Parents and grandparents living abroad shouldn’t have to be separated from their families. And while talking to your children and grandchildren on video and voice calls works, it is never enough. You can apply for a super visa and visit your loved ones in Canada as often as you’d like. If you’re looking into articulating this option, here is some insight on how you can achieve this visa.
What Is a Super Visa, and What’s Its Use?
A super visa for parents and grandparents is a permit that allows you to visit your children or grandchildren in Canada for up to five years. When you get a super visa, you get to stay in Canada for a maximum of five years at one go.
However, there’s a more extended variation of a super visa that allows you to visit Canada multiple times, but for restricted periods per visit. The multi-entry pass gives you access to Canada for a maximum of six months per entry. Border services confirm how long you can stay in the country before entering Canada’s air space.
Who Can Apply For A Super Visa?
As the name suggests, this visa is available for parents and grandparents to children or grandchildren who are permanent residents or Canadian citizens. Before applying for a super visa, you must comply with particular requirements for the application to be a success.
Requirements and Documentation Needed For a Super Visa Application
The immigration office considers specific requirements for this application. Therefore, aside from being parents or grandparents of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, individuals wishing to gain a super visa must:
- Provide biometrics.
- Have a police certificate.
- Apply for a super visa allowing them to visit Canada from outside Canada’s airspace.
- Print the visa before coming to Canada.
- Take the immigration medical exam.
- Have an invitation letter from the child or grandchild in Canada.
- The invitation letter must have attached a copy of the inviter’s Canadian citizenship or permanent residence document.
- A promise of financial support should be in this letter.
- The inviter must indicate how many people are in their household in the invitation letter.
- The inviter must submit a notice of assessment, bank statements, pay stubs, employment letter, and evidence for employment insurance benefits (for example, a maternity or paternity leave).
- Have a Canadian medical insurance cover valid for a year and at least $100,000 for emergency coverage.
- Provide proof that the insurance policy has been paid for in full.
Where and How To Apply For It
The most preferred application option is the online version. Interested applicants have an IRCC account to apply for this document. Once you sign in to your account, follow the instructions and fill out the application form. Pay the application fees and submit your request to the immigration department. Ensure you meet every criterion necessary for a successful application. While most applications are made online, there’s an exception for people with disabilities or if you travel with a document issued to a refugee, non-citizen or stateless person.
You can also apply from abroad. The immigration office encourages all applicants to apply from abroad. Failure to do so will have you restricted from entering Canada.
What Happens After You Apply?
Once you apply for this document, you will receive a notification in your IRCC account acknowledging the receipt of the application. Tracking the progress is challenging because of the varying situations. However, you will receive an alert to inform you once the process is complete. If you want to follow every step of the application, you can use this calculator to help determine how long you have to wait before you’re successful.
What Does The Person Get After Being Approved?
Once the super visa is approved, you will receive a digital document, which you can access on ArriveCan. If you live in a country exempted from using a visa, you will get a letter to present to the border patrol when you get to the border.
Cost, Validity, and Application Time
It costs an applicant $100 to apply for the super visa. Thankfully, super visas are valid for five to ten years, depending on the variation you choose. There isn’t a specific timeline for the completion of an application primarily because each case has different variables. But, applicants can track the application’s progress using the Canadian document processing times calculator available online.
