Hello Guys,
I am looking for urgent assistance, please. My father is suffering from cancer and I would like to know if being a Canadian citizen can I call my parents here in Canada for treatment. Is there any special visa or under any category I can apply for?
Cancer treatment is expensive back in India and now insurance companies are not covering chemo therapy. Hope my question makes sense.
Thank you in advance
I’m sorry to hear about your father’s cancer. Your best option is for your father to remain in India for treatment. If anyone suggests that he could come to Canada and get access to care for free or apply for PR based on H&C that is very unlikely to happen or be approved. Even if he attempted to apply he would delay treatment which is not a good idea. Individuals with provincial healthcare are prioritized in the Canadian healthcare system. Some hospitals refuse foreign national patients except emergency situations where immediate treatment, like a heart attack, is time sensitive. If in Canada as a foreign national and you need access to healthcare you will be expected to pay back the healthcare you used even if you may be able to arrange a payment plan after typically a significant upfront payment. In the case of an emergency once stabilized or Monday morning if you came to the hospital on the weekend the billing department will come to see someone without provincial healthcare to make payment arrangements. The cost of cancer treatment in Canada could be over 1 million dollars in Canada. Your father also was not in Canada, especially for an extended time, when he discovered he had cancer, he lives in a country where there is a medical system where he can access care, etc.
Healthcare in Canada may appear free because many parts of healthcare in Canada do not involve direct payment but it is not. We pay significant amounts of tax to be able to go to the hospital or doctor’s appointment and only have to present your health card.