Super Visa or Visitor’s Visa – How to Decide

When planning for your parents or grandparents to visit you in Canada, deciding to apply for a regular visitor visa or a Super Visa can be confusing. In this post, we break down the differences between the two options, and explain how to make the right choice for your family.

When deciding to apply for your parents or grandparents to visit Canada, it can be confusing as to what type of application to make. There are essentially 3 types of visitor’s visa that we need to consider when deciding which type of visa application makes the most sense.

Super Visa

• Allows travel to and from Canada for a max period of 10 years
• Allows holders to remain inside Canada for up to 2 years before they need to leave or apply for an extension
• Applicant must be invited by a Canadian citizen or Permanent Residence who is a child or grandchild and who meets income requirements

Single entry TRV

• Allows travel to and from Canada one time only
• Allows holders to remain inside Canada for up to 6 months before they need to leave or apply for an extension
• Applicant can be invited by anyone

Multiple entry TRV

• Allows travel to and from Canada for a maximum period of 10 years
• Allows holders to remain inside Canada for up to 6 months before they need to leave or apply for an extension
• Applicant can be invited by anyone

When considering whether or not you should apply for a Super Visa or a regular visitor’s visa (TRV) for your parents or grandparents, first think about how long they are going to stay inside Canada when they come to visit. If they are planning to stay for less than 6 months, then a regular TRV is going to make the most sense for your situation. Keep in mind that a regular TRV (multiple entry) will still be issued for a max of 10 years or to the passport expiry, so your parents or grandparents can apply once for the visa and then use it for many different trips to Canada. It doesn’t make any sense to go through the extra hassle or expense for a Super Visa if your loved ones are only coming for a short visit.

If your parents or grandparents would like to stay for longer than 6 months when they travel to Canada, then you need to confirm that you meet the income requirements for the Super Visa application. If you don’t meet the income requirements, you can still apply for a regular TRV and then plan to ask for an extension of stay once your parents or grandparents arrive to Canada, before their 6 month entry expires. In this type of scenario, you are going to need to make a new extension application every six months, or have your parents or grandparents go home for a period of time and then return again. Remember, as long as they have a multiple entry TRV, they can use the visa to travel to Canada as many times as they like until it expires.

The Way Immigration has successfully assisted hundreds of parents and grandparents to visit their family members in Canada. We would be pleased to help you determine your best options to have your parents or grandparents visit you in Canada.