Super Visa Statistics: 5 Facts From IRCC's Own Reports

The 2023 number was the highest single-year total since the program launched in December 2011 — almost three times the pre-pandemic annual average of roughly 17,000–20,000 per year. Two things drove it: pent-up post-COVID demand, and the August 2022 expansion that let super visa holders stay for up to five years at a time (up from two).

The 2024 drop to 53,695 looks dramatic at 27% year-over-year, but context matters. Volume in 2024 was still nearly three times the pre-pandemic baseline. The more likely explanation is that the 2023 surge absorbed years of backlogged demand, and 2024 represents normalization, not a program contraction.

The dominant cause of refusal is the same test that governs every temporary resident visa: the officer is not satisfied the visitor has strong enough ties to their home country to ensure they will return after their authorized stay ends. Employment, property ownership, close family remaining at home, financial ties — these matter at least as much as the income threshold.

What this means practically: clearing the income hurdle is a necessary condition for approval, but it is not a sufficient one. Families who assume that meeting the MNI guarantees a visa can be caught off guard. The application package needs to demonstrate why the parent or grandparent will leave Canada, not just that the host can afford the insurance.

The refusal rate also varies significantly by country of origin and individual officer assessment. A 34% average conceals wide variance.

A common assumption in insurance marketing frames the super visa visitor as elderly and high-risk. The data does not support it. The 56–64 cohort is recently retired or still working. Many have health conditions that are managed and stable — diabetes, hypertension, controlled cardiac conditions — but they are not the same profile as an 80-year-old with multiple acute issues.

This has real implications for insurance. If a parent is 59 and has no recent hospitalizations, disclosing their medical history fully and getting a plan that covers stable pre-existing conditions may be both available and worthwhile. The reflex to skip pre-existing coverage because it seems expensive is worth examining against the actual health profile.

The 75+ group — at roughly 6% — is the one where coverage complexity and cost rises sharply. For everyone else, the risk profile is more heterogeneous than the product marketing suggests.

The $100,000 minimum was set when the super visa launched in December 2011. It has not been updated since. At today's Ontario hospital rates, $100K covers:

• About 32 days in a Scarborough ward bed, or about 23 days at Sunnybrook — before physician fees, diagnostics, medications, and specialist consultations
• About 13 days in an ICU at Scarborough rates ($7,814/day)
• A short ER visit and discharge, with substantial room to spare

The average acute care hospital stay in Canada was 7.3 days in 2023–24 (Canadian Institute for Health Information). For a "routine" event like a fall, a pneumonia admission, or a controlled cardiac episode, $100K is adequate. For a stroke with rehabilitation, a major surgery, or a prolonged ICU stay, $100K is not.

The $47,549 figure ($38,002 + 25%) is the Minimum Necessary Income required to sponsor parents or grandparents for permanent residence under the PGP sponsorship stream. It uses LICO as a base and adds a 25% premium.

The super visa uses straight LICO, with no premium. For a household of 2, that is $38,002. The difference is $9,547.

Immigration forums, comparison sites, and some insurance brokers circulate the $47,549 figure in the context of the super visa. It is not the right number for this program. A family that checks against $47,549 and falls short may incorrectly conclude they are ineligible when they would qualify at $38,002.

The data points to a few practical adjustments:

• Income is only part of the application. Document the parent's ties to their home country as carefully as you document your income. IRCC's own reports confirm income refusals are uncommon; the bigger risk is the officer concluding the visitor has no compelling reason to return home.
• Consider higher coverage. The $100K minimum made more sense at 2011 hospital costs. At current Ontario rates, it covers a typical hospital stay comfortably but leaves little buffer for serious events. $150K–$200K is a modest premium increase for significantly more protection.
• Check the correct income threshold. Use the LICO figures at the super visa MNI table — not the LICO+25% figures that appear in PR sponsorship materials. Many families who think they don't qualify actually do.
• Do not assume the visitor is high-risk based on age alone. If your parent is in their late 50s or early 60s with stable, managed conditions, pre-existing condition coverage may be available and worth pricing out.