Parents flying to see their children abroad: the agent's desk

A chunk of your enquiry list is parents flying to see their children abroad: a convocation in Melbourne, a graduation in Leeds, a six-month stay with a new grandchild in New Jersey. Most counters quote this like any other trip and sell just a ticket. That undersells the file: a parent's visit runs on its own visa calendar, insurance wording and return-date arithmetic, and the US and Australian rules both moved in 2025-26.

It is the 60-to-80-plus parent, not the child who invites and pays, who sits the consulate interview, and none of the big four hosts let them stay indefinitely. In the US, how long they stay is fixed at the airport, not the visa: a B-2 admission runs a minimum of six months and up to a year, under 8 CFR 214.2(b). Sell the whole file.

US: who still gets the dropbox now

Since September 2025, the US has dropped its age-based interview exemptions. Under the State Department's interview waiver update, in force from 1 October 2025, every applicant, including those under 14 and over 79, generally needs an in-person interview. The only route that helps a parent: renew a B-1, B-2 or B1/B2 visa in India within 12 months of expiry, where the earlier visa was full validity, the applicant 18+ at issuance, no prior refusal.

Officers can still call anyone in. The Embassy restated in August 2026 that minors must appear too, per VisaVerge, the same 2025 rule. No third-country shortcut either: applicants interview where they live, per State.

Example: A father's B1/B2, full validity, issued August 2016 at 70, expired August 2026, never refused: he applies in India before August 2027 and may still use dropbox. His wife, 76, let hers lapse in March 2025, so her 12-month window closed in March 2026 and she needs a full interview. Under the rules before September 2025, his age alone, now 80, would have made him eligible for a waiver.

Agents already use the US consular wait-time method; layer this waiver rule on it before quoting a date.

Canada: visitor visa or super visa, and where your role stops

A student-visa child means an ordinary visitor visa, usually up to six months, roughly CAD 370 in fees for a couple, per IRCC. A citizen or PR child (or one registered under Canada's Indian Act) opens the super visa instead: multiple entries for up to 10 years, stays of 5 years at a time, per IRCC's super visa page. It needs a minimum host income, an invitation letter, a medical exam, and insurance from a Canadian or OSFI-authorised insurer: at least CAD 100,000, valid a year from entry, paid in full or by instalments with a deposit. A quote does not count.

Only a licensed consultant, lawyer or notary may be paid to advise on the application, per IRCC; using an unauthorised paid one risks the application being returned or refused. Sell the ticket and logistics, and read what IRCC allows you to charge on a Canada file before pricing a "visa service" line.

UK and Australia: an eVisa, and a visitor visa that still works

The UK's Standard Visitor visa covers family visits, usually up to six months, for GBP 135 (long-term visas of 2, 5 or 10 years: GBP 506 to GBP 1,128, still six months a visit), per GOV.UK. The earliest a parent can apply is three months before travel; decisions usually take three weeks. A successful application returns an eVisa via a UKVI account, not a passport sticker, so help the parent create and link that account before they fly.

In Australia, the parent of an adult student is not normally a dependant on the student visa and can still visit on their own subclass 600, per The Indian Sun, clearing up confusion after the 17 September 2026 announcement restricting student-visa family. The Tourist stream usually grants 3 months, up to 12 in some cases, per Home Affairs; a citizen or PR's parent can get longer validity, capped at 12 months in any 18. The Sponsored Family stream carries a No Further Stay condition and needs a settled citizen or PR sponsor, usually resident for the last two years, per Home Affairs, so a student child cannot sponsor.

From 2 October 2026, most temporary visa holders, a visiting parent included, can no longer apply onshore for a Student Guardian visa, per the fact sheet. The same announcement said future visitor visas would carry a No Further Stay provision; we could not confirm it in force as of October 2026, so plan the whole stay on the visa the parent enters with.

The four countries side by side

As of October 2026. Confirm current fees and processing times before you quote a date.

Country	Usual visitor stay	Longer-stay route for parents	Desk trap
US	Set by the I-94, not the visa	Extensions in steps of up to 6 months	Interview for almost everyone; dropbox only for 12-month renewals
Canada	Up to 6 months	Super visa for a citizen/PR child's parent: 5 years a stay	Needs Canadian/OSFI insurance, not an ordinary Indian policy
UK	Up to 6 months a visit	2, 5 or 10-year long-term visas, still 6 months a visit	eVisa via UKVI account, no passport sticker
Australia	Usually 3 months	Citizen/PR child: up to 12 months in any 18, or Sponsored Family	No onshore switch to Student Guardian from 2 Oct 2026

The ties-to-India file for a retired parent

US law treats every visitor as a presumed immigrant until they prove otherwise, at visa stage and at the border, under 8 U.S.C. 1184(b). The UK asks that the parent will leave at the end of the visit; Australia wants a genuine visitor with enough funds. None publish a formula, so build the file instead.

From the parent: pension or ITR proof, property papers, fixed deposits, family in India, a travel history of on-time returns. From the child: proof of status abroad, a signed invitation letter with the visit dates, and the event letter, a convocation notice or a doctor's due-date letter. The letter formats for cover, sponsor and invitation letters post has ready wording for the child's side. Whatever you collect must be genuine; a dressed-up bank statement is the client's problem until it becomes yours.

Insurance for a five-month stay

Read the policy wording before you quote it. Check the age band and the pre-existing clause: one major insurer's senior plan covers travellers 71 and above and, in most cases, will not pay for an existing condition except in a life-threatening situation, per Tata AIG's senior citizen page. That is one insurer's wording, not a market rule; never promise pre-existing-disease cover.

For a Canada super visa, an ordinary Indian policy will not do: it must come from a Canadian or OSFI-authorised insurer, at least CAD 100,000, valid a year and paid. For Australia, a citizen's or PR's parent on a longer-validity visitor visa must hold adequate health insurance, and Home Affairs tells sponsored visitors they are liable for all their own healthcare costs. Sell cover for every Australian stay.

Put insurance on its own quote line; it carries its own commission, and the commission economics on travel insurance post has the numbers. If a family declines cover, get that in writing.

Wheelchair, meals and the connection

Put the wheelchair level and meal code on the PNR at booking, and confirm they show on the itinerary 72 hours out. A 2019 NCDRC order, Air India v Gokul Chandra Chakrabarti, shows why. A senior couple's ticket showed a wheelchair confirmed for the wife, none came at Delhi, and the airline's defence that 48 hours' notice was needed under a 2008 aviation rule failed because of that confirmation.

The NCDRC upheld the deficiency finding and set compensation at ₹5 lakh plus interest. Check the current DGCA text before quoting any notice period. In a 2013 West Bengal State Commission order, Murlidhar Belani v Ares Travels, a wheelchair passenger left waiting for an escort at Frankfurt missed his connection; the airline paid, and the Kolkata agent that sold the tickets was a party but was not held liable.

On US connections, 14 CFR 382.91 makes the arriving carrier responsible for gate-to-gate assistance, even on a separate ticket. Outside the US, do not sell a self-transfer itinerary to an elderly parent.

Pack medicines in original containers with a doctor's note in English; US guidance asks for no more than a 90-day supply, so a six-month stay needs a refill plan. Declare the pickle and the ghee: failing to declare agricultural items costs a first-time offender $300 at US entry.

Long-stay tickets and the return date

Book the return inside the stay the border officer actually grants, not the visa's expiry date. In the US that is the I-94 admit-until date; a B-2 entry runs a minimum of six months and up to a year, under 8 CFR 214.2(b). Check it on landing, do not assume it: more than 180 days past that date triggers a 3-year bar on re-entry, a year or more triggers 10, under 8 U.S.C. 1182.

For Australia, a citizen's or PR's parent who stays 12 full months cannot re-enter for about 6 more months under the 12-in-18 cap, so split a long visit into two stays if the family wants them back sooner. Check the fare's maximum stay and change fee, and send both in writing rather than calling the ticket "open".

Packaging and pricing the parent desk

Quote three lines, not one fare: the ticket, insurance, and a visa-logistics service fee for forms, the appointment, document checks, assistance requests and the 72-hour reconfirmation sweep. On a Canada file, check the IRCC rule above before charging for anything that touches the application itself.

Example (illustrative only): Say your desk logs 6 hours total: forms, appointment, document checks, insurance quote, assistance requests, reconfirmation. At a loaded staff cost of ₹700 an hour, that is ₹4,200 before margin, so a fee of ₹6,000 to ₹7,500, plus GST, covers it with room to spare. Pass government fees through at cost.

TCS only comes in if you also sell a land package, say a few days in Niagara. From 1 April 2026, TCS on an overseas tour programme package is 2% of every payment received, with no minimum amount (5% if the buyer gives no PAN), under the Income-tax Act, 2025; confirm with your CA. A ticket and insurance sold alone do not usually trigger it, and if the child abroad pays for a package, check whose PAN the TCS goes on.

Common questions

Parents ko US visa interview dena padega kya, papa 80 ke upar hain?

Haan, in most cases. Since September 2025, age no longer exempts anyone; the only way around it is renewing in India within 12 months of expiry of a full-validity visa issued at 18+, with no past refusal.

Can my parents stay six months in the USA?

Usually, but it depends on the I-94 date US border control sets at entry, not the 10-year visa. A B-2 admission runs a minimum of six months and up to a year; overstaying without an approved extension risks a multi-year bar on returning.

Can parents attend a convocation in Canada on a visitor visa?

Yes. A visitor visa is the route when the child holds a study permit. If the child is a citizen or PR, also compare the super visa: longer stays, but it needs Canadian or OSFI-authorised insurance.

Can parents still visit a student child in Australia after the 2026 changes?

Yes. The changes restrict partners and dependent children on student visas, not parents, who still apply for their own subclass 600 visa. What they generally lose is the onshore switch to a Student Guardian visa.

The short version

• Sell a parent's visit as a desk product: ticket, insurance, visa logistics and a return date, not just a fare.
• US: age exemptions ended in September 2025; dropbox works only for renewals within 12 months of a full-validity visa issued at 18+, filed in India.
• Canada: a student child means a visitor visa; a citizen or PR child opens the super visa, needing Canadian or OSFI-authorised insurance.
• UK: apply no earlier than three months before travel, budget three weeks for a decision, and expect an eVisa, not a passport sticker.
• Australia: parents of students still travel on subclass 600; the 2026 changes hit dependants on student visas, not parents.
• Put wheelchair and meal requests on the PNR and reconfirm 72 hours out; a confirmed request on the ticket is your proof when something goes wrong.
• Price three lines (ticket, insurance, service fee); only worry about TCS if you also sell a land package.