Moving to a new country, even if only temporarily, is nothing like moving cross-country, and trying to sponsor someone else brings even more pressure. Immigrating to a new country comes with a lot of Is to dot and Ts to cross, and any slip in paperwork could equal denial of entry. If you’re planning on relocating yourself or a family member to Canada, then your first order of business is securing the privilege to stay.
Before you can apply for that privilege, you must know what kind of visa you need. Continue reading to learn the difference between a multiple-entry and the super visa for parents and grandparents.
Overview of Visas
If you’ve never traveled to or spent an extended amount of time in another country, then you may be clueless about what a visa really is. Depending on the purpose of the trip, you may not even need one. On the other hand, getting a visa opens up a world of opportunities for people who intend to stay in Canada for a while.
Visitors from some countries can enter Canada with nothing more than an electronic travel authorization (eTA). There are even countries from which you will only need your valid passport to travel to or through Canada.
One way to look at a visa is to see it as a permission slip to stay in a foreign country for an extended period of time and a specific purpose. In most countries, you need one if you intend to stay for more than 90 days or three months. Different ones offer different permissions and varying periods of time allowed per stay.
The visa process is an arduous one, but the good news is that you don’t have to go it alone. Greenlight Canada has been helping people get everything from a visitor visa to citizenship for years. With their expertise, they can help to speed up the application process and maybe even save you some money.
Multiple-Entry Visa
Many people travel to and from Canada for business and official purposes. For such people, it would be a pain to have to continually go through the visa process for a specific place to which they frequently travel. For such people, there is a multiple-entry visa.
A multiple-entry visa is good for ten years and allows people to travel to Canada multiple times during that timeframe. It grants travelers permission to stay in Canada for up to six months each time they visit and is best for business people and dignitaries.
Parent and Grandparent Super Visa
Another of the popular types of visas is the parent and grandparent super visa. It’s specifically for the parents and grandparents of permanent residents in Canada, and it’s a type of multiple-entry program.
The key difference between a multiple-entry visa and a parent and grandparent super visa is that there’s a permanent resident acting as a sponsor. With the Canada supervisa, it is up to the child or grandchild of the visa recipient to prove they have enough funds to sponsor visitors.
The number of people a child or grandchild can sponsor depends directly on their financial stability. In addition, there is a minimum income threshold for children and grandchildren to act as sponsors. If the permanent resident doesn’t meet the minimum income level, then applicants should try either the visitor or multi-entry visa.
Another key difference between a multi-entry visa and a super visa is the amount of time it allows travelers to stay in Canada. The multi-entry variety allows applicants to stay for up to six months, and the super visa allows for multiple stays of two years. Like the multi-entry one, the super visa is good for ten years.
