Canada Extends the Length of Super Visa for Parents and Grandparents to Five Years

The Super Visa is a multi-entry visa that offers multiple entries for up to 10 years. And, Canada made major reforms that extend the length of Super Visa for Parents and Grandparents to five years. This temporary visa is an attractive option for Canadian citizens and permanent resident status holders who would like to invite their parents and grandparents to Canada. The reform comes into effect from July 4 and the following are the changes that are to be included:

1) The duration of the stay for Super Visa holders will be increased to five years per entry into the country.

2) The current Super Visa owners also have the option to extend their stay by 2 years while in Canada. Now the current Super Visa holders can stay up to seven consecutive years.

3) Canada’s Immigration Minister will have the ability to elect international medical insurance companies to offer coverage to Super Visa candidates in the future.

The previous Super Visa only permits its holder to live in Canada for up to two years each entry. Also, only the insurance providers can offer the medical coverage that Super Visa applications were required. 

The latest reforms now extend the length of Super Visa for parents and grandparents to five years. It also permits candidates to buy medical insurance from countries other than Canada. Canadian politician Kyle Seeback, who initiated the reforms, the introduction of foreign medical insurance could save families a lot of money per year. Moreover, he also mentioned that the federal government agenda for international insurance companies will promise medical costs to be protected in case Super Visa holders get ill.

Super Visa is an alternative to the parents and grandparents program (PGP), which provides permanent residence to its candidates. The PGP is popular but requires a sponsor to increase the number of spots available. Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) obtain approximately 200,000 interest to sponsor forms every year, however, there are only 35000 applications available. IRCC organizes lotteries to decide which candidate gets to apply for PGP, for which many critics claim that the process is unfair as many times new candidates are picked over those who have been waiting in the pool much longer.