July 2022 Update: As of July 4, 2022, the length of stay for Super Visa holders in Canada will be expanded to five years per entrance. Learn more here.
In 2011, as a part of Canada’s effort to clear a massive immigration application backlog, the Government of Canada announced they would not be accepting any new applications to sponsor parents and grandparents to Canada. Some of these permanent residency applications were taking up to eight years to be processed.
Instead, the Government of Canada offered up something of a compromise: the Super Visa. The Super Visa is a temporary visa that allows the parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents to visit Canada multiple times during a 10-year period, for visits of up to two years at a time.
Since the program was unveiled in 2011, nearly 90,000 super visas have been issued. Around 40 percent of these super visas were admitted to citizens of India.
Top Countries with Citizens Granted with Super Visas Since 2012
| India | 35,761 |
| China | 16,651 |
| Pakistan | 5,047 |
| Philippines | 5,326 |
| Bangladesh | 2,234 |
| Sri Lanka | 1,867 |
| Iran | 1,623 |
| Vietnam | 1,524 |
| Nepal | 1,279 |
| Russia | 1,036 |
This program is considered as a success by many, because it provides flexibility to parents and grandparents who don’t actually want to permanently immigrate to Canada but who only want to visit their family members for long periods of time. Many of these parents and grandparents do not want to be in Canada permanently and still have family back home, but the parent and grandparent sponsorship option was the only one that was suitable at the time – before the Super Visa was introduced.
However, some families have found the Super Visa to be expensive, because the family members in Canada must not only meet a certain income level but the applicant must also buy medical insurance.
Are You Interested in Applying for a Super Visa?
If you are interested in a Temporary Resident Visa to Canada, Contact VisaPlace today. All of our cases are handled by competent and experienced immigration professionals who are affiliated with VisaPlace. These professionals consist of lawyers, licensed paralegals, and consultants who work for Niren and Associates an award-winning immigration firm that adheres to the highest standards of client service.
Ready for the next step? Book your 1 on 1 consultation now or call us at 1-877-296-0874.
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President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
