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GuidesLast checked October 22, 2026

How do I plan a parent's visit abroad?

Short answer

Most parents visit on a visitor visa or travel authorisation. The visa lets them travel, but the border officer or the visa grant sets how long they can stay. Canada, Australia and New Zealand also have long-stay visas for parents (the Super Visa, subclass 870 and Parent Boost), each with health insurance rules, and a Schengen visa for Germany needs travel medical insurance. Routes for a parent who wants to move exist in several countries, but most are paused, capped, queued or limited to dependent parents.

What works the same everywhere

  • A visa is permission to travel. How long your parent can stay is set at the border or in the visa grant, so plan around that date, not the visa's expiry.
  • To stay longer, apply before the current stay ends. Some routes can't be extended at all.
  • Every visitor route asks whether your parent will go home. Officers look at your parent's own home, family, work, money and travel plans.
  • Visitor routes, including the long-stay parent visas, don't lead to residence. A parent who wants to live with you needs a family route.

Country by country

Each card shows the routes, the length of stay, how to stay longer, health insurance, ties home and what's possible for a parent who wants to move.

  • United States

    Visiting

    The B-2 visitor visa covers tourism and visiting family. Parents from Visa Waiver Program countries can usually visit for up to 90 days with an ESTA instead.

    Length of stay

    The officer records an "admit until" date on the I-94. B-2 visitors are admitted for at least 6 months unless an exception is made in an individual case, and for no more than 1 year. Check the date on the I-94 website after every entry.

    Check the I-94 date (CBP)
    Staying longer

    A B-2 visitor can ask USCIS for more time on Form I-539 before the I-94 date; USCIS recommends filing at least 45 days before. ESTA visitors can't extend. Staying past the date can lead to removal and a bar on returning.

    Official page on staying longer
    Health insurance

    The official B-2 pages we checked don't list health insurance as a requirement.

    Ties home

    The consular officer must be satisfied that your parent will leave at the end of the visit and has made adequate financial arrangements. Your parent is assessed on their own ties abroad, not on assurances from family in the US.

    Moving to join a child

    A US citizen aged 21 or older can file Form I-130 for a parent. Parents of adult citizens are immediate relatives, so there is no wait for a visa number. Green card holders (permanent residents) can't petition for parents.

  • Canada

    Visiting

    Most visitors need a visitor visa or an eTA, depending on their passport. The Super Visa is for parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens, permanent residents and registered Indians, and can be valid for up to 10 years. The host must meet a minimum income and sign a letter of invitation.

    Length of stay

    Visitor status ends on the date the border officer stamps in the passport, or 6 months after entry if there is no stamp. Super Visa holders who entered on or after 22 June 2023 can stay up to 5 years at a time.

    Staying longer

    Apply for a visitor record at least 30 days before the current status expires. A visitor record is not a visa: to come back after a trip outside Canada and the US, your parent needs a valid visa or eTA.

    Official page on staying longer
    Health insurance

    The Super Visa needs private health insurance, set out below. The visitor visa pages we checked don't list it as a requirement.

    Super Visa insurance must:

    • Be valid for at least 1 year from the date of entry, and for each entry to Canada.
    • Cover health care, hospitalization and repatriation, with at least CAD 100,000 of emergency coverage.
    • Be paid in full, or in instalments with a deposit. Quotes aren't accepted.
    • Come from a Canadian insurance company, or a foreign company authorized by OSFI (Canada's insurance regulator). Brokers and claims administrators don't count.
    • Be available to border officers on request.
    Super Visa insurance rules (IRCC)
    Ties home

    The officer must be convinced your parent has ties, such as a job, home, financial assets or family, that will take them back home. For the Super Visa, officers also look at whether your parent is a genuine visitor.

    Moving to join a child

    The Parents and Grandparents Program lets citizens, permanent residents and registered Indians sponsor a parent for permanent residence, by invitation only. It is paused: on 15 July 2026 IRCC said it won't accept new interest to sponsor forms or invite sponsors until further notice. The 2025 invitations went to people who submitted the form in 2020. IRCC plans to approve up to 15,000 people through the program in 2026 from applications already submitted.

  • United Kingdom

    Visiting

    Visiting family is a permitted reason for a Standard Visitor visit. Depending on the passport, your parent needs a Standard Visitor visa, an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), or neither.

    Length of stay

    Visitors can usually stay up to 6 months per visit. Longer stays are possible only in a few cases, such as medical treatment.

    Staying longer

    A visitor given less than 6 months can apply online to extend, as long as the total stay stays within 6 months. Apply before the current permission ends.

    Official page on staying longer
    Health insurance

    The official Standard Visitor pages we checked don't list health insurance as a requirement.

    Ties home

    Your parent must show they will leave at the end of the visit, can pay for the stay and the journey home (or someone will), and won't make the UK their main home through frequent or long visits.

    Moving to join a child

    The Adult Dependent Relative visa is for a parent who needs long-term personal care because of age, illness or disability, when that care isn't available or affordable in their own country. The sponsor (British, settled or with protection status) must provide care and housing without public funds. Applications are made from outside the UK.

  • Australia

    Visiting

    The Visitor visa (subclass 600) covers family visits; some passports use an ETA or eVisitor instead. For longer stays, the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) needs the child to be approved as a Parent Sponsor first.

    Length of stay

    Home Affairs sets the stay in the visa grant: generally 3 months, up to 12 months in some cases. Parents of citizens or permanent residents can get a 600 visa valid for longer, but can't stay more than 12 months in any 18. The 870 allows 3 or 5 years per visa, up to 10 years in total.

    Staying longer

    Visitor visas can't be extended. Your parent can apply for a new visa in Australia before the current one ends, unless it carries condition 8503 (No Further Stay). A further 870 needs at least 90 days in a row outside Australia first.

    Official page on staying longer
    Health insurance

    A longer 600 visa for parents needs adequate health insurance, and some 600 visas carry condition 8501 (keep adequate health insurance). The 870 requires Australian health insurance for the whole stay.

    Ties home

    Your parent must intend only a temporary stay. Home Affairs lists evidence such as an employer letter, family at home, a house or other major assets, and bank statements.

    Moving to join a child

    The Parent visa (subclass 103) and Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143) are capped and queued, and the sponsoring child must be settled in Australia. As at 31 August 2026, Home Affairs estimated 42 years for new Parent applications and 18 years for new Contributory Parent applications.

  • New Zealand

    Visiting

    The Visitor Visa covers family visits; visa-waiver travellers use an NZeTA. Parents can also apply for the Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa, or for the Parent Boost Visitor Visa, which needs a sponsor and a minimum income or funds.

    Length of stay

    A Visitor Visa allows up to 6 months in each 12 months (multiple entry) or up to 9 months in 18 (single entry). The Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa allows up to 6 months per visit and 18 months in any 3 years. Parent Boost allows up to 5 years from first entry.

    Staying longer

    To stay longer on a Visitor Visa, apply for a new visa before the current one expires. A Parent Boost visa can't be extended in New Zealand; a second one is applied for from outside the country.

    Official page on staying longer
    Health insurance

    Parent Boost requires acceptable medical insurance for the whole stay, with minimum cover set by Immigration New Zealand. For other visitor visas, it recommends full medical insurance.

    Ties home

    Your parent must be a genuine visitor who intends to leave at the end of the visit. For Parent Boost, family ties at home are listed as evidence.

    Moving to join a child

    The Parent Resident Visa starts with an expression of interest. From 5 October 2026, Immigration New Zealand selects about 90% in date order and about 10% by ballot, four times a year, within a cap of 2,500 visas a year; the first selection is on 10 November 2026. The child must have been a citizen or resident for at least 3 years and meet an income threshold.

  • Ireland

    Visiting

    Visiting family is a purpose of the short stay 'C' visa; Ireland has no separate family visit visa. Some passports don't need a visa, and some UK visa holders can visit under the Short Stay Visa Waiver Programme. The child's invitation letter has set contents, listed on the official page.

    Length of stay

    The immigration officer at the border decides whether your parent can enter and how long they can stay, up to 90 days. The end date is stamped in the passport.

    Staying longer

    If the officer gave less than 90 days, your parent can ask the local immigration office to extend up to 90 days in total. Staying beyond 90 days is considered only for an unexpected change in circumstances or being unfit to travel; minding grandchildren and family events aren't accepted reasons.

    Official page on staying longer
    Health insurance

    Your parent must hold medical or travel insurance on arrival and show it if asked. No minimum cover is stated.

    Ties home

    Your parent must show strong family, social or economic ties at home with documents, such as payslips, an employer letter, property deeds or a tenancy agreement.

    Moving to join a child

    A dependent parent of an Irish citizen, or of some non-EU residents, can apply from outside Ireland to join them (Stamp 0). The sponsor must meet income thresholds in each of the last 3 years, and the parent needs full private medical insurance. Applications from inside Ireland, or from visitors, aren't accepted.

    Official page

  • Germany

    Visiting

    Most parents need a Schengen short-stay visa from the German mission where they live; some passports don't. The child can support the application with an invitation or proof of sponsorship and accommodation; each mission lists what it accepts.

    Length of stay

    Up to 90 days in any 180-day period, counted across all Schengen countries. Border guards check the entry conditions again on arrival.

    Staying longer

    Only the foreigners' authority (Ausländerbehörde) where your parent is staying can extend a Schengen visa, and only in exceptional cases: force majeure, humanitarian reasons or serious personal reasons.

    Official page on staying longer
    Health insurance

    Travel medical insurance is required for the whole stay: valid in all Schengen countries, covering emergency treatment, hospital care and medical repatriation, with at least EUR 30,000 of cover.

    Ties home

    The consulate checks whether your parent intends to leave before the visa expires and has enough money for the stay and the journey home.

    Moving to join a child

    Germany has no general route for parents of adults. The Residence Act lets other family members join only to avoid exceptional hardship. Parents of people first given an EU Blue Card or certain skilled-work permits on or after 1 March 2024 can also get a residence permit if their living costs are covered.

    Official page

  • United Arab Emirates

    Visiting

    A UAE resident can sponsor a parent on a visit visa for relatives through ICP (or GDRFA in Dubai). For a parent, the sponsor needs a monthly salary of at least AED 4,000. A tourist visa through a hotel or tour operator is another option.

    Length of stay

    The permit sets the stay: 30, 60 or 90 days, chosen when applying. Your parent must enter within 60 days of issue. Overstaying costs AED 50 a day.

    Staying longer

    A relatives' visit permit can be extended through ICP or GDRFA. The official pages give different limits for the total stay (120 days on one ICP page, 180 days on the ICP extension page and GDRFA), so check before planning.

    Official page on staying longer
    Health insurance

    ICP requires valid health insurance in the UAE; GDRFA includes it in the visa fee. No minimum cover is stated.

    Ties home

    ICP asks for a return ticket and a passport valid for at least 6 months. A refundable deposit is paid and returned after your parent leaves, if no rules were broken.

    Moving to join a child

    Residents can sponsor family members for residence through ICP. The rules for parents weren't confirmed on an official page for this guide, so check ICP directly.

    Official page

Official sources

The figures here come from official government pages like these, checked on the date above. Each route's page lists its own sources.

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General information from official government sources, not legal advice. Rules change: check the official page, or ask a licensed advisor, before you apply.