What changed
- From 31 March 2026 a host may meet the income requirement in either of the two tax years before the application.
- Alternatively a host reaching at least 75 per cent of the minimum in the preceding year can add the visiting parent's own income to cover the rest.
- Both reach applications already in processing, and both have to be documented rather than asserted.
The notice
IRCC's notice of 20 March 2026 set out a change to how family income is calculated for super visa eligibility, in force from 31 March 2026.
Two alternative ways to meet the income requirement were added. The requirement itself did not move, and the department states that families who were already eligible continue to qualify.
The change applies to applications already in processing as well as to those submitted on or after 31 March 2026. A file sitting in the queue is assessed on the new basis.
What the two alternatives are
The first extends the assessment period. A host, and a co-signer where there is one, may meet or exceed the income requirement in either one of the two taxation years preceding the application. IRCC previously assessed only the year immediately before.
The second is tied to the year immediately before the application. Where the host's total income for that year, with a co-signer's where there is one, reaches at least 75 per cent of the minimum, the visiting parent or grandparent's own income can be added to make up the rest, and the combined figure has to meet the minimum.
The two options are alternatives rather than a single rule. The first looks at either of two years and asks for the whole figure. The second looks at one year and asks for 75 per cent of it before the parent's income counts. The minimum itself depends on family size, and IRCC publishes the figure for each size.
Who does this actually help?
A host whose income dropped in one year and recovered in the next, or who changed jobs part way through a tax year. Under the old rule a single weak year decided it. Under the new one the stronger of two years can be used.
A parent or grandparent with a pension or rental income of their own, sponsored by a child whose income falls a little short. That combination previously failed and now may not.
Neither alternative is automatic. A host relying on one of them has to file the documents that prove it for their family size, and a file that simply asserts the income without them is being assessed on what was actually sent.
What it does not change
The rest of the super visa is where it was. The host still has to be a child or grandchild who is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian, at least 18 and living in Canada, and still signs a letter of invitation. The applicant still applies from outside Canada, still takes an immigration medical, and still shows private health insurance valid for at least one year from the date of entry.
The visitor visa page on this site sets out how the super visa differs from an ordinary visitor visa, what the letter of invitation has to carry, and how the family size in that letter decides which income figure applies.
The detail sits on Visitor visas and super visas, which is kept current as the rules move.
