Ministerial Instructions regarding the Parent and Grandparent Super Visa

Background

Ministerial Instructions were issued on December 1, 2011 to introduce the Parent and Grandparent Super Visa. These Ministerial Instructions are issued to enhance the Super Visa to better promote family reunification through facilitating longer stays and updating the health insurance requirement for applicants. Instructions are hereby made to:

• facilitate multiple entry and longer term stays for Temporary Resident Visas (TRVs) issued to applicants who require a TRV to visit their child or grandchild who is a citizen or permanent resident of Canada; and
• facilitate authorized stays of longer duration for those coming from visa-exempt countries.

These instructions support the issuance of a multiple-entry TRV for durations of up to ten years, and periods of authorized stay for each individual entry extending up to five years.

These instructions are issued in accordance with ministerial authority found in section 15(4) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and have been prepared in such a way as to promote consistency towards all affected applicants across all points of service, including visa offices, Ports of Entry (POE) and in-Canada Case Processing Centres.

Instructions

Pursuant to the authority found in section 15(4) of the IRPA, I, Sean Fraser, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and I, Marco E. L Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety, hereby issue the following Instructions:

Before Entry: Officers are instructed, when assessing applications for TRVs made by foreign nationals seeking to visit their Canadian citizen or permanent resident child or grandchild in Canada for an extended period of time, that if they are satisfied that the applicant may be issued a TRV and that the applicant meets the eligibility criteria for a Parent and Grandparent Extended Stay Visa (to be known as a “Super Visa”) set out below, they should issue a multiple-entry TRV for the duration of the validity period of the applicant’s passport less one month, up to a maximum duration of ten years. In order to receive a Super Visa, the applicant must, in addition to meeting all legislative requirements for a TRV, meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Have undergone a medical examination and be admissible on health grounds;
• Have provided satisfactory evidence of private medical insurance from:
  • a Canadian company, or,
  • a company outside of Canada, which has been designated by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration as providing private medical insurance that can be presented for the purpose of obtaining a Super Visa; and,
• Have provided satisfactory evidence of financial support from the host child or grandchild for the duration of their requested stay.

Where the applicant meets the eligibility criteria for a Super Visa and is otherwise admissible to Canada, but was issued a single-entry visa, the examining officer at the POE should treat such a visa as a Super Visa for the purpose of fixing the period of authorized stay.

At Port of Entry: When a foreign national who seeks to visit his or her Canadian citizen or permanent resident child or grandchild for an extended period of time arrives at the POE, is a holder of a Super Visa and continues to meet the eligibility criteria set out above, and is otherwise admissible for temporary residence, the examining officer should normally fix the period of authorized stay as five years pursuant to the provisions of section 183 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR).

Foreign nationals who seek to visit their Canadian citizen or permanent resident children or grandchildren for an extended period of time, and who do not require a TRV to enter Canada, will be advised by IRCC to contact a Canadian Mission abroad before departing for Canada to request a letter confirming that they have met the eligibility criteria set out above. Upon presentation of this letter at the POE, the examining officer should normally fix the period of authorized stay as five years pursuant to the provisions of section 183 of the IRPR if the applicant continues to meet the eligibility criteria set out above and is otherwise admissible for temporary residence.

Repeal

The following Instructions are repealed, effective July 4, 2022:

• (a) Ministerial Instruction regarding the Parent and Grandparent Super Visa which came into effect on December 1, 2011.

Applications in processing

Applications in processing at the time these Instructions take effect shall be assessed under these Instructions.

Coming into effect

These Instructions come into force on July 4, 2022.