Bringing parents to Canada in 2026: PGP vs Super Visa
If you're a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, bringing your parents to Canada means choosing between a permanent-residence sponsorship and a long-stay visitor visa. One involves a lottery and a multi-year processing marathon. The other gets them here faster but keeps them as visitors. Both have strict income requirements and trade-offs you need to understand before you commit.
The Super Visa is a multi-entry visitor visa valid for up to ten years. Parents can stay up to five years per entry without renewing. No lottery, faster processing, lower income requirement. The catch: they remain visitors. No public healthcare, no right to work, and they must maintain ties to their home country.
Neither is objectively better. If your parents plan to retire in Canada and you can afford to support them long-term, PGP is the goal. If you want them here for extended visits while they keep their life abroad, Super Visa makes more sense.
How the 2026 Parents and Grandparents lottery works
IRCC opens a submission window once a year, usually in January for about three to four weeks. You submit an interest-to-sponsor form online. No full application yet. You're entering a pool.
Weeks or months later, IRCC draws a quota of sponsors by random selection. If your name comes up, you receive an invitation to apply (ITA) and have 60 days to submit a complete sponsorship package. If you don't get selected, you wait for next year's draw. There's no waitlist that carries over.
The 2025 lottery invited around 24,000 sponsors. The 2026 quota hasn't been announced, but recent years have ranged from 15,000 to 30,000 invitations depending on IRCC capacity. Even if you're selected, processing takes 24 months or longer. Realistic timeline from lottery entry to your parents landing in Canada: three to four years.
For more context on how family sponsorship works across programs, that overview covers spousal, child, and parent cases side by side.
Income requirements for PGP sponsorship
PGP has the strictest income test in family immigration. You must meet or exceed the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) plus 30% for the three consecutive tax years immediately before you apply.
LICO varies by household size. "Household" means you, your spouse or partner, your dependent children, anyone you've previously sponsored who's still within the undertaking period, and the parents or grandparents you're sponsoring now. A family of four sponsoring two parents is a household of six for LICO purposes.
The dollar threshold changes every year. For 2024 (the most recent published table), LICO + 30% for a household of six was roughly CAD $77,000 gross annual income. The 2026 figure will be higher because of inflation adjustments.
You must hit that number in all three years. If you fell short one year because of a layoff or parental leave, you're out. Employment Insurance and some social-assistance income don't count. Self-employment income counts if you filed taxes and reported it. Co-signers are allowed: a spouse or common-law partner can combine their income with yours to meet the threshold.
The income test trips up more applicants than any other PGP requirement. Run your last three Notice of Assessment documents before you enter the lottery. If you're borderline, wait another year to build a buffer.
Super Visa: the faster alternative with no lottery
The Super Visa is a visitor visa with two big upgrades: validity up to ten years and stays up to five years per entry. Your parents apply from their home country. No lottery. No interest-to-sponsor form. You send them an invitation letter, proof you meet the income requirement, and they apply for the visa.
Processing time varies by country. Applicants from India, the Philippines, and China usually see decisions in four to eight weeks, sometimes longer during peak travel seasons. Check current visitor visa processing times for the specific country.
Super Visa holders can enter Canada multiple times within the visa's validity. Each entry allows a stay of up to five years without applying for an extension. In practice, border officers have discretion. If they believe your parents won't leave before the authorized period ends, they can shorten the stay. Maintaining ties abroad reduces that risk: a home, a bank account, a return ticket within a reasonable window.
Parents on a Super Visa cannot work and cannot access public healthcare. They must buy private medical insurance from a Canadian provider before they travel.
Super Visa requirements: income, insurance, invitation
Three pillars: sponsor income, medical insurance, and an invitation letter.
Income: The sponsor (you) must meet or exceed the minimum LICO for your household size, not LICO + 30%. That's a lower bar than PGP. For a household of six in 2024, base LICO was around CAD $59,000. You only need to meet it for the current or most recent tax year, not three years.
Insurance: Your parents must buy Canadian medical insurance covering at least CAD $100,000 for a minimum of one year, valid from the date they enter Canada. The policy must cover healthcare, hospitalization, and repatriation. IRCC maintains a list of designated insurers, but any Canadian provider that meets the coverage criteria works. They'll need proof of payment and the full policy when they apply for the visa and when they arrive at the border.
Insurance can cost CAD $2,000 to $5,000 per parent per year depending on age and health. Pre-existing conditions are usually excluded or covered at a higher premium. Budget for this. It's non-negotiable.
Invitation letter: You write a letter (no official form) stating you're inviting your parents, how long they'll stay, that you'll support them financially during their visit, and that you meet the income requirement. Attach your Notice of Assessment, proof of Canadian status (citizenship certificate or PR card copy), and proof of residence (a utility bill, lease, or mortgage statement).
Super Visa refusals happen, usually for the same reasons other visitor visas get refused: weak ties to the home country, insufficient sponsor income proof, or incomplete insurance documentation. If your parents own property abroad, have a pension, or maintain a job (even part-time), include evidence. Officers want assurance they'll leave Canada when the visit ends.
Which route makes sense for your family
PGP makes sense if your parents want to live in Canada permanently, you meet LICO + 30% for three consecutive years and expect to stay above it, you can wait three to four years (lottery, processing, potential delays), your parents are willing to give up permanent ties in their home country, and you want them to access public healthcare and eventually apply for citizenship.
Super Visa makes sense if your parents want extended visits but plan to keep their home abroad, you meet base LICO but not the + 30% threshold (or you've only met it for one or two years), you want them in Canada within months rather than years, they're healthy enough to obtain medical insurance at a manageable premium, and they have strong ties abroad that border officers will find credible.
Some families do both: apply for PGP in the lottery every January while holding a Super Visa for visits in the meantime. That's allowed. If your parents are in Canada on a Super Visa when your PGP application is approved, they can complete landing formalities without leaving. A "flag-pole" at a land border or an inland landing appointment.
One thing PGP and Super Visa share: income proof matters. Whether it's LICO or LICO + 30%, you'll show tax documents, pay stubs, an employment letter. If you're self-employed or your income is inconsistent, gather extra documentation: incorporation papers, contracts, bank statements. IRCC and visa officers both scrutinize the financial-support commitment.
For families already navigating other sponsorship streams (spouses, dependent children), the same financial-assessment principles apply across family sponsorship cases. The thresholds and timelines differ, but the demand for proof is constant.
Official program rules and current LICO tables are at canada.ca/immigration; this guide is independent reference content.
A small portion of this article — research support, fact-cross-checking, and copy-editing — was assisted by AI tooling. Editorial decisions, source verification, and final sign-off remain with our team. We cite primary sources from canada.ca for every factual claim.
IRCC.com is an independent news site and not affiliated with the Government of Canada.
