OHIP coverage and pregnancy!

[Esraa]

Hello
I'm a new PR, landed last July in Ontario and received my PR and health card in September but didn't finish the 153 days stay after receiving my OHIP. Bec I had to travel out of Canada from Last week of September till end of Feb for my husband's work and my studies. I'm pregnant and I need to give birth in Canada or my baby would get stuck and don't know how I can bring her back to Canada.
My Question is if I didn't stay for 153 days immediately after residency will I still be eligible for OHIP coverage when giving birth in April? I'll be staying more than 153 days in 12 months totally when I come back, but not before giving birth.
Please tell me what to do, coz I'm totally lost .
thanks

 

[OhCanadiana]

Hello
I'm a new PR, landed last July and received my PR and health card in September but didn't finish the 153 days stay after receiving my OHIP. Bec I had to travel out of Canada from Last week of September till end of Feb for my husband's work and my studies. I'm pregnant and I need to give birth in Canada or my baby would get stuck and don't know how I can bring her back to Canada.
My Question is if I didn't stay for 153 days immediately after residency will I still be eligible for OHIP coverage when giving birth in April? I'll be staying more than 153 days in 12 months totally when I come back.
Please tell me what to do, coz I'm totally lost .
thanks

As you mention, a new resident needs to be in Ontario for 153 days of the first 183 days immediately after establishing residency. Therefore, your 3-month OHIP wait period would start upon your return to Canada, assuming you are planning to move to Canada this time around. Take a look at http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/publications/ohip/ohip_waiting_pd.aspx and http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/programs/ohip/ohipfaq_mn.aspx for further details.

You have two choices:

- Stay abroad until after the birth of your baby. If you choose this option, the next steps depend on whether your husband is Canadian by birth or naturalization or not.
If your husband is Canadian by birth in Canada or naturalization, your baby will be Canadian at birth. You'll need to apply for a Citizenship Certificate and can get a temporary passport at the local Canadian Embassy to travel to Canada.
If your husband is not a Canadian by birth in Canada or naturalization, either you or your husband will need to sponsor your baby for Permanent Residency. To do that, if you are both PRs, the sponsor will need to be in Canada (if your husband is a Canadian citizen, he can sponsor his baby while he is still abroad). In this case, depending on your baby's nationality, you may need a temporary resident visa (aka visitor visa) - or, if the TRV gets denied a Temporary Resident Permit -- for your baby to visit Canada if you want to move to Canada before the sponsorship is approved.

- Move to Canada before your baby is born. You will have a 3 month wait for you to have OHIP coverage. In that time period, you would need to pay out of pocket for your care (unless you have insurance that covers you). You may want to explore midwifery services, as they are funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and therefore free for users. You'll want to start contacting them soon as I understand they have wait times so if you choose midwifery care, take a look at http://www.ontariomidwives.ca/ for their directory. If your baby is born in Canada, s/he will be a Canadian citizen and have OHIP coverage from birth.

 

[Esraa]

Thanks for clarifying.. but would you please tell me if I didn't give birth in Canada and my husband is not a citizen, he is a PR how would he sponsor our baby and how long would it take? specially that my husband hasn't got a job yet. also will the baby then have the benefits of a PR like us or not?
thanks

 

[OhCanadiana]

Thanks for clarifying.. but would you please tell me if I didn't give birth in Canada and my husband is not a citizen, he is a PR how would he sponsor our baby and how long would it take? specially that my husband hasn't got a job yet. also will the baby then have the benefits of a PR like us or not?
thanks

1) After your husband moves to Canada, he would need to sponsor your baby under the family class. The application is at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse.asp . You will need to be able to show how he is going to support the family (while there is no minimum income requirement, you do need to show that you are not and likely will not depend on welfare).

2) The timing depends on the country of nationality and/or residency of the baby. You can get a general sense at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm-fc.asp or a more detailed sense at data.gc.ca.

3) Once your baby's sponsorship is approved, your baby would need to land and then would become a PR.

 

[Esraa]

I wanted to thank you for your last reply...

I was wondering if I come to give birth in Canada and avoid all this sponsoring process how will things go?
I mean if I go to the hospital in an emergency for giving birth,
- will the OHIP not cover me at that time and the hospital won't allow me to give birth there?
- or will the hospital bill me after birth immediately?
- or will the OHIP cover me then send me back by end of the year, saying I wasn't illegible and have to pay them back ( as I read on some forums) also If they do that last step would they overcharge me, or not, maybe they have an options like installments or loans to pay them back...
- Are there any kind of insurance that would cover me during birth at a late stage of pregnancy?
- Do community health centers offer services of giving birth at hospitals, specially if It got complicated during labor and a C-section or any extra procedure was needed? if so how can I arrange for it?

If any body knows plz send me more info, Sorry I'm running out of time and I'm so stressed!!!
thanks a lot for your help

 

[Leon]

Will your baby, if born outside Canada, be visa exempt with your home country citizenship? If yes, it will be a bit easier.

A visa exempt baby can travel to Canada with you and your husband on it's passport. You can apply to sponsor the baby only after you have arrived in Canada. A PR must be residing in Canada in order to sponsor.

You would need emergency / accident insurance for the baby because as a visitor, it will most likely not be covered under OHIP.

If your baby is not visa exempt, you can apply for a TRV but it is possible that it will be denied based on that your intent is not for the baby to just visit. In that case, you can try to apply for a TRP, a special visa sometimes given to babies under such circumstances. If a TRP were denied too, you would have to send your husband to Canada alone in order to sponsor while you wait with the baby outside Canada. The sponsorship can take months or longer depending on the visa office. Your husband would have to continue to reside in Canada during the processing. He can only make short visits if he wants to see you.

If you were able to get a TRV for the baby, you would have the above problem with health care. With a TRP, your baby may be eligible for OHIP, however, while a baby on a TRV would be sponsored through your home country visa office, a baby on a TRP would have to be sponsored in Canada on humanitarian grounds. This will likely take longer.

As for the option of having the baby in Canada, if you use your OHIP card to cover the delivery, you risk that they find out that you did not spend 153 days and they could accuse you of fraud and demand that you pay them back. If that happens, the charges may be over-inflated compared to paying out of pocket yourself because the hospitals charge health care more than they would charge a paying customer.

If you come clean with OHIP as you return to Canada and tell them when you left, they will likely invalidate your card and start a new 3 month waiting period. In that case, if you go to hospital and pay yourself, you will be presented with a bill after the birth and you will be able to make a payment plan.

No private insurance will cover a birth if you are already pregnant. It is a pre-existing condition which means that it is not just a possibility they will have to pay but a certainty. Therefore, there is no room for profit for them to sell you this insurance.

You could do it cheaper by using a midwife. I have heard that there is a free clinic in Scarborough and some people have posted that they have used Diversity midwives as they didn't have OHIP and that they did not have to pay. You can find Diversity midwives here: http://www.diversitymidwives.com/contactUs.php

However, if you end up having to go to hospital, needing a c-section or there are complications, I don't think there is any clinic that will do that for free.

 

[Esraa]

Thanks Leaon for your reply.