If you’ve been planning to sponsor your parents or grandparents to come live in Canada, I’ve got some frustrating news. As of January 1, 2026, Immigration Canada isn’t accepting any new applications under the Parents and Grandparents Program this year.
I know. It’s a gut punch, especially if you’ve been waiting for the annual intake window to open.
But here’s the thing—while the door to permanent residency is temporarily closed, you still have solid options to bring your parents to Canada. They might not be perfect substitutes for the sponsorship program, but they’re faster, cheaper, and honestly? For a lot of families, they work better anyway.
Let me walk you through what’s actually available right now.
The Two Options You Have Today
When the sponsorship program closes (which happens more often than it should), Canadian families basically have two routes:
The Super Visa—this is your best bet if you want your parents here for extended periods, potentially years at a time.
A regular Visitor Visa or eTA—better for shorter trips, less paperwork, and more flexibility.
Both keep your family together. Neither makes your parents permanent residents. And that’s the trade-off you’re dealing with.
Option 1: The Super Visa (For Long Stays)
Think of the Super Visa as the government’s answer to families who don’t want to wait years for the sponsorship lottery.
Here’s what it actually gives you: a multiple-entry visa valid for up to 10 years. Your parents can stay in Canada for up to five years at a time without leaving. That’s not a typo—five consecutive years per entry, assuming they applied on or after June 22, 2023.
I’ve talked to families using this visa, and the most common thing I hear is relief. No more worrying about your mom’s visitor visa expiring after six months. No more expensive plane tickets every few weeks to “reset” their status. They come, they stay, they become part of your daily life.
But let’s be clear about what it isn’t: it’s not permanent residency. Your parents remain visitors. They can’t work in Canada without getting a separate work permit. They can’t access most government benefits. And after five years, they need to leave and re-enter if they want another long stay.
Still, for many families, it’s close enough to what they actually need.
What You Need to Qualify (Super Visa Edition)
The Super Visa isn’t automatic. You, as the Canadian sponsor, need to prove a few things:
You’re a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or registered Indian. You’re over 18 and living in Canada. That’s the easy part.
The harder part: you need to meet a minimum income threshold. Immigration Canada wants to see that you can financially support your parents during their stay. Your spouse or partner can co-sign the invitation letter to combine incomes if needed.
You also need to write and sign an invitation letter promising financial support. It’s not just a formality—it’s a legal commitment.
Your parents need to handle their side of things too:
- Apply from outside Canada (you can’t switch to a Super Visa from inside the country)
- Pass an immigration medical exam
- Prove they’re admissible (no serious criminal record, no security concerns)
- Buy private health insurance that meets very specific requirements
Let’s talk about that insurance requirement because it trips people up.
The Insurance Requirement Nobody Warns You About
This is where the Super Visa gets expensive, and it catches families off guard.
Your parents must have private medical insurance before they enter Canada. Not a quote—actual paid coverage. And it needs to meet these exact criteria:
- Valid for at least one year from entry
- Covers healthcare, hospitalization, and repatriation
- Minimum $100,000 in coverage
- Paid in full (no monthly payment plans that aren’t fully secured)
As of late January 2025, Canada started allowing insurance from some foreign companies, as long as they meet regulatory standards. That’s good news if you’re shopping around for better rates.
But here’s the reality: comprehensive coverage for elderly parents isn’t cheap. Depending on their age and health, you could be looking at several thousand dollars per year. Factor that into your budget before you start the application.
Border officers will ask to see proof of paid insurance when your parents arrive. No insurance, no entry—even with an approved Super Visa.
Option 2: Regular Visitor Visa or eTA (For Shorter Stays)
If the Super Visa feels like overkill—or if you can’t meet the income and insurance requirements right now—a standard visitor visa might be your better move.
The big difference? Shorter stays (usually up to six months per visit), but way fewer hoops to jump through.
Whether your parents need a visitor visa or an eTA depends on their passport:
Visa-exempt countries (like the UK, France, Australia): They need an eTA if flying into Canada. It’s applied for online, costs a few bucks, takes minutes to approve in most cases, and lasts up to five years.
Non-visa-exempt countries (like India, China, Philippines): They need a visitor visa. More paperwork than an eTA, but still simpler than a Super Visa. Processing times vary wildly depending on which visa office handles the application.
Most visitors can stay up to six months, but the border officer has full discretion. They might grant less time, or more, and they’ll usually stamp a date in your parent’s passport or issue a visitor record with a specific departure date.
What the Visitor Visa Actually Requires
The requirements are straightforward, but the devil’s in the details:
- Valid passport or travel document
- Good health (medical exam sometimes required)
- Clean record (no criminal convictions that make them inadmissible)
- Proof of ties to their home country
- Evidence they’ll leave Canada when their visit ends
- Enough money to cover their stay
- Sometimes a letter of invitation from you
That “proof they’ll leave Canada” requirement is where most applications get rejected. Immigration officers want to see jobs, property, family ties, or other strong reasons your parents will go home. If they think your parents might overstay, they’ll deny the visa.
Being honest helps. If your mom owns a house back home, works part-time, has other children there, or receives a pension—document all of it. The stronger their ties to their home country, the easier the approval.
Which One Should You Actually Choose?
I wish there was a simple answer, but it really depends on your situation.
Go with the Super Visa if:
- Your parents want to stay for a year or longer at a time
- You meet the minimum income requirements (or can combine income with a spouse/partner)
- Your parents can pass a medical exam and get the required insurance
- You’re okay with the higher upfront costs for a longer-term solution
- You want the security of knowing they can stay up to five years without leaving
Stick with the visitor visa or eTA if:
- Your parents are planning shorter visits (a few weeks to several months)
- Meeting the Super Visa income threshold isn’t feasible right now
- The mandatory insurance costs are too steep
- Your parents prefer shorter, more frequent trips rather than one long stay
- You want faster processing times and fewer requirements
Neither option is wrong. I’ve seen families rotate between both—using visitor visas for quick trips, then switching to a Super Visa when they’re ready for a longer stay.
The Permanent Residency Elephant in the Room
Look, I get it. What you probably really want is permanent residency for your parents through the sponsorship program.
The Super Visa and visitor visas are temporary solutions. Your parents stay visitors. They can’t work, can’t access most public healthcare, can’t settle permanently.
But here’s the reality: the Parents and Grandparents Program has been a mess for years. Limited intake windows, lottery systems, processing times that stretch into half a decade. Even when it’s open, there’s no guarantee you’ll get selected.
The Super Visa, for all its limitations, gives you something the sponsorship program doesn’t: certainty and speed. You apply, you get a decision in weeks or months (not years), and your parents can be living with you while you wait for the next sponsorship intake.
Some families use the Super Visa as a bridge strategy—keeping parents in Canada on long-term visitor status while waiting for the sponsorship program to reopen. It’s not ideal, but it works.
Processing Times: What to Actually Expect
Visitor visa and eTA processing times are all over the map. An eTA might get approved in minutes. A visitor visa from certain countries might take weeks or months, depending on the backlog at that specific visa office.
Super Visa processing varies too, but it’s generally comparable to visitor visa timelines—with the added step of the medical exam and insurance verification.
The frustrating truth? You won’t know your exact timeline until you’re in the system. Check the IRCC website for current processing times for your parents’ country before you apply.
One Last Thing: Extensions Are Possible
If your parents are in Canada on a visitor visa and want to stay longer than the six months they were granted, they can apply for an extension (called a visitor record). It costs money and needs to be done before their current status expires.
Super Visa holders staying the full five years don’t need to worry about extensions—their status is already set for the duration. But if they want another five-year stay after that, they’ll need to leave Canada and re-enter.
The Bottom Line
The Parents and Grandparents Program being closed for 2026 is disappointing. But you’re not stuck.
The Super Visa gives you years together under one roof—at a cost. The visitor visa or eTA gives you flexibility and shorter commitments with fewer requirements.
Neither is permanent residency, but both let you build real, sustained time with your family. And sometimes, that’s enough.
Pick the option that fits your financial situation and your parents’ needs right now. You can always pivot later when the sponsorship program reopens—or when your circumstances change.
Your parents deserve to see their grandkids grow up. Don’t let a closed sponsorship program be the thing that stops that from happening.
