Moving to Canada with pregnant wife

[rajeshkmotwani]

Hi guys,

We got our PR and SIN cards soon after our landing in Canada last year in October.

We had decided to move to Canada by Feb 2015 and just a day before my wife's tests are positive.

Now i have few confusions and would really appreciate if any body can share their knowledge / experience on below points:

1 - Can I move to Canada in Feb 2015 (my wife will be 5 months pregnant by then) or do I need to wrap up things quickly and move now.
2- What about the medical / health care in Canada? I know that some provinces cover immediately while others take 2-3 months. what should I do b/w those 2-3 months?
3- MOST IMPORTANT: Is there anyway i can get medical health card while I am still outside Canada. i.e. before my arrival in feb 2015
4- what's the most recommended place to land/ search jobs in Canada for accountants.

Thanks
RAJ

 

[Leon]

There normally shouldn't be a problem for a woman who is 5 months pregnant to fly unless there are some serious complications going on. However, if you want to settle in a province that has a 2-3 month way for health care (BC / Ontario), you should come sooner rather than later because if the baby happens to be born before you get coverage, you will be paying.

You can get private health insurance that will cover you and your wife for emergencies during the waiting time but you can not get insurance that covers for childbirth if she is already pregnant.

Pretty much any other province will give you first day coverage and if you happen to need a doctor before you have received your health card, you can get a refund what the costs you had to pay.

You can not get a health card while still outside Canada. You must be residing in the province where you apply.

 

[Steevy]

Agreed with Leon

There will be no problem for a pregnant woman to enter Canada.

As for the healthcare, if you are going to settle in Ontario, BC, New Brunswick or Quebec there will be a waiting period of approximately 3 months before you can get you health card. In other provinces, new immigrants are eligible for healthcare from day 1.

What you can do in order to stay protected while waiting for the government health plan in case you are going to any of the four mentioned provinces with a waiting period is to get a private medical insurance plan that covers pregnancy related complications such as abdominal pain, bleedings, miscarriage, premature birth, etc. up to the 31st week of your wife's pregnancy period.

You may want to calculate a quote to see what the price is going to look like.

Click Here

 

[rajeshkmotwani]

Hi guys,

Thank you for the information. Its really helpful.

I have another question,

Since I have relative both in Calgary and in Toronto and there is a decent chance I get a career switch in my existing company's Toronto branch.

What If i Land in Calgary and open my medical file there and then after a week or so if i move to Toronto with Calgary medical. How would that work??

 

[Leon]

What If i Land in Calgary and open my medical file there and then after a week or so if i move to Toronto with Calgary medical. How would that work??

In order to be eligible for health care in Alberta, you need to be residing in the province and committed to residing in the province for at least 6 months a year. Applying for health care when you know you have plans to move to Ontario sooner than 6 months would be considered health care fraud. Health care fraud is a crime in Canada and you may end up in court, having to pay a fine on top of paying back everything that health care covered for you. If you want to settle in AB, fine but then you should stay in AB for at least 6 months.

 

[rajeshkmotwani]

Thanks Leon,

That settles than.

The intention is definitely not doing anything outside the law. I was just thinking my ideas aloud and thought to share.

Thanks again for the clarification.

Now coming back to getting medical in Toronto. They say there is a waiting period but is it due to not having 3 photo id's or proof of residency or its just waiting period due to excessive candidates approaching medical at the same time.

See I have PR card. And I think I can open a Canadian Bank account while I am in Dubai. Third think would probably be proof of residency which I guess I can give after a week or so once i Land. Same is the case with driving license I think.

Would that help me in anyway to reduce that 3-4 month waiting period.

 

[scylla]

There is a three month waiting period for medical coverage in Ontario. It has nothing to do with getting ID. There is no way to reduce this wait period to less than 3 months. Any expenses incurred during this period you will either have to cover out of your own pocket or purchase insurance to cover.

No - having a drivers license or Canadian bank account earlier will not reduce the wait time. You need 3 months of PHYSICAL presence in Canada.

 

[Leon]

Like scylla said, Ontario has a 3 month waiting period regardless of ID or proof that you live there. You could move there today and you can use the first 1-2 months in order to collect proof that you live there like utility bills etc. but you will still not get your health card until 3 months after you have arrived.

 

[Mustafa100]

Hi Leon / scylla

Kindly I need your advice with my landing in Ontario in December 2014

I’m planning to go for landing with my wife (will be pregnant 7 months when we landing) and one 2years old daughter ‘’short landing only’’ as Im still need one more year to finish my work in dubai ,
I understand from the above conversation with rajeshkmotwani that I will not be able to get health coverage for my wife before getting the health card, and that’s mean I have to pay for the follow up with the doctors and the delivery ( which I don’t know how much it will cost)

I need your advice with the below options which currently I’m thinking of for the landing

1- Go to Ontario in December 2014 for landing with my family and I have to pay all the expenses for the heath coverage ( any Ideas how much it will cost for delivery in a hospital )
2- Go for landing and leave Canada after two weeks of the landing in order for my wife to deliver in Dubai ( the delivery is free in Dubai-covered b the insurance )
3- Do the landing alone and let my wife deliver in Dubai and get a new visa for my wife and the baby later.
4- Stay till the delivery and inform the visa office about the new baby in order to cancel the visas and issue new ones after adding the baby to the applications.

The above are because I want my baby to get the Canadian citizenship on birth,
the last question is does it worth for me and my family to spend a lot of money in order for my new born baby to get the Canadian passport now, I mean what this passport will help us during the coming years from our landing till getting the citizenship for all of my family members

Thank you for your time…

Mustafa,

 

[Leon]

1. The passport of the baby can not help you in any way except that it will be easier to bring the baby over later when you want to move to Canada. If you rent an apartment and have your wife give birth there with a midwife, it may even be free. In a hospital, a standard delivery with no complications could be $5000 but I have also heard as low as 3000. If there are complications, the price can go up very fast.

2. You could do that but when a PR has a baby outside Canada, the baby must be sponsored and that can be a problem if you are not visa exempt. You would not be able to bring the baby to Canada then without applying for a TRV for it. The visa office may deny your TRV application based on the baby not being a visitor as you intend for the baby to stay permanently. As a PR, you must be residing in Canada to sponsor. As a result, you might have to go to Canada alone in order to sponsor your child and stay alone for months while waiting for the sponsorship to go through.

3. This might work. I have heard of such a case before. As long as the baby is not born when you land, you are not committing misrepresentation and so you can say after the baby is born, your wife can not land on her visa because her visa would become invalid as soon as the baby is born due to changes in family composition. However, if unlucky with the visa office, they might refuse to issue a new visa and tell you that you will now have to sponsor your baby as well as your wife.

4. This might work too but the visa office may also give you trouble in that case. When you are asked for your passports for the visa stamping, in case there are changes in your family composition, you should not send your passport but notify the visa office about your problem. In your case, the baby isn't born yet but they could say the same about you not notifying that the baby was on the way and that you wanted to wait with your landing until after it was born. I know of a case where a couple sent their passports shortly before their baby was born. They got their visas but later they wanted to add the baby but their visa office told them that since they didn't notify of the baby in the first place and the visas were already issued, they would not issue them again and so they would have to apply again from scratch basically. I do not know if they appealed or what happened with them. They might have won an appeal because immigration guidelines say that a visa may be issued as long as they haven't landed.

If you want to do either 3. or 4., you should contact the visa office now and get their opinion in writing that this is possible before you do it.

 

[Mustafa100]

Thank you Leon for your detailed response, I really appreciate that,

Is there a chance that my wife can be exempt from the waiting period ( 3 months ) because of her case? Can I check with Service Ontario Centre from Dubai by calling them or send them e mail? is there any contact number or e mail for such cases?

 

[scylla]

Thank you Leon for your detailed response, I really appreciate that,

Is there a chance that my wife can be exempt from the waiting period ( 3 months ) because of her case? Can I check with Service Ontario Centre from Dubai by calling them or send them e mail? is there any contact number or e mail for such cases?

No - not possible. There are no exemptions granted to the 3 month waiting period.

 

[rajeshkmotwani]

Hi leon,

Thanks for your reply

See option 3 and 4 is not applivable to me as we have already landed in canada in october 2013 last year. So visa are already issued. In fac6t we also have our pr and sin cards.

Could u plz help me out in below
1- is there any insurance you know or can refer who covers pregnancy for 3 months till my wife gets her medical card in toronto
2- i want to further explore that mid wife iption. See she would be only 5 month pregnant in feb. There is a possiblity she will get medical card before her delivery but in that case would the doctors or gp or hospital will entrtain me in last moment?
If the answer to 2 is no, then it means i will have to complete the delivery process with mid wife. What if there is a complication in my case and my wife has to go to hospital? How would that work??

Regards
Raj

 

[Leon]

Hi leon,

Thanks for your reply

See option 3 and 4 is not applivable to me as we have already landed in canada in october 2013 last year. So visa are already issued. In fac6t we also have our pr and sin cards.

Could u plz help me out in below
1- is there any insurance you know or can refer who covers pregnancy for 3 months till my wife gets her medical card in toronto
2- i want to further explore that mid wife iption. See she would be only 5 month pregnant in feb. There is a possiblity she will get medical card before her delivery but in that case would the doctors or gp or hospital will entrtain me in last moment?
If the answer to 2 is no, then it means i will have to complete the delivery process with mid wife. What if there is a complication in my case and my wife has to go to hospital? How would that work??

Regards
Raj

1. There is apparently a plan that covers emergencies up to the 31st week, see http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/urgently-need-help-ohip-eligibility-t230502.0.html;msg3337891#msg3337891

2. I think I can guarantee you that if you show up in the hospital with your wife in labour, even if you don't have a doctor, that they will not kick you out. If you have a health card, it will be covered too. Otherwise, you'll get a big bill. If you decide to go with a home birth but there are complications, you would have to call an ambulance and go to the hospital. If you have a health card, the hospital will be covered, if not, you'll have to pay.

 

[Newcomers100]

Dear Friends,

I have some questions and I was wandering if someone can guide me to the right answers,

I got the Visas for me and my family two weeks ago, and the visas will expire in 15th March 2015,

My wife is pregnant (6 months now) and we are planning to go to Canada within a month,
unfortunately my wife has some complications in her pregnancy and the doctor advice her not to make long trips now, and in case she become more than 28 weeks of pregnancy then no Airlines can accept her,

Before I got the visa I notify the Visa officer that my wife is pregnant and I was intended to let her do the delivery in Canada, and he said that the visas will be issued soon in order for me and my wife to go to Canada before the 28th week of pregnancy,
But with the current case of my wife not able to go Canada before delivery, what are my options, can I send an e mail to the VO and explain to them the case of my wife with a report from the hospital and ask them if :

1- I can go alone and make the landing? what are the consequences for that,
Are they going to not re issue visas for my wife and I have to sponsor her later?
2- Send the passport embassy to cancel the visas, and wait till after delivery of my waif and send them the passport for the new baby in order to get the visas again for all my family,

Any advice pleases or samples of previous experience,

Thank you,