Published November 11, 2026. Below is MAK’s short summary.
Since March 31, 2026, IRCC accepts two ways to prove Super Visa host income. The host, with any eligible co-signer, either meets the full minimum in one of the two tax years before applying, or reaches at least 75% of it and adds the visiting parent’s continuing income.
What does the Canada News Media article cover?
Canada News Media published Two super visa income tests families should not confuse by Usman Khalil, RCIC and CPA Ontario, on November 11, 2026. It explains how a Super Visa host can prove income under the two options IRCC introduced in 2026, and the mistakes that make a sufficient-looking income fall short.
The article is a contributed byline written by Usman for general readers. This page is MAK’s own shorter summary, checked against the IRCC pages linked below; for the current income table and the full host rules, see MAK’s Super Visa guide.
What is Option 1?
Under Option 1, the host, together with an eligible co-signer if there is one, must meet the full minimum income in either of the two tax years before the application. IRCC asks for the Canada Revenue Agency notice of assessment for that year (IRCC proof of financial support page).
The practical effect is that one weak year no longer has to sink the file if the year before it met the minimum. Usman’s article is careful about what this does not mean: the two years are not averaged together, and savings in the bank do not stand in for income.
How does Option 2 work?
Under Option 2, the host and any eligible co-signer must first reach at least 75% of the minimum on their own income from the year before the application. Only after that can the visiting parent’s or grandparent’s own income be added, and the combined total must reach the full minimum (IRCC proof of financial support page).
The order matters. If the minimum for a family were $50,000 (a made-up figure, not IRCC’s table), the host would need at least $37,500 before any parent income could count. A host at $35,000 could not use Option 2, however much the parent earns, and would have to look at Option 1 instead.
For the host’s side, IRCC’s 2026 ministerial instructions allow the most recent notice of assessment or other documents showing Canadian income for the 12 months before filing. For the parent’s side, IRCC says the applicant must show the income will continue while they are in Canada, and the document must state the currency it is paid in. IRCC’s examples include pay stubs for the most recent 12 months available, an original employer letter, bank statements from the last calendar year showing regular income, and pension statements or rental leases.
Option 2 is therefore not a general invitation to pool anyone’s money.
Usman Khalil, writing in Canada News Media
Why does the family size come first?
The minimum income depends on how many people IRCC counts, so the count has to be right before any income is compared. IRCC’s count can include people who do not live in the house.
According to IRCC’s proof of financial support page, it includes the invited parents or grandparents and any other Super Visa applicants the host will support, the host, the host’s spouse or common-law partner (IRCC says this might include a separated spouse), and the dependent children of the host and that partner, whatever the custody arrangements. It also includes previously approved Super Visa holders named in another letter of invitation that still applies, signed by the host or the host’s spouse or common-law partner, and anyone the host or co-signer previously sponsored, or co-signed a sponsorship for, whose undertaking is still in effect. A household of four under one roof can count as a larger family for IRCC. The letter of invitation must list everyone in that count, with each person’s name and date of birth (IRCC forms and documents page). MAK’s Super Visa guide carries IRCC’s current minimum-income table by family size.
This matches what our RCICs see: the biggest mistake is hosts relying on their salary without properly calculating family size, often forgetting dependent children or parents already being supported.
Who can co-sign the invitation?
Only the host’s spouse or common-law partner can co-sign, and only if that partner is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian, at least 18 and living in Canada (IRCC ministerial instructions). The partner’s income is then added to the host’s. IRCC’s forms and documents page says other family members, such as siblings, can’t co-sign, so a brother, sister or other relative cannot be added just because they earn more.
What does the application still need besides income?
Meeting the income test is only one part of a Super Visa file. The applicant still needs a signed letter of invitation from the host, proof that the host is their child or grandchild, private health insurance valid for at least one year from entry, from a Canadian insurer or an approved foreign insurer, and an immigration medical exam (IRCC Super Visa eligibility page).
The Super Visa is also a visitor visa, not the permanent-residence Parents and Grandparents Program, so rules from that sponsorship program should not be carried over. Meeting the income calculation does not guarantee that the visa will be issued.
Usman Khalil is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant and Chartered Professional Accountant with CPA Ontario. His work includes visitor and Super Visa files, business immigration and financial-evidence review where tax records and immigration requirements meet.
Reviewed by Usman Khalil, RCIC R709592, after a fact check against IRCC sources on November 12, 2026.
If you are inviting a parent or grandparent and are not sure which income option your documents support, or how IRCC would count your family, MAK can review it with you before you apply.
Related reading
- Super Visa Application Canada: Income and Insurance Rules
- Usman Khalil, RCIC and CPA Ontario
- MAK Media and Expert Sources
- Usman Khalil in CPA Practice Advisor: when client records become immigration evidence
Sources reviewed
- Canada News Media: Two super visa income tests families should not confuse, published November 11, 2026.
- IRCC notice: changes to how the Super Visa income requirement is calculated, checked November 12, 2026.
- IRCC: Ministerial Instructions for the Super Visa, 2026, checked November 12, 2026.
- IRCC: Super Visa proof of financial support, checked November 12, 2026.
- IRCC: Super Visa eligibility, checked November 12, 2026.
- IRCC: Super Visa forms and documents, checked November 12, 2026.
This MAK article summarizes and contextualizes Usman Khalil’s article published by Canada News Media. It does not reproduce the publisher article and is general information, not case-specific immigration advice.
