Canadian short-stay visitor visas for parents supporting a pregnant PR/citizen child are known to be harder to secure than, say, a US visitor visa, but a documented medical reason can meaningfully help the case.
What group members advised:- Set expectations realistically — visitor visa refusals for this kind of scenario are common, and members noted Canadian short-stay visas are refused far more often than comparable US visas, even with strong travel history.
- Get a medical/support letter from the sister's care provider (midwife or OB-GYN) confirming she is pregnant and that having a family member present after the birth would be valuable support. This kind of documentation was cited as having helped secure approval in a similar case even where the parents had no prior travel history.
- Frame the application around this documented medical/family-support reason rather than general tourism, since that's the specific circumstance the letter is meant to support.
Even with a strong medical letter, there's no guarantee of approval — a prior US visa refusal (as in this case) may also be considered by the officer alongside everything else, so present a complete, honest file rather than omitting past refusals.