Most of a Super Visa application comes down to judgement — whether an officer is satisfied about your household income, the invitation, and your parents’ intention to leave again. Super Visa insurance is the exception. It is four yes-or-no tests, and a policy either passes them or it does not.
That makes it one of the few parts of the application you can get completely right in an afternoon. It also means there is no partial credit, which is why being precise pays.
What Super Visa insurance is, and why it exists
A Super Visa lets parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents visit for extended periods — up to five years at a time — without renewing status at every entry. Because visitors are not covered by any provincial health plan, Canada requires proof that a long-stay visitor can pay for medical care without falling back on the public system.
That proof is a paid medical insurance policy meeting a specific standard. It is not a recommendation and it is not a formality: an application without it does not succeed.
The four conditions in full
1. At least $100,000 in emergency medical coverage
That is the floor, not the target. The policy has to cover emergency healthcare, hospitalisation and repatriation — those three are named in the requirement itself.
The detail people miss is that it is per person, not per family. If both parents are travelling, that is $100,000 each. A few family plans share a single limit across everybody named on the certificate, and a shared limit does not satisfy the rule. Check before you pay, because it is a difficult thing to unwind afterwards.
Plenty of plans go to $150,000 or higher, and the difference in premium is usually smaller than people guess. Given that a single night in Canadian intensive care can consume a meaningful fraction of $100,000, the step up is worth pricing.
2. Valid for at least 365 days
A full year from the day coverage starts. Not from the day you buy it, and not for the length of the intended visit.
This is the condition that holds up more applications than the other three combined, and we cover the reason below.
3. From an insurer Canada accepts
Two options, and only two. A Canadian insurance company — which is what nearly everyone uses — or an insurer outside Canada that IRCC has specifically designated. That list is short, published, and changes rarely.
A general travel policy bought back home from a company that is not on it will not be accepted, however good the coverage looks on paper. Families are sometimes surprised by this because the home-country policy is cheaper; it is cheaper partly because it is not underwritten for Canadian medical costs.
4. Paid for, not quoted
A quote proves nothing. What is wanted is evidence that the policy exists and has been paid for. This is why the confirmation letter matters so much, and why a screenshot of a price comparison is not a substitute.
The six-month mistake
Here is the error we see most often. Someone plans a six-month visit, so they buy a six-month policy. It feels sensible and it fails the requirement outright.
The length of the visit is beside the point. The insurance requirement is a year, and a 180-day policy does not meet it no matter how long anyone intends to stay. Buy the 365 days even if your parents are booked to fly home in July.
If the visit genuinely will be short, that is worth a conversation — a regular visitor visa may suit better than a Super Visa, and visitors to Canada insurance has no minimum term at all.
Set the start date to the landing date
Coverage begins on the date you choose, not the date you pay, so buying early costs nothing at all. Set the start date to the day your parents plan to arrive.
Flights move. If the date changes, phone the insurer and move the start date before the original one passes — most will do it at no charge as long as the policy has not begun. Leave it until afterwards and you are usually stuck with the policy you have, because it has technically started.
What the confirmation letter must show
The letter is the document that goes into the application. Read it the day it arrives, and check for:
- The insured person’s full name, spelled exactly as the passport spells it
- The insurer’s name, and a policy or certificate number
- The coverage amount, in Canadian dollars
- An effective date and an expiry date at least 365 days apart
- Confirmation that emergency healthcare, hospitalisation and repatriation are covered
- Evidence that the premium has been paid
Names are the quiet failure point. If the passport reads Kuldip Singh Sandhu and the certificate reads Kuldeep Sandhu, that is a mismatch somebody has to explain later — possibly at the border, possibly at a claim. Insurers reissue corrected letters in minutes if you catch it the same day.
Our Super Visa requirements page goes through each of these in more detail.
What the policy actually covers
Super Visa insurance is emergency medical cover. It is not a health plan and it is not a substitute for the provincial coverage your parents do not have. Typically it includes:
- Emergency hospital and ward accommodation
- Physician and specialist fees during an emergency
- Diagnostics — X-rays, scans, lab work ordered in an emergency
- Prescription drugs dispensed during or immediately after treatment
- Ambulance, including air ambulance where needed
- Emergency dental for accidental injury to natural teeth
- Repatriation, and return of remains
What it does not cover: routine and preventive care, check-ups, dental cleanings, prescription refills for a condition already held, elective procedures, and pregnancy or childbirth on most plans. If it is not an emergency, assume it is not covered and ask before booking it.
Can you pay monthly?
On most Super Visa plans, yes. A year of $100,000 cover for two parents in their late sixties is a real bill to find in one go, and monthly plans exist precisely because most families cannot write that cheque in the same week they are paying for flights.
Paying monthly does not shorten the policy. You are financing an annual policy, not buying a monthly one — the full 365 days is intact and the certificate is issued on day one.
The thing to check is the letter. On an instalment plan you want one stating the policy is in force for the full term under an approved instalment plan, not merely a receipt for the first payment. Ask which one a specific plan produces before you commit, because the wording varies between insurers. More on this on our monthly payment page.
Pre-existing conditions
The requirement does not change because a parent has a medical condition — still $100,000, still 365 days. What changes is which plan is worth buying.
Most plans cover a pre-existing condition provided it has been stable for a set period before coverage starts, commonly 90 or 180 days. Stable means unchanged: no new symptoms, no new medication, no change of dose, no new tests pending. A routine dosage adjustment two months before departure can put a condition inside a 180-day window while a 90-day plan clears it — same person, same health, opposite outcome.
This is the detail most declined claims turn on, so it is worth reading how stability periods work before comparing on price alone.
What happens if the visa is refused
Every insurer we place business with refunds the premium against a copy of the refusal letter. Some deduct a small administration fee, some refund in full. If you want the exact clause for a specific plan before you buy, ask — it is a reasonable question and the answer is in the policy wording.
The same applies if your parents go home early: most insurers refund the unused days pro-rata, less a small cancellation fee, provided no claim has been made. Send the departure stamp.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to buy the insurance before I apply?
Yes. The paid policy is part of the application, so it goes in with everything else. Coverage itself can start later — set the start date to the day they plan to arrive, not the day you apply.
Can we buy more than one year of cover?
Yes, and some families do. A Super Visa allows stays of up to five years at a time, so buying two years up front and renewing after that is common. One year is the minimum, not a ceiling.
Can we use a policy bought outside Canada?
Only if that insurer appears on IRCC’s designated list of approved providers outside Canada. Otherwise the policy has to come from a Canadian insurer — and you can buy it here on your parents’ behalf and have the letter emailed to them.
Does the policy need to cover both parents on one certificate?
No. Two separate policies are perfectly acceptable, and sometimes cheaper. What matters is that each person has their own $100,000 of coverage for the full 365 days.
What if my parents arrive later than planned?
Call the insurer and move the start date before the original one passes. Most do it free of charge if the policy has not yet begun.
You can compare qualifying plans on our Super Visa insurance page — every result already meets the $100,000 and 365-day rule, so what is left to decide is the coverage amount, the deductible and the price. If this is your parents’ first long trip, our guide to insurance for parents and grandparents visiting Canada covers the rest of what to expect, and how to make a claim is worth reading before they land rather than after.
