COPR received. Waiting for Proof of citizenship application for baby.

[clairin]

Hello Everyone,
My wife, who is Canadian, is my sponsor for permanent residence. We submitted our application September 2020. I'm from the U.S., and we live in Germany. At the time of the application my wife was pregnant (which we noted) and our second child was born in January 2021.

In June I received my COPR. As a final step I need to submit our travel documents. However, our son's application for citizenship, which we submitted in March, is still pending. Of course we could travel on his U.S. passport, but I expect that at the border the agents would expect a visa of some sort for my son.

My original deadline to submit documents was July, but after I wrote the immigration office it was pushed back to September. I thought for sure we'd have everything by now, as the IRCC website said 6 months max. I checked the other day, now it says 15 months processing time!

I'm not sure of what to do, and I thought maybe some of you have an idea before I reach out to my officer again. Maybe I can ask to amend the application and list him as a dependent? Or ask if I travel with his U.S. passport and submit an application for a short term visa extension until his application is processed?

If I understand correct my application will be void one year after medicals, which only gives me 6 more months; still shy of the 15 months processing time.

Thanks kindly in advance.

Justin

 

[MJSPARV]

We entered with our toddler on her US passport, birth certificate, and Canadian parent's passport with no issues at the border. It caused some provincial headache but was fine federally. We told them at the border that we'd applied for her citizenship

 

[clairin]

We entered with our toddler on her US passport, birth certificate, and Canadian parent's passport with no issues at the border. It caused some provincial headache but was fine federally. We told them at the border that we'd applied for her citizenship

Thanks for the reply! What kind of provincial headaches? I guess you arrived recently?

 

[canuck78]

Thanks for the reply! What kind of provincial headaches? I guess you arrived recently?

Many provinces won’t provide healthcare foryour child until they can prove they are citizens. No issues for your child entering with a US passport. You can apply for an extension online if visitor status is about to expire,

 

[MJSPARV]

Thanks for the reply! What kind of provincial headaches? I guess you arrived recently?

Healthcare coverage - depends on the province what documentation they will need and even if CBSA admits your child as a Canadian citizen (presumptive citizen) the province might not accept that they are a presumptive citizen.

 

[MJSPARV]

Healthcare coverage - depends on the province what documentation they will need and even if CBSA admits your child as a Canadian citizen (presumptive citizen) the province might not accept that they are a presumptive citizen.

In other words, prepare to pay for private health insurance and large amounts out of pocket for "routine care". People will tell you it's so cheap in Canada for healthcare compared to the US but that's not been our experience. For example, a small cut that got infected cost $1000 to treat because it was "routine care" (i.e. a lot of private health plans only cover emergencies) and we were charged out of country rates. Another example is a routine appointment of the kind that wasn't an emergency but also couldn't be put off until provincial health coverage came through (think something like needing an appointment to get a refill of thyroid meds, or prenatal care etc) cost $760. In other words, prep your budget.

 

[canuck78]

In other words, prepare to pay for private health insurance and large amounts out of pocket for "routine care". People will tell you it's so cheap in Canada for healthcare compared to the US but that's not been our experience. For example, a small cut that got infected cost $1000 to treat because it was "routine care" (i.e. a lot of private health plans only cover emergencies) and we were charged out of country rates. Another example is a routine appointment of the kind that wasn't an emergency but also couldn't be put off until provincial health coverage came through (think something like needing an appointment to get a refill of thyroid meds, or prenatal care etc) cost $760. In other words, prep your budget.

Did you go to the emergency room? A cut that go infected shouldn’t be a simple charge of a GP visit plus antibiotics which are cheap. Under $150probably. Not sure where you are going but an appointment with a GP to get thyroid medication should not cost $760.

 

[clairin]

In other words, prepare to pay for private health insurance and large amounts out of pocket for "routine care". People will tell you it's so cheap in Canada for healthcare compared to the US but that's not been our experience. For example, a small cut that got infected cost $1000 to treat because it was "routine care" (i.e. a lot of private health plans only cover emergencies) and we were charged out of country rates. Another example is a routine appointment of the kind that wasn't an emergency but also couldn't be put off until provincial health coverage came through (think something like needing an appointment to get a refill of thyroid meds, or prenatal care etc) cost $760. In other words, prep your budget.

That's frustrating; somehow I expected private health insurance would be minimal coverage. Doctor's visits out of pocket are never a fun proposition. My medicals in Germany were over 300€.

Anyone have any experience with B.C?

 

[MJSPARV]

Did you go to the emergency room? A cut that go infected shouldn’t be a simple charge of a GP visit plus antibiotics which are cheap. Under $150probably. Not sure where you are going but an appointment with a GP to get thyroid medication should not cost $760.

Nope. Did not go to the emergency room... Part of the problem was that the first GP barely looked at the cut and his treatment was a total failure so we had to go twice. But still $500/visit is about double what such a visit would have been as a cash pay patient in the US. Ironically probably would have been cheaper if we had taken our daughter to the emergency room. Basically, it's cheap IF you're somehow in the system. In this province at least, they charge an "out of country" rate which is steep. Anyway, this isn't to get into a debate over what Canadian health care prices are or should be, especially as I've noticed that people get touchy if you suggest Canadian health care isn't universally cheap, was just trying to give @clairin a heads up since sounds like his family may be in a similar situation as ours with a minor waiting on citizenship. And, sorry I don't know anything about BC. We're on the opposite coast.

(To be fair to the province, I should point out that they JUST approved our daughter for Medicare for one year to give IRCC time to process her citizenship certificate, and they claim they will refund anything we paid because they've made it retroactive, but we still had to be pay those costs out of pocket (upfront before treatment in one case) with no idea that we'd be refunded.)

 

[clairin]

That's great news for you! Yes, I think comparisons of bureaucratic systems always stir up emotions. It's good to hear that on a provincial level they are recognizing this challenge.