Super Visa approved, medical expired: do your parents need a new exam before they travel?
The visa can last 10 years. The medical lasts 12 months. Here is what IRCC actually says, and what to sort out before booking flights.
Pankaj gets this call often. A family applies for the Super Visa, the parents do the medical, the visa is approved, and then life gets in the way. Three or four years later the parents are ready to come, and someone notices the medical is long out of date. This page sets out what IRCC has published on it, where IRCC is silent, and how to plan the insurance so it doesn't become a second problem.
In short
A Super Visa can give multiple entries for up to 10 years, but IRCC says immigration medical results are valid for 12 months, and if you don't come to Canada within that time you may need to do another exam. IRCC doesn't publish a separate rule for parents whose visa is still valid but whose medical has expired, so ask IRCC through its web form before booking flights. The insurance is a separate requirement: it must cover at least one year from the date your parents enter Canada, so buy it for the real arrival date.
Four dates that don't move together
Most of the confusion comes from treating these as one date. Each comes from a different IRCC rule.
| Date | How long | What IRCC says |
|---|---|---|
| Super Visa | Up to 10 years | Multiple entries for a period of up to 10 years. The expiry date is the date by which the visa must be used to seek entry to Canada. |
| Immigration medical | 12 months from the exam date | If you don't come to Canada within that time, you may need to do another exam. |
| Each stay | Up to 5 years per entry | A Super Visa holder is normally authorized to stay 5 years on each entry. |
| Insurance | At least 1 year from entry | Private health insurance valid for a minimum of 1 year from the date of entry, from a Canadian insurer or a minister-approved foreign insurer. |
Sources: IRCC's Super Visa, eligibility and medical exam pages, and IRCC's guidance to officers on visa expiry dates. Links are at the bottom of this page.
What IRCC says, and what it doesn't
IRCC lists Super Visa applicants among the people who must have an immigration medical exam, and it tells them to do it before applying (an upfront exam). On the same page it says the results are valid for 12 months, and that if you don't come to Canada as a visitor, student or worker within that time, you may need to do another exam.
Note the word "may". IRCC hasn't published a page that says exactly what happens to a Super Visa holder who still has a valid visa but whose medical expired before the first trip. For students and workers, IRCC is firmer: their pages say the exam must be valid on the day they enter Canada, and that if it will expire first, they need another exam. That rule is written for students and workers, not for Super Visa parents, but it shows how IRCC treats medical expiry.
The safe reading for families is simple: if your parents haven't entered Canada and more than 12 months have passed since the exam, assume a new exam could be asked for, and get IRCC's answer in writing before spending money on tickets.
Where the exam date is
- Info sheet
- The panel physician's eMedical information sheet
- IMM 1017B
- The Upfront Medical Report form
- Application
- The copy uploaded with the Super Visa application
If the medical has expired and they haven't travelled yet
Do these in order. Don't book non-refundable flights until step 3 is answered.
Find the two dates
The exam date (from the medical form) and the visa expiry date (on the visa in the passport).
Check the IRCC account
Sign in to the account used for the application and read any new messages.
Ask IRCC
Use the IRCC web form, "Ask about or update your application", choose Temporary Residence and Temporary Resident Visa, and ask whether a new medical is needed before travel. Keep the reply.
New exam, if asked
Book a panel physician from IRCC's list. Your own doctor can't do it. Pay the clinic at the visit.
Your parents can use a panel physician anywhere in the world, so they can book in their home city. IRCC's 5-year medical reuse policy only covers people who already live in Canada, so it won't help parents who are still abroad.
Super Visa medical date checker
Enter the exam date and when your parents plan to arrive. It works out the 12-month date and the insurance dates.
A planning aid based on IRCC's published rules. IRCC's answer on your own file always comes first.
What if they already came once?
IRCC's 12-month wording is about coming to Canada within that time. It doesn't say parents need a fresh medical every time they come back on the same visa, and we haven't found any IRCC page that says so.
The closest official statement came at the House of Commons immigration committee on May 31, 2022. An IRCC director general told MPs that the medical is required when a family first applies for a Super Visa, that it doesn't need to be redone when the application is renewed, and that the insurance requirement still has to be met. That was testimony to a committee, not a rule on IRCC's website, so if anything about your parents' file is unusual, ask IRCC.
Getting the insurance right for a late trip
Start it on the real arrival date. IRCC requires coverage for at least one year from the date of entry. A policy bought years ago for the application won't match a later arrival, so plan on a new policy that starts the day your parents land.
Expect the medical questions to be about today. The insurer asks about your parents' health when you buy, not about the immigration exam. Three or four years can bring new pills, dose changes or a new diagnosis, and any of these can restart a plan's stability period. Our guide to pre-existing conditions explains how that works.
Ask about the old policy. If a policy was bought for the application and never used, some insurers refund it under their own rules. See Super Visa insurance refunds before you cancel anything.
Don't buy too early. Wait until IRCC has answered the medical question and the flight date is fixed, then buy. Pankaj can line up the quote in advance so it's ready when you are.
Bring to the insurance call
- Dates
- Arrival date and planned length of stay
- Ages
- Each parent's date of birth
- Medicines
- Current prescription list with doses
- Changes
- Any new diagnosis, test or hospital visit since the medical
Questions families ask
How long is the Super Visa medical exam valid?
IRCC says immigration medical exam results are valid for 12 months from the date of the exam.
The Super Visa itself can be valid for up to 10 years, so the two dates usually end years apart. Check the exam date on the panel physician's information sheet or IMM 1017B form.
The visa is valid until 2034 but the medical expired. Can my parents still fly to Canada?
Possibly not without a new exam. IRCC says that if you don't come to Canada within the 12 months, you may need to do another exam.
IRCC does not publish a separate rule for this exact Super Visa situation, so ask IRCC through its web form before you book tickets, and keep its written reply.
Can our family doctor do the new medical?
No. Only a panel physician approved by IRCC can do the immigration medical exam.
Use IRCC's Find a Panel Physician tool. Your parents can choose a panel physician anywhere in the world, so they can book close to home.
Who pays for a second medical, and is it refundable?
The applicant pays the clinic at the appointment. IRCC says these fees are not refunded if the application is refused.
IRCC does not set the price. Ask the clinic what the exam, x-ray and blood tests will cost before you book.
Can my parents reuse their old medical under IRCC's 5-year policy?
Usually not. That temporary policy is for people who already live in Canada, and it runs until October 5, 2029.
It also requires the earlier exam to show low or no risk to public health and safety. Parents who are still abroad do not meet the "already live in Canada" condition.
Once my parents have entered Canada, do they need a new medical for every later trip?
IRCC's 12-month wording is about coming to Canada within that time, and it does not say a new exam is needed for each entry.
In May 2022 an IRCC director general told the House of Commons immigration committee that the medical is required with the first Super Visa application and does not need to be redone when the application is renewed. The insurance rules still apply every time.
Is the insurance we bought for the application still good when they finally travel?
Only if it covers at least one year from the date they enter Canada, which is what IRCC requires.
A policy bought years ago for the application will not line up with a later arrival date. Buy a new policy that starts on the arrival date, and ask the old insurer about a refund if the first policy was never used.
My mother's health has changed since her medical. Does that affect the insurance?
Yes. The insurance medical questions are about her health when you buy the policy, not when she had the immigration exam.
A new pill, a dose change or a new diagnosis can restart a plan's stability period for pre-existing conditions. Answer the questions with her current prescription list in front of you.
Written by Pankaj Bhatia, CHS, PFA
Insure In Canada Inc. · Licensed in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
Pankaj has 11 years of experience arranging Super Visa insurance. He is an insurance advisor, not an immigration consultant, so for questions about the visa itself he points families to IRCC's own answer.
Sources and related pages
- IRCC: Medical exams for visitors, students and workers
- IRCC: Parent and grandparent super visa and eligibility
- IRCC: Temporary resident visa validity (expiry dates)
- IRCC: Study permit, prepare for arrival (medical validity on entry)
- IRCC web form · Find a Panel Physician · IRCC Help Centre
- House of Commons immigration committee, May 31, 2022
General information, not immigration or legal advice. IRCC decides what each applicant needs; contact IRCC or a licensed immigration consultant about your own file.