The lottery for the coveted invitation to apply (ITA) to the 2022 Parents and Grandparents program has concluded.
This year, 23,100 ITAs were distributed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in the hopes that they will receive 15,000 complete applications.
Get a Free Super Visa Telephone Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm
If you were not one of the lucky 23,100 sponsors to get an ITA this year, please understand that you can still bring your parent(s) and/or grandparent(s) to Canada with the Super Visa program.
Below is a breakdown of the basic eligibility criteria for the Super Visa.
Firstly, sponsors must:
On the part of the sponsored individuals coming to Canada, they must:
A. A promise of financial support for the length of your visit
B. The list and number of people in the household of this person
C. A copy of this person’s Canadian citizenship or permanent resident document
The steps to apply for a Super Visa are as follows.
1. Prepare your documents
2. Apply online via IRCC’s portal
Applicants must first create an account with IRCC and sign in. Then, complete the online form, answering all questions, to receive a document checklist before paying the application fee.
Note: Paper applications remain available for candidates unable to apply due to a disability or because they are “travelling with an identity or travel document that was issued to a refugee, a stateless person or a non-citizen.”
The benefits of the Super Visa largely have to do with the length of its validity.
The Super Visa is a temporary resident visa (TRV) that enables sponsored parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens or PRs to visit their Canadian family members for up to five years at a time without requiring a visa renewal. Additionally, sponsored individuals with an existing Super Visa can apply for a visa extension that allows them to remain in Canada as a visitor for up to seven years. Finally, the Super Visa (via visa extensions) also grants parents and grandparents the ability to enter Canada multiple times for up to 10 years.
The extended Super Visa timelines detailed above were enacted on July 4, 2022, before which the program only allowed sponsored individuals entry to Canada for up to two years. Further timeline details are as follows:
Any Super Visa applicant who entered Canada with a valid visa prior to July 4 will not see an increase made to their valid length of stay unless they leave Canada before and re-enter the country after this date. This would open the potential for a border services officer to grant the individual an increased length of stay (up to five years).
Alternatively, applicants already inside Canada can apply for a Super Visa extension for up to two additional years.
Applicants who fall under the following three categories will be able to benefit from the increased length of stay (up to five years at a time).
Other benefits of Canada’s Super Visa program include:
Get a Free Super Visa Telephone Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm
© CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.