A member who arrived in Canada partway through the year didn't meet the LICO (Low Income Cut-Off) requirement for a Super Visa based on their partial-year T4, and was weighing whether to apply for a Super Visa anyway or go the tourist visa route instead for their mother's visit.
What the thread suggested:- Check the specific Super Visa income requirements (LICO) carefully before applying — if you clearly don't meet them based on your documented income, applying anyway is a real risk of refusal, since income is treated as a hard eligibility condition rather than something that can be offset by having enough savings on hand.
- The visa validity itself is essentially the same between a Super Visa and a regular visitor (tourist) visa — contrary to the original plan of needing to extend a tourist visa after six months, members noted the parent could instead simply exit Canada and re-enter after roughly six months while on a visitor visa, without needing a formal extension.
- This suggests a workable middle path: apply for the tourist visa now, and have the parent do an exit/re-entry every roughly six months, rather than risking a Super Visa refusal or filing a formal extension application.
The practical takeaway: if you don't meet the Super Visa's income (LICO) requirement, don't apply anyway hoping savings will compensate — it's a documented income test. A visitor visa with periodic exit/re-entry (roughly every 6 months) was described as a workable interim option until your income requirement is met for a future Super Visa application.