Canada increased income threshold to invite parents and grandparents

The Canadian Immigration has increased the financial threshold for individuals who are willing to invite their parents and grandparents to Canada under the Super Visa program. These rules came into effect on 29 July 2025, where the sponsor must meet the updated income threshold to qualify to invite. The increase in the income threshold is due to the adjustments brought on by Canada Low-income cut-off levels. These income levels are changed annually to adjust to inflation and match the rising standard of living. The income threshold for two persons is increased from 36,576 CAD to 38,002 CAD for gross annual income. The increase in the amount has affected families from reuniting with their loved ones in Canada. This income varies according to the family size and the number of people present in the household. 

The Super Visa is considered a valuable pathway for Canadian citizens and permanent residents to invite their parents and grandparents to Canada. The visa provides a longer duration of stay for up to five years and allows multiple entries for the visa holders. This visa greatly helped Indian migrants to live with their parents in close ties, irrespective of any backlog in permanent residency programs. But, these updates on the increased threshold have led the younger families, new immigrants and larger households to financial challenges to sponsor their beloved parents and grandparents. One of the beneficial news is, the sponsor can include their spouse or common-law partner's income to meet the updated income threshold. Some feel that even after combining with the spouse’s income, the financial bar stands high, unable to balance the income requirements.    
 
Along with the Super visa program, the Parents and Grandparents Program have also been subject to developments in 2025. At the start of the year, the Canadian Government announced that there would be no new intake for Super visa and PGP program applications. However, the IRCC reopened the program and also issued more than 17,000 ITAs to the eligible sponsors. These sponsors have already submitted their interest-to-sponsor forms in previous years. The intake states that the sponsor must submit their application along with the proof of income and sponsorship documents by 9 October 2025. While the PGP programs sponsors must prove their sponsorship eligibility by meeting their income requirement with the Minimum necessary income for the last three tax years. 

On the whole, the Super visa and the Parents and Grandparents Program income threshold updates are struggling to balance immigration levels and Canada economic needs. While the main objectives of these programs are family reunification, they face difficulty when it comes to meeting financial expectations. These changes have slowed down or complicated their plan to bring their loved ones to Canada. The sponsor must start to plan ahead of the upcoming updates and changes in immigration rules. They must earn more to meet the future updates on the income threshold and organise all the financial documents to meet their needs.