Immigration: Parents and grandparents can now stay in Canada for 7 years

The parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents can now stay in the country for up to seven consecutive years.

On Tuesday, Canada’s Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced a change to the “super visa” program, which previously only allowed stays of up to two years.

“Families are at the heart of Canadian society,” Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said in a press release. “Improvements to the Super Visa Program allow family members to reunite in Canada for longer, helping everyday Canadians and residents succeed and contribute to society while providing their parents and grandparents with invaluable opportunities to spend time with family in Canada.

Supervisors can now stay in Canada for up to five years of entry, with the option of requesting an extension of up to two years. The new change takes effect on July 4.

The supervision program was launched in 2011 to allow parents, grandparents of Canadian citizens and residents to visit the country for extended periods of time. The child or grandson who adopts them must meet the minimum income requirements, and applicants must also undergo a medical examination and provide proof of private health insurance. Under the new changes, approved international health insurance providers will be allowed to join Canadian companies in offering coverage.

Supervises are valid for up to 10 years and can be used for multiple entries. Previously, they only allowed visits for up to two years at a time. The length of stay for regular Canadian visitor visas is usually six months or less. Canada issues approximately 17,000 super visas annually.

Although the changes are probably welcome news for those with families abroad, it can actually take months or more to obtain a super visa.

Canada is experiencing huge immigration backlogs, which has led to increased visa processing times as staff work on congestion handling of more than two million applications.

With the current processing deadlines, processing a super visa can take at least 146 days if you are applying from India, up to 458 days if you are applying from the United States.