Short answer: if you want your parents or grandparents in Canada soon and for long visits, the super visa is usually the faster route; if the goal is to settle here permanently with access to provincial health care and a path to citizenship, the Parent and Grandparent Program (PGP) is the permanent-residence route, but it is invitation-based and slower. Families almost always face this exact choice, and the two options solve different problems. A super visa is a long-stay visitor authorization that does not grant permanent residence; the PGP leads to a permanent resident (PR) visa. This guide compares both side by side so you can decide which fits your family, and explains how many families pursue both at once. The specific figures below (insurance amount, income levels, fees) change periodically, so we note where to confirm the current numbers on canada.ca.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Factor | Super Visa | PGP Sponsorship |
|---|---|---|
| Result | Visitor status, no PR | Permanent residence (PR) |
| Length of stay per visit | Up to 5 years per entry | Permanent (as long as PR is maintained) |
| Processing time | Generally weeks to a few months | Generally many months to a few years; confirm on IRCC |
| Income requirement | Host meets the LICO level (in either of the last two tax years) | LICO+30% for the 3 most recent tax years |
| Medical insurance | Required: at least $100,000 coverage, valid 1+ year (Canadian or IRCC-recognized foreign insurer) | Not required (provincial health coverage once PR) |
| Work authorization | No, visitor status only | Yes, once PR is granted |
| Access to Canadian healthcare | No, must maintain private insurance | Yes, provincial coverage after any waiting period |
| Sponsorship undertaking | None | 20-year undertaking (10 years in Quebec) |
| Path to citizenship? | No | Yes, once PR residency/time requirements are met (IRPA s.5) |
| Multiple entries? | Yes, can be valid up to 10 years (multiple entry) | N/A: PR does not expire (but the PR card needs renewal) |
| Intake required? | No, apply anytime | Yes, intake is limited and invitation-based (often closed) |
Super Visa: How It Works
The super visa is a multiple-entry visitor visa for parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Since changes in mid-2022, it generally allows a stay of up to 5 years per entry and can be valid for up to 10 years. It is a temporary-resident status, not permanent residence: your parents remain visitors, cannot work, and are not covered by provincial health care. What this means for you: it is the practical way to have a parent stay for years at a time without committing to permanent immigration. A visa officer assesses each application, and these are the main requirements (confirm the current details on IRCC):
- ✓ The applicant must be the parent or grandparent of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident (a dependent of the parent or grandparent generally cannot be included)
- ✓ The child or grandchild in Canada (the host) must show income at or above the applicable Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) level for the family size; this is the LICO level, not LICO+30% as required for PGP sponsorship. IRCC generally allows qualifying on income in either of the last two tax years, and the visiting parent's or grandparent's own income may be counted when they will reside with the host. Confirm the current rules on canada.ca
- ✓ The applicant must have private medical insurance providing at least $100,000 in coverage for health care, hospitalization and repatriation, valid for at least 1 year from the date of entry, from a Canadian insurer or, under more recent changes, an IRCC-designated insurer outside Canada (confirm the current requirements on canada.ca)
- ✓ The applicant must provide a signed letter of invitation from the child or grandchild in Canada
- ✓ The applicant must satisfy a visa officer that they are a genuine visitor who will leave Canada at the end of the authorized stay
- ✓ Standard visitor visa admissibility requirements apply (valid travel document, and not inadmissible on grounds such as security, criminality or health)
⚠ Insurance is an ongoing cost
Private medical insurance for older visitors can be expensive, and it must be renewed for each year your parent or grandparent stays in Canada and shown again at each entry or extension. Premiums vary widely with age and health, so request current quotes and budget for the full length of the stay rather than a single year.
When Super Visa Makes More Sense
You need a faster solution
Super visa processing is generally measured in weeks to months rather than years, and you can apply any time. The PGP, by contrast, depends on a limited, invitation-based intake that is often closed. If you need a parent here relatively soon, the super visa is usually the practical choice. Confirm current processing times on IRCC.
Your parents want to travel between countries
A super visa is multiple-entry and can be valid up to 10 years, so your parents can leave and re-enter while it remains valid. As a PR, by contrast, your parents would need to meet residency obligations (generally 730 days in every 5-year period under IRPA s.28) to keep their status.
You do not yet meet the 3-year PGP income test
PGP sponsorship requires LICO+30% income for each of the 3 most recent tax years. The super visa instead looks at the host meeting the LICO level, and IRCC generally allows qualifying on income in either of the last two tax years (the visiting parent's or grandparent's income may also count when they will reside with the host), which can be easier to satisfy if your income has only recently risen. Confirm the current rules on canada.ca.
Your parents prefer to keep ties to their home country
Some parents do not want to immigrate permanently. A super visa allows long visits without giving up residence abroad or foreign pensions and benefits that permanent residence might affect.
When PGP Sponsorship Makes More Sense
Your parents want to stay permanently
The PGP grants full permanent residence with a path to Canadian citizenship. As PRs, parents can work, access provincial health coverage, and build a life in Canada without recurring private medical insurance costs.
Health-care costs are a concern
Once parents become PRs they are generally eligible for provincial or territorial health coverage, sometimes after a waiting period of up to about 3 months depending on the province. This removes the ongoing private-insurance cost that a super visa requires every year.
Long-term family integration
If the plan is for parents to live in Canada permanently, to help raise grandchildren, retire, or live near family, the PGP provides the legal foundation for that life rather than a series of temporary visits.
Your parents want to become Canadian citizens
Only permanent residents can build toward Canadian citizenship (IRPA s.5). Super visa holders remain visitors and do not accumulate time toward citizenship, so if naturalization is the goal, the PGP is the route. Note the trade-off: the sponsor signs a 20-year undertaking (10 years in Quebec) to support the parents financially.
Can You Apply for Both Simultaneously?
Yes, it is generally possible to pursue both at once, and many families do. A common strategy is to use the super visa to allow long visits now while waiting for, and then progressing through, the PGP. This matters especially because PGP intake is limited and invitation-based, so the permanent route can take time to even open. Important considerations:
- ✓ Applying for a super visa does not, by itself, preclude or harm a future or concurrent PGP sponsorship
- ✓ PGP intake is not always open: IRCC invites a limited number of sponsors from a pool of submitted interest-to-sponsor forms, and in recent years has drawn from earlier-submitted forms rather than opening a new form. Check canada.ca for whether the interest-to-sponsor form is open before relying on the PGP
- ✓ Parents who are inside Canada on a super visa when their PGP application is approved will still need to complete the permanent-residence confirmation (landing) step
- ✓ A visa officer may scrutinize intent to return: if a parent applies for a super visa while a PR application is pending, the officer must still be satisfied the parent will leave at the end of the authorized stay. Dual intent (holding a temporary status while pursuing PR) is recognized in IRPA s.22(2) but is assessed case by case
- ✓ Because intent and timing can be delicate, consider speaking with a licensed immigration lawyer or a CICC-regulated consultant before pursuing both pathways at once
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Get Your Immigration Overview, $79.99Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Super Visa require my parents to leave and re-enter to reset the 5-year clock?+
The 5 years is per entry, each time your parents enter Canada on a valid Super Visa, they may be authorized to stay up to 5 years. They do not need to leave and re-enter to extend a current stay; rather, each new entry can start a new authorized stay up to the visa's expiry date. A CBSA officer determines the authorized stay at each entry. Always confirm with a licensed immigration lawyer or CBSA officer.
My parents are on a Super Visa and we just got selected for PGP. What happens?+
Your parents can remain on their Super Visa while the PGP sponsorship is processed. When the PGP is approved and your parents' permanent residence is confirmed, they will transition to PR status. If they are in Canada at the time, the PR confirmation process may be completed from within Canada.
Can my parents work in Canada on a Super Visa?+
No. The Super Visa is a visitor status and does not authorize work in Canada. Only permanent residents and those with a work permit are authorized to work. If your parents wish to work, they would need to obtain separate work authorization or become PRs through the PGP.
What medical insurance is required for the super visa?+
The applicant must have private medical insurance providing at least $100,000 in coverage for health care, hospitalization and repatriation, valid for a minimum of 1 year from the expected date of entry. Historically this had to come from a Canadian insurer; under more recent changes IRCC also accepts policies from certain IRCC-designated insurers outside Canada. Proof of valid coverage is needed at application and again at each entry or extension. Confirm the current minimum amount and accepted insurers on canada.ca before you buy a policy.
Which option is cheaper: super visa or PGP sponsorship?+
It depends on the time horizon. The super visa has lower government fees (a visitor visa fee, generally $100 per person (verify the current amount on canada.ca), plus biometrics of $85 per person to a family maximum of $170), but it carries the recurring cost of private medical insurance for every year your parent stays. PGP sponsorship has a higher one-time government cost (the combined sponsorship, processing and right of permanent residence fees were $1,260 per principal applicant as of April 30, 2026), but PRs eventually access provincial health care instead of buying private insurance each year. Over many years, permanent residence can be cheaper; for shorter or intermittent stays the super visa often costs less. Verify all current fees on the IRCC fee list.
Is the PGP a lottery, and is it open right now?+
The PGP is not a permanent open application stream. Intake is limited and invitation-based: IRCC collects interest-to-sponsor submissions into a pool and invites a capped number of sponsors, in some past rounds by random selection and more recently by drawing from earlier-submitted forms. There are years when no new interest-to-sponsor form opens at all. Because the status changes, check canada.ca for the current intake before counting on the PGP, and consider the super visa as an interim or alternative route.
What income does the host or sponsor need, and for how many years?+
These are different tests. For the super visa, the host (the child or grandchild in Canada) must meet the applicable Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) level for the family size; IRCC generally allows qualifying on income in either of the last two tax years, and the visiting parent's or grandparent's own income may be counted when they will reside with the host. For PGP sponsorship, the sponsor must meet the Minimum Necessary Income, which is LICO plus 30%, for each of the 3 most recent tax years, proven with CRA notices of assessment. A spouse or common-law partner can sometimes co-sign to combine incomes for the PGP. Confirm the current dollar figures for your family size on canada.ca.
Do my parents lose provincial health coverage between super visa entries?+
Super visa holders are visitors and are generally not eligible for provincial or territorial health insurance at all, which is exactly why private medical insurance is mandatory. Provincial coverage typically becomes available only after they become permanent residents, and even then some provinces apply a waiting period of up to about 3 months. Plan to maintain private insurance for the entire time a parent is in Canada on a super visa.
Official sources
This page is based on law and policy published by the Government of Canada.