Getting Medicals Approved

[toby]

I have several issues related to medical reports.

1) Excessive-demand exemption
Please, where is it written that spouses are exempt from the excessive-demand provisions of the Act? I have never encountered this provision, and would like to know.

But, if spouses are indeed exempt, then why does Immigration ask for a medical in the first place, since it has no bearing on the decision (supposedly)?


2) Period of validity of medical report.
Sadgirl's case in one more example where a medical report has been submitted while valid (valid for one year from issuance), but has expired during the Immigration approval process. This will happen where the approval process takes more than a year, of course, and many processes do.

So, I wonder why Immigration asks for the medical report to be submitted with the application, rather than ask for it later ion te process.

Yet a few other members of this forum, knowledgeable ones, said that as long as the medical is valid when submitted with the application, Immigration will not ask for another.

So, which is correct?

3) Stubborn DMPs
Where a DMP insists on a letter from the nearest embassy or Immigration before doing a medical exam, even where the applicant shows the checklist requiring the exam to be submitted with the application, what can one do? 

Is this something one should discuss with the DMPO before making an appointment?

How much does the exam cost?

Toby

[rjessome]

1.  Immigration Refugee Protection Act

S 38(1) Health grounds - A foreign national is inadmissible on health grounds if their health condition
(a) is likely to be a danger to public health (for ex. TB, SARS, etc.)
(b) is likely to be a danger to public safety; or (for ex. violent mental health issues, etc.)
(c) might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demand on health or social services.

(2)  Exception - Paragraph (1)(c) does not apply in the case of a foreign national who
(a) has been determined to be a member of the family class and to be the spouse, common-law partner or child of a sponsor within the meaning of the regulations;
(b) has applied for a permanent resident visa as a Convention refugee or a person in similar circumstances
(c) is a protected person; or
(d) is, where prescribed by the regulations, the spouse, common-law partner, child or other family member of a foreign national referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (c)

2.  There is no way to predict when any application's processing is going to be finished.

I would like to see where other knowledgable members would say something like this and mean that there will only ever be one medical requested during the process if it takes more than a year to process.  I think you are misunderstanding what they said.

3.  This kind of trouble happens but rarely and seems to be in a minority of cases.  Would be a good thing to discuss with the DMP I guess.  There is no set price as it is set by the DMP.  It can even vary within the country.

[toby]

Thanks for the reference for que 1.

I'll look for the answer that told me that health exams don't expire if they wer active when submitted, and let you now.

The fact that the time for the approval process cannot be predicted is precisely why Canada should change it requirement here:
(1) either wait until the end is in sight, then ask for the health exam (the results are inputted into a data base that is immediately accessible to the visa officer in charge of the case, so no serious delay occurs); or

(2) accept the original health exam result, assuming that the applicant probably did not suddenly get seriously sick, even if the heath exam expired a few months before final visa decision.

I'd opt for (2), especially since spouses are exempt from any practical consequence of a poor health exam.

Seems pointless to me to require a new health exam.

But no one has elected me Minister of Customs and Immigration.



 

[rjessome]

Thanks for the reference for que 1.

I'll look for the answer that told me that health exams don't expire if they wer active when submitted, and let you now.

The fact that the time for the approval process cannot be predicted is precisely why Canada should change it requirement here:
(1) either wait until the end is in sight, then ask for the health exam (the results are inputted into a data base that is immediately accessible to the visa officer in charge of the case, so no serious delay occurs); or

(2) accept the original health exam result, assuming that the applicant probably did not suddenly get seriously sick, even if the heath exam expired a few months before final visa decision.

I'd opt for (2), especially since spouses are exempt from any practical consequence of a poor health exam.

Seems pointless to me to require a new health exam.

But no one has elected me Minister of Customs and Immigration.
 

I understand your reasoning toby but most spousal sponsorship applications are approved within a year.  Check out trackitt.com and you can see that the majority of applications are finished within a year.  I know that this certainly doesn't apply to all, I'm living proof of it.  But the requirements are based on the majority.  It's a catch 22 either way.  Processing and review of medicals by the RMO can take up to a month.  If it's already done, why add an extra month wait time?  So the effort is to expedite it without undue delay if possible.

From the Act, you can see that spouse are ONLY exempt from excessive demand.  They are NOT exempt if they have a serious, contagious disease.

And it's the Minister of CITIZENSHIP and Immigration.  ;o)  LOL

[toby]

Got it. Thanks.  Citizenship and Immigration. I've been out of Canada too long.

[SadGirl:(]

Thanks for the reference for que 1.

I'll look for the answer that told me that health exams don't expire if they wer active when submitted, and let you now.

The fact that the time for the approval process cannot be predicted is precisely why Canada should change it requirement here:
(1) either wait until the end is in sight, then ask for the health exam (the results are inputted into a data base that is immediately accessible to the visa officer in charge of the case, so no serious delay occurs); or

(2) accept the original health exam result, assuming that the applicant probably did not suddenly get seriously sick, even if the heath exam expired a few months before final visa decision.

I'd opt for (2), especially since spouses are exempt from any practical consequence of a poor health exam.

Seems pointless to me to require a new health exam.

But no one has elected me Minister of Customs and Immigration.



 

I totally agree with you Toby, they should accept the original medicals.  Especially when we're complying with all that is being asked of us to do.  It is NOT our faults that they pick and choose who they want to make suffer with excessive background checks that are going to come up clear.  It is ridiculous!  And there is still no update on ecas about the medicals!  This entire application process is turning into a joke.  Whoever heard of keeping a married couple apart from each other for over a year . . . this is NOT humanitarian at all!  Them and their "routine background checks" . . . I've never heard routine background checks taking over half a year . . . come on now!!!