Super visa medical exam: how to book it, what is tested and when to do it

Every super visa applicant must complete an immigration medical exam with an IRCC panel physician, and your parent’s own doctor cannot do it, per IRCC’s medical exam page. Book an upfront exam before applying and upload the physician’s confirmation with the application. The exam covers a history, a physical, and age-based chest X-ray and lab tests. You pay the clinic directly, fees are not refunded if the visa is refused, and results are valid for 12 months.

The exam takes one to two hours at the clinic. Results go from the physician to IRCC electronically; incomplete history or a specialist referral is the usual cause of delay.

What do you need before you book?

A panel physician from IRCC’s official list, the parent’s passport, a list of current medications, and previous reports for any ongoing condition. If the exam is upfront, tell the clinic the category is a visitor visa, super visa, so it is filed correctly.

How do you complete the exam, step by step?

1. Find a panel physician. Use IRCC’s panel physician list for the parent’s country and city. Only physicians on that list can do the exam.
2. Book an upfront exam. Call the clinic, say it is an upfront immigration medical exam for a parent and grandparent super visa, and ask whether it uses eMedical and whether photos are needed.
3. Time it. Book two to four weeks before submitting the application, so the 12-month validity covers processing and the planned entry date. Check the processing times for the country.
4. Attend with the documents above. The clinic checks identity and takes a photo.
5. Complete the history questionnaire. Disclose every condition and medication. The same disclosure must match the insurance questionnaire later.
6. Have the physical. Weight, height, hearing, vision, heart, lungs, abdomen, limb movement and skin. A breast exam may be needed and the reason explained; genital and rectal exams are not included. A chaperone can be requested at any time.
7. Complete the age-based tests. Chest X-ray and laboratory tests as required for the parent’s age, done at the clinic or a linked radiology and lab provider.
8. Pay the clinic. Physician, radiologist, lab and any specialist are paid at the appointment.
9. Collect the confirmation document. For an upfront exam the physician gives a document confirming the exam was done; upload it with the application. The physician sends the results to IRCC.
10. Wait for IRCC. The panel physician does not decide; IRCC does, and will write if there is a problem.

What is tested, by age?

A history and physical for everyone, with chest X-ray and lab tests added by age. IRCC’s page says the X-ray and lab tests are age-based and may lead to a specialist referral, without publishing the exact age bands on that page. Super visa applicants are nearly all adults, and most are over 55, so expect the full set.

Source: IRCC medical exams. Officers assess the result under section 38 of the Act for danger to public health or safety and for excessive demand on health or social services, per the officer instructions.

How much does it cost?

Whatever the panel physician charges; IRCC publishes no fee. A January 2025 Indian guide, moneyHOP, gives a typical range of 4,500 to 7,500 rupees including X-ray and blood and urine tests, varying by city and clinic. A Canadian guide, Ansari Immigration, shows an illustrative invoice of about $450 for a $250 exam, a $110 chest X-ray and $90 of bloodwork. Confirm the fee with the clinic when booking; it is not refunded if the application is refused.

How does the medical exam connect to the insurance?

Through disclosure. The exam asks for every condition and medication, and so does the insurer’s questionnaire. A condition disclosed to the panel physician but not to the insurer is the pattern behind the CP24 case of an 88-year-old super visa holder whose $96,311 Hamilton bill was initially denied for undisclosed heart failure. Book the policy after the exam, answer the questionnaire from the same medication list, and see pre-existing conditions for each carrier’s stability period.

What if something goes wrong?

If the clinic cannot find the super visa category, ask it to file the exam as a visitor visa upfront exam. If a specialist referral is needed, book it immediately; the exam is not complete until the report is in. If the 12-month validity will expire before entry because processing ran long, IRCC may require a second exam, so delay submission rather than the exam when timing is tight. If IRCC writes about a medical finding, respond by the deadline with the specialist’s report; IRCC decides, not the physician.

SuperVisaDirect is operated by Super Visa Direct Insurance Services, an independent Ontario life and accident-and-sickness insurance agency licensed by FSRA (licence [FSRA-LICENCE]), serving Ontario residents; British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are planned for 2028. Designated licensed agent: Cameron Hayes. We arrange the insurance and do not give immigration or medical advice. Email [email protected] or request a callback, Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 6:00pm Eastern Time.