Sponsoring Your Parents to Canada: What New Zealanders Need to Know

7 September 2026

If you've moved from New Zealand to Canada and started picturing your parents settling in nearby, there's something you need to know before you plan any further: the main program for that, the Parents and Grandparents Program, is currently closed to new applicants, with no date given for when it will reopen.

That's not the end of the story. There's a real, working alternative that most families end up using anyway, the Super Visa, and it's genuinely faster and cheaper than the permanent-residency program ever was. This guide explains both honestly: what's actually open right now, what it costs, and what it does and doesn't get your parents.

The Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP): currently paused

IRCC is still working through applications already in the system: it plans to approve up to 15,000 people for permanent residence through the PGP in 2026, from sponsors who were invited in the last intake in 2025 (drawn from a 2020 interest-to-sponsor pool). If you weren't already in that pool, there is currently no queue you can join and no waiting list to add your name to. Anyone telling you otherwise, or offering to get you on a list, is not describing the real program.

The real option right now: the Super Visa

The Super Visa is a long-stay, multiple-entry temporary resident visa for parents and grandparents. It is not permanent residency, your parents won't become Canadian permanent residents on this visa, but each stay can run up to 5 years without needing to renew their status, and the visa itself can remain valid for entry for up to 10 years. For most families, that's close enough to the outcome they actually wanted.

Visa	Name	Type	Cost	Processing	Condition
PGP	Parents and Grandparents Program	permanent	CAD $1,260 combined sponsorship fee (when open)	Currently not accepting new applicants	Paused since 15 Jul 2026, no reopening date
Super Visa	Parent and Grandparent Super Visa	temporary	From CAD $100 + CAD $85 biometrics	Weeks to a few months	Up to 5 years per stay, visa valid up to 10 years
Visitor visa	Standard Temporary Resident Visa	temporary	From CAD $100	Weeks	Shorter stays, no super visa insurance requirement

What the Super Visa actually requires

Your parent needs a letter of invitation from you as the host in Canada, proof of the family relationship, and private medical insurance from a Canadian insurer with at least $100,000 of coverage, valid for a minimum of 1 year from their date of entry, covering health care, hospitalisation and repatriation. You, as the host, need to meet a minimum income threshold based on your household size.

Minimum income, 1-person household

CAD $30,526

Low Income Cut-Off (LICO), most recent published table

Minimum income, 4-person household

CAD $56,724

Scales up with household size, confirm current table before applying

Medical insurance

$100,000 min.

Minimum 1 year, Canadian insurer, no quotes accepted

IRCC made the income test more flexible from 31 March 2026: hosts can now qualify using either of the two tax years before they apply (previously only the most recent year counted), and if the host meets most of the requirement on their own, the visiting parent or grandparent's own income can now be added to cover the shortfall. Confirm the current LICO table on IRCC's own site before applying, since these figures are updated periodically.

Planning your move from New Zealand?

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Visa paperwork is only the start of a move like this. The Ultimate Relocation Guide is a paid, step-by-step guide (from AUD $59) covering what comes next: banking, housing, healthcare and your first 90 days.