MNI is based on the sponsor's Notice of Assessment (NOA) for the last 3 tax years. The income threshold depends on family size including the parents/grandparents being sponsored. For 2026, MNI for a family of 4 (sponsor's existing household + 2 parents) is approximately CAD $61,000+ for each of the 3 prior tax years. Each year of the 3-year window must meet MNI — falling short in any one year disqualifies the application.

Many older parents from countries with weak civil-registration systems don't have a birth certificate. Acceptable alternatives: family register or family registration document (common in South Asia, parts of Africa), parents' passport showing date and place of birth, sworn affidavits from elder family members witnessing the birth, school records, or church/temple registration records. The application typically includes both whatever primary document is available plus a corroborating secondary document.

IRCC assesses medical inadmissibility under three grounds: (1) danger to public health (active TB, communicable diseases — addressable through treatment); (2) danger to public safety (mental health conditions creating safety risk — case-by-case); (3) excessive demand on health/social services (conditions that would impose significant ongoing healthcare costs). The 'excessive demand' threshold was raised to CAD $128,445 over 5 years (or $25,689/year) in recent updates. Conditions like Type-2 diabetes, hypertension, controlled cardiac conditions typically don't trigger inadmissibility; chronic dialysis-dependent kidney disease, certain cancers, advanced dementia might.