Pregnant Wife (not PR) going to Canada for inland application & birth

[Thyobear]

Hi everyone,

I've searched high and low for answers to some of my questions and I haven't been able to find anything so I'm posting a new topic. Forgive me if there are previous ones.

Background: My wife (Chinese) and I (born in Canada, citizen) are expecting our first child. We originally were going to do the outland thinking we would make it in time for the pregnancy but then the cost of the pregnancy came into question. This led us to go with inland and would also mean that (as I am told) we can apply for the Care Card as a result of waiting for the PR Application (since she can't leave the country). We are set on having the kid in Canada at the moment. We are expecting the birth to take place in July or August. We are planning on going back to Canada at the end of this month. There are some questions that have come up as a result of this.

1. Can I buy a one-way ticket for my wife (already has TRV) to go back to Canada with me? The TRV she has was for meeting my family members and performing the wedding ceremonial rites previously.
2. I've read on a couple of the topics that insurance is a major issue. Does this apply for Care Card as well? We plan on moving to BC. We were also told that we can get this without a problem.

I had more questions but they just aren't coming to mind.

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Alurra71]

Hi everyone,

I've searched high and low for answers to some of my questions and I haven't been able to find anything so I'm posting a new topic. Forgive me if there are previous ones.

Background: My wife (Chinese) and I (born in Canada, citizen) are expecting our first child. We originally were going to do the outland thinking we would make it in time for the pregnancy but then the cost of the pregnancy came into question. This led us to go with inland and would also mean that (as I am told) we can apply for the Care Card as a result of waiting for the PR Application (since she can't leave the country). We are set on having the kid in Canada at the moment. We are expecting the birth to take place in July or August. We are planning on going back to Canada at the end of this month. There are some questions that have come up as a result of this.

1. Can I buy a one-way ticket for my wife (already has TRV) to go back to Canada with me? The TRV she has was for meeting my family members and performing the wedding ceremonial rites previously.
2. I've read on a couple of the topics that insurance is a major issue. Does this apply for Care Card as well? We plan on moving to BC. We were also told that we can get this without a problem.

I had more questions but they just aren't coming to mind.

Thank you so much for your help!

If I were you, I would do a LOT of research regarding current Inland application times and really really focus on the insurance part of all of this. If your wife is already pregnant and you do somehow manage to get her provincial health care, will it last the duration for childbirth or will it only be temporary, like 3 or 6 months or something? As the current inland application times stand, she would not have her PR by the time the baby is born in July/August. Childbirth in a foreign country with no insurance can be quite costly. Make sure you cover all of your bases. Because you were born in Canada, I am 99.9% sure that no matter where your baby is born you can pass along Canadian citizenship to him/her.

Good luck.

 

[alicia13]

Hi everyone,

I've searched high and low for answers to some of my questions and I haven't been able to find anything so I'm posting a new topic. Forgive me if there are previous ones.

Background: My wife (Chinese) and I (born in Canada, citizen) are expecting our first child. We originally were going to do the outland thinking we would make it in time for the pregnancy but then the cost of the pregnancy came into question. This led us to go with inland and would also mean that (as I am told) we can apply for the Care Card as a result of waiting for the PR Application (since she can't leave the country). We are set on having the kid in Canada at the moment. We are expecting the birth to take place in July or August. We are planning on going back to Canada at the end of this month. There are some questions that have come up as a result of this.

1. Can I buy a one-way ticket for my wife (already has TRV) to go back to Canada with me? The TRV she has was for meeting my family members and performing the wedding ceremonial rites previously.
2. I've read on a couple of the topics that insurance is a major issue. Does this apply for Care Card as well? We plan on moving to BC. We were also told that we can get this without a problem.

I had more questions but they just aren't coming to mind.

Thank you so much for your help!

Your wife won't be able to get a Care Card until she receives Stage 1 approval, "AIP"(Approved in Principal), which is currently taking 15 months and counting.
I gave birth uninsured here in May and it cost us $4700 in total.

 

[yvr1234]

This led us to go with inland and would also mean that (as I am told) we can apply for the Care Card as a result of waiting for the PR Application (since she can't leave the country). We are set on having the kid in Canada at the moment. We are expecting the birth to take place in July or August. We are planning on going back to Canada at the end of this month. There are some questions that have come up as a result of this.

2. I've read on a couple of the topics that insurance is a major issue. Does this apply for Care Card as well? We plan on moving to BC. We were also told that we can get this without a problem.

Whoever told you about getting Medical Services Plan (MSP) BC can be easily done doesn't know the truth. Theoretically, you can apply for MSP after AIP (as said in ~15 months) and me and HR of my office had to fight hard with MSP to get my hubby cover way past AIP. He finally got the "yes" few months after. At the time, he was closed to getting DM (while waiting to land).

I really don't think you can get any private or BC medical coverage within such short notice. Even for yourself, if you have left BC for long enough, you will need to stay for ~3 months before your own MSP can be re-activated. (New residents or persons re-establishing residence in B.C. are eligible for coverage after completing a wait period that normally consists of the balance of the month of arrival plus two months. For example, if an eligible person arrives during the month of July, coverage is available October 1. If absences from Canada exceed a total of 30 days during the wait period, eligibility for coverage may be affected.)

btw. they retired Care Card already. The new system is BC Services Card. And it is combined with Driver License and needs to be renewal every 5 years.

http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/msp/infoben/eligible.html#who

 

[Ponga]

BC MSP is anything but easy to receive.

As soon as CIC `accepts for processing' and application for spousal sponsorship, the applicant is eligible for coverage. The problem is that the vast majority of MSP employees think that this means that the applicant must have AIP, but it does NOT!

A person is a deemed resident, per the Medicare Protection Act (http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/426_97#section2) [see 2d] and is thereby eligible for coverage. Suffice to say that only a small minority of those truly eligible, have been successful in their argument for coverage.

 

[Kayaker]

If the baby is going to be born in July or August 2015, it is not possible to have healthcare in BC whether you apply Inland OR Outland.

Since you will be paying for the birth-related costs yourself, why not apply Outland, so that she can receive PR and healthcare faster? She can apply Outland but still be present in Canada and have a Canadian address. As long as she has a valid TRV and extends it before it expires (which is easy) there is no problem.

I had travelers' insurance which covered some basic pregnancy costs, but you have to have it for 9 months before anything pregnancy-related is covered. So if your wife is already pregnant, it won't cover anything.

One option you might have is to look for a midwife. I've heard about some people using the services of a midwife to give birth cheaply. However, things like ultrasounds would be out of pocket, and if there are any complications that a midwife can't handle (such as a C-section) she would be sent to a hospital, and you would have to pay for those costs.

An alternative is, you could move to Alberta. Alberta offers provincial health care from day 1 for visitors, as long as they are the spouse of an Alberta resident.