Hi everyone.
My name is Jade Calver.
I own and operate Calver and Associates Canadian Immigration Services.
Today, we’re talking about regular visitor visas versus the parent grandparent super
visa and the differences between the two.
So, visitor visas – a regular visitor visa, or a TRV to Canada allows a person to come
to Canada for normally 6 months in a row.
After the 6 months, they have to leave back to their home country.
I generally advise that people only stay in Canada 6 months out of every one year period.
A super visa for parents or grandparents on the other hand, allows people to come to Canada
for up to two years at a time.
For example, if someone was coming from India – if they had a regular visitor visa, they’d
be allowed to come to Canada for 6 months as long as the CBSA officer let them in for
that long.
Whereas if they were a parent or grandparent on a super visa, they could enter Canada and
stay here for up to two years at one time.
So, people often ask me – clients call and they ask Jade what are the differences between
a regular visa and the super visa.
So my answer to that is that they’re generally the same but there are some differences between
the two.
With a regular visitor, or a TRV, the difference between countries does vary a little bit on
where the person is coming from.
But, generally, you need to show that you a) have enough money to support yourself here
for six months and b) that you’ll return to your home country at the end of your stay.
It’s a simple visitor visa application and we can apply online or via paper to a local
visa office.
The processing time depends on that visa office and at the end, the person is granted a visitor
visa.
Initial visitor visas, that is to say the first visitor visa is usually issued for just
six months.
If the person has travelled to other countries such as the united states, they’ll be issued
a longer visitor visa, so usually 5 or 10 years.
But remember, even if that person is issued a 5 year visa, they can only enter Canada
for the 6 months and then they have to leave.
In terms of a super visa application, you need to apply online and there are some additional
requirements that are needed.
You need to show that as an applicant that you have a child or grandchild who is a Canadian
permanent resident or a Canadian citizen.
There are also some income requirements to show that that child or grandchild is able
to support you while you’re here in Canada.
Lastly, you need to show that you’ll have medical coverage while you’re here on your
super visa.
It needs to cover medical coverage up to $100,000.00, you have to have actually purchased the insurance
and it needs to be valid for at least two years.
So, it needs to be valid for the entire duration of your stay.
The visa officer for when they’re looking at the super visa applications will also take
into consideration the country conditions of your home country, and who – what you’re
leaving behind.
So, are you apt to return to that home country after you finish your two year super visa
time here in Canada.
So, the question I always get as well is which one is better for me and my parents.
Should I apply for a regular visa or a visitor visa?
And I always say that it will depend on a few different factors.
The first is, do you have enough money to cover them?
If you’re applying for a super visa, there are income requirements to show in an application,
so you really have to make sure that you can meet those requirements for the application.
The second are the country conditions and travel history of your parent.
Has your parent travelled a lot to other countries?
Are you – are they coming from a country that’s stable enough for them to go back
to?
Especially with the competitiveness of the parent grandparent sponsorship class, officers
are going to especially tough on super visa applications.
And lastly, which this one is a little bit humourous, you have to ask yourself, does
my parent actually want to live in Canada for two years?
Lot’s of parents say over the phone that they want to come and visit their grandchild
and they want to be together, but again, they get here and they get to Canada, and summer
ends and they’re ready to go back to a warmer climate perhaps.
So those are really some questions to ask yourself when you’re applying for – deciding
whether to apply for the TRV application or a parent grandparent super visa application.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
We’re at calverimmigrationservices.com