Ministerial Instructions regarding the Parent and Grandparent Super Visa (2023)

Background

Reuniting families is a priority for the Government of Canada and a key objective of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Family reunification pathways (including temporary resident visas such as the Super Visa) help Canada attract, retain, and integrate immigrants who contribute to the success of our country.

Ministerial Instructions were first issued on December 1, 2011 to introduce the Parent and Grandparent Super Visa. These Ministerial Instructions are issued to align with changes as a result of Bill C-242, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (temporary resident visas for parents and grandparents), receiving Royal Assent. They update and replace the previous Ministerial Instructions that were given on July 4, 2022.

Instructions are hereby made to facilitate the multiple entries and stays of extended duration for parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents who:

• require a temporary resident visa; or
• are exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa.

These instructions support the issuance of a multiple entry temporary resident visa in alignment with section 15.1 and subsection 29(3) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and are issued in accordance with ministerial authority found in subsection 15(4). They are given in such a way as to promote consistency towards all affected applicants across all points of service, including visa offices, ports of entry and in-Canada Case Processing Centres.

Instructions

Pursuant to the authority found in subsection 15(4) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, I, Marc Miller, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and I, Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, hereby issue the following Instructions.

Interpretation

1. The following definitions apply in these Instructions:

“Act” means the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

“host” means a person who

1. is the child or grandchild of the foreign national,
2. is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident,
3. is at least 18 years of age,
4. resides in Canada, and
5. meets or exceeds the minimum necessary income.

“letter of invitation” means a letter written and signed by a host (and spouse or common-law partner of the host, as applicable) in respect of a foreign national applying for a Super Visa in accordance with section 2 of these Instructions that includes a promise of financial support for the applicant for the length of authorized stays in Canada and that lists all the persons included in the calculation of minimum necessary income.

“minimum necessary income” means the total income, calculated on the basis of the last notice of assessment issued by the Minister of National Revenue in respect of the most recent taxation year preceding the date of filing of the application or other documents that sufficiently demonstrate the host’s Canadian income, that is at least equal to the amount identified in the most recent edition of the publication concerning low income cut-offs that is published annually by Statistics Canada under the Statistics Act for urban areas of residence of 500,000 persons or more as the minimum amount of before-tax annual income necessary to support a group of persons equal in number on the date of filing of the application to the total number of the following persons:

1. a host and their family members,
2. the foreign national(s) applying for the Super Visa, and
3. every other person, and their family members,
   1. in respect of whom the host has given or co-signed an undertaking given under the Act that is still in effect, and
   2. in respect of whom the host’s spouse or common-law partner has given or co-signed an undertaking given under the Act that is still in effect, if the host’s spouse or common-law partner has co-signed with the host the letter of invitation in respect of the foreign national(s) referred to in paragraph (b),
4. every other person,
   1. in respect of whom the host has signed or co-signed a letter of invitation that is still applicable, and
   2. in respect of whom the host’s spouse or common-law partner has signed or co-signed a letter of invitation that is still applicable if the host’s spouse or common-law partner has co-signed with the host the application in respect of the foreign national referred to in paragraph (b).

“Regulations” means the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.

“Super Visa” means a multiple entry temporary resident visa issued in accordance with these Instructions to a foreign national who seeks to visit their Canadian citizen or permanent resident child or grandchild for extended periods of authorized stay in alignment with subsection 29(3) of the Act.

Requirements of a Super Visa

2(1). An officer should consider issuing a Super Visa to a foreign national if, following an examination, it is established that the foreign national, in addition to meeting all requirements for a temporary resident visa under the Act and Regulations, has

1. applied from outside Canada;
2. undergone a medical examination as per section 29 of the Regulations and is not inadmissible under subsection 38(1) of the Act;
3. provided satisfactory evidence of
   1. a health insurance policy from a Canadian insurance company, or
   2. a health insurance policy from an insurance company outside Canada that is approved by the Minister in accordance with section 15.1 of the Act;
4. provided a letter of invitation by a host.

Co-signature

3(1). The applicant’s letter of invitation may be co-signed by the spouse or common-law partner of the host if they also meet the definition of a “host” as per section 1, except paragraph (a).

3(2). The income of the co-signing spouse or common-law partner is calculated in accordance with the definition of “minimum necessary income”, with any modifications that the circumstances require, and should be included in the calculation of the host’s income.

Requirements for host

4. An officer should consider issuing a Super Visa if, on the day on which the application was filed and from that day until the day a decision is made with respect to the application, there is evidence that the host, and the spouse or common-law partner who co-signed the letter of invitation, as applicable,

1. intends to fulfill the obligations in the letter of invitation; and
2. has a total income that is at least equal to the minimum necessary income.

Foreign nationals exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa

5. If a foreign national seeks to visit their child or grandchild for extended periods of authorized stay and has met the eligibility criteria set out in these Instructions, but is exempt under Division 5 of Part 9 of the Regulations from the requirement to have a temporary resident visa, an officer from a Canadian Mission abroad should consider issuing a letter confirming that the foreign national has met the eligibility criteria set out in these Instructions.

Repeal

Effective the day on which the Instructions referred to herein come into force, the following Instructions are repealed:

1. Ministerial Instruction regarding the Parent and Grandparent Super Visa which came into effect on July 4, 2022.

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 September 15, 2023.