

Here is the nuance specific to American parents: US citizens are visa-exempt for regular visits to Canada. They do not need a traditional visitor visa stamp, so a conventional Super Visa sticker would be redundant.

For visa-exempt applicants who meet Super Visa criteria, IRCC issues an eligibility letter rather than a traditional visa. Your parent presents this letter at a Canadian port of entry along with their US passport and insurance documentation. The border officer then authorizes the stay for up to five years.

The application itself goes through IRCC's online portal:

1. Your parent creates an account at the IRCC Portal and starts a new application
2. When asked the reason for applying, they select "To visit my children or grandchildren for more than 6 months (super visa)"
3. The system generates a personalized document checklist
4. Your parent uploads proof of your income (you provide this to them), proof of insurance, and personal documents
5. IRCC instructs them when and where to complete the medical exam
6. Processing averages approximately 112 days

The government fee is $100 CAD, paid at the time of application. Biometric collection is required for most applicants and costs an additional $85 CAD.

Jennifer from Columbus received her Canadian citizenship certificate in early 2027, tracing her ancestry to a great-grandfather born in New Brunswick. She moved to Toronto that same year for work. Her mother had no Canadian ancestry and wanted to spend five or six months a year in Canada.

Jennifer's household in Canada: herself, her husband, their two children, and her mother would be joining. That made her a household of five for income purposes. The 2026 threshold for a household of five was $64,642 CAD. Jennifer's income was above that figure.

Her mother purchased a $100,000 CAD health insurance policy from a Canadian insurer for $1,800 CAD per year, applied online through the IRCC Portal, and received her eligibility letter about 15 weeks after submitting. She enters Canada from Ohio by car each April and stays through late October, returning in time for the US holidays.

The practical cost: $100 CAD government fee, $85 CAD biometrics, and roughly $1,800 CAD annually for the insurance renewal.

If your parents are in your citizenship chain, point them toward the CIT 0001 application before considering a Super Visa. If they are not, the Super Visa is the cleanest option for extended annual visits and is considerably more flexible than a visitor visa for anyone planning to spend more than half the year in Canada.

For anyone still working through their own citizenship certificate, MaplePass confirms eligibility in two minutes and handles the full CIT 0001 application for $199. The certificate is the prerequisite for everything that follows, from your passport to bringing your family to Canada.