Travel Health Insurance for US-Born Toddler Visiting Ontario (PR in Progress)

[thementor]

Hi everyone,

We’re moving to Ontario this August and will be living near the US–Canada border. My spouse and I are Canadian PRs, and our 2-year-old daughter is a US citizen. I’ll be sponsoring her PR soon, but until it’s approved (could take 8–12 months), she’ll be a visitor and not eligible for OHIP.

I’m looking for reliable travel insurance to cover ER and urgent care visits during this time. She’s active and prone to falls, so I want protection in case of accidents. We’ll still use her US insurance for pediatrician visits, vaccines, and specialists. I’m considering:

• Manulife CoverMe (Visitors to Canada)
• GMS Visitors to Canada

Does anyone have experience with either? Are they good at actually paying out for ER or urgent care claims? How much the insurance costs you? Any ER visit claims refused? Thanks in advance!

TL;DR:
Moving to Ontario in August with our US-born toddler (PR sponsorship in progress). Looking for reliable visitor insurance for ER/urgent care only. Considering Manulife and GMS — any feedback on their claims reliability for kids?

 

[CanGoldDigger]

If you will be living in Ontario and your PR sponsorship application will be in progress, you will be eligible for OHIP.

 

[CanGoldDigger]

Who qualifies​

With certain exceptions, to qualify for OHIP, you must meet all of the minimum qualifications listed below plus at least 1 of the additional requirements.

To meet the minimum qualifications you must:

• be physically in Ontario for 153 days in any 12‑month period
• be physically in Ontario for at least 153 days of the first 183 days immediately after you began living in the province
• make Ontario your primary residence

You must also meet at least 1 of the following additional requirements. You:

• are applying for permanent residence in Canada and:
  • have submitted an application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and
  • IRCC has confirmed they have reviewed the application and that you meet the eligibility requirements to apply (see document requirements) and
  • you have not yet been denied

https://www.ontario.ca/page/apply-ohip-and-get-health-card

 

[thementor]

If you will be living in Ontario and your PR sponsorship application will be in progress, you will be eligible for OHIP.

Hi @CanGoldDigger thanks for chiming in. My wife and I are already PR in Canada. Our child was born in USA after we became PR in Canada. So she is a US citizen. We haven't applied for her PR yet but will do in the next 1-2 months. In Ontario, doesn't want need to be a PR to be eligible for OHIP? Does merely applying make one eligible? Thank you.

 

[CanGoldDigger]

Hi @CanGoldDigger thanks for chiming in. My wife and I are already PR in Canada. Our child was born in USA after we became PR in Canada. So she is a US citizen. We haven't applied for her PR yet but will do in the next 1-2 months. In Ontario, doesn't want need to be a PR to be eligible for OHIP? Does merely applying make one eligible? Thank you.

Yes, being a PR applicant is enough, but you must meet the first requirement as well. .

 

[thementor]

Hi @CanGoldDigger I was replying to your first post when you posted the second reply. Thanks for the information on OHIP. Please let me know if my understanding of the OHIP min qualifications is correct:

• be physically in Ontario for 153 days in any 12‑month period

The issue is none of us lived in Canada yet after my wife and my soft-landing; we will live from this August. Per the first rule, does my daughter first need to live in Ontario for 153 days, and only need she becomes eligible for OHIP? Or she becomes as soon as we move to Ontario, and then she needs to live 153 days within the next 12-month period?

• make Ontario your primary residence

She is a two-year old so she doesn't have a drivers ID or utility bills on her name. ChatGPT tells me: You’ll need to provide your Ontario residency proof (e.g., driver’s license, lease, utility bill), your child’s passport and PR application confirmation, and her birth certificate showing your name. Do you have any suggestion whether the aforementioned docs will be sufficient?

Thank you very much.

 

[CanGoldDigger]

Hi @CanGoldDigger I was replying to your first post when you posted the second reply. Thanks for the information on OHIP. Please let me know if my understanding of the OHIP min qualifications is correct:


The issue is none of us lived in Canada yet after my wife and my soft-landing; we will live from this August. Per the first rule, does my daughter first need to live in Ontario for 153 days, and only need she becomes eligible for OHIP? Or she becomes as soon as we move to Ontario, and then she needs to live 153 days within the next 12-month period?


She is a two-year old so she doesn't have a drivers ID or utility bills on her name. ChatGPT tells me: You’ll need to provide your Ontario residency proof (e.g., driver’s license, lease, utility bill), your child’s passport and PR application confirmation, and her birth certificate showing your name. Do you have any suggestion whether the aforementioned docs will be sufficient?

Thank you very much.

Yup, you will need to wait 153 days before applying for OHIP.

You can provide your documents as parents and some proof of that.

 

[CanGoldDigger]

A PR application confirmation might not be enough, you need to pass an eligibility step.

 

[CanGoldDigger]

But there's a lot of discretion here. There might be more leniency in your case. So no harm in trying to apply earlier not meeting all the requirements.

 

[canuck78]

Yup, you will need to wait 153 days before applying for OHIP.

You can provide your documents as parents and some proof of that.

Not the case. Once you receive AOR for the PR applicant should be able to get OHIP as long as you will remain in Ontario for the next 5 out of 6 months and 6 months out of the 1st year.

 

[canuck78]

Hi everyone,

We’re moving to Ontario this August and will be living near the US–Canada border. My spouse and I are Canadian PRs, and our 2-year-old daughter is a US citizen. I’ll be sponsoring her PR soon, but until it’s approved (could take 8–12 months), she’ll be a visitor and not eligible for OHIP.

I’m looking for reliable travel insurance to cover ER and urgent care visits during this time. She’s active and prone to falls, so I want protection in case of accidents. We’ll still use her US insurance for pediatrician visits, vaccines, and specialists. I’m considering:

• Manulife CoverMe (Visitors to Canada)
• GMS Visitors to Canada

Does anyone have experience with either? Are they good at actually paying out for ER or urgent care claims? How much the insurance costs you? Any ER visit claims refused? Thanks in advance!

TL;DR:
Moving to Ontario in August with our US-born toddler (PR sponsorship in progress). Looking for reliable visitor insurance for ER/urgent care only. Considering Manulife and GMS — any feedback on their claims reliability for kids?

You and your spouse also likely need to reapply or apply for OHIP again if you applied already. Any emergency travel medical policy should be fine for the first few months.

 

[thementor]

You and your spouse also likely need to reapply or apply for OHIP again if you applied already. Any emergency travel medical policy should be fine for the first few months.

Hi @canuck78 thanks for confirming this. I recently contacted Service Ontario and I was informed the same that OHIP can start right away provided that we are already PR, can proof Ontario residency (perhaps thru a Utility bill), and we will be staying the next five of six months at least. They also gave us the OHIO application forms.

But that's for me and my wife - we are both PRs and we will be eligible for OHIP right away. For my daughter, she won't be until she is a PR herself regardless of whether she stays the next 153 days or not.

 

[lithosh007]

Hi @canuck78 thanks for confirming this. I recently contacted Service Ontario and I was informed the same that OHIP can start right away provided that we are already PR, can proof Ontario residency (perhaps thru a Utility bill), and we will be staying the next five of six months at least. They also gave us the OHIO application forms.

But that's for me and my wife - we are both PRs and we will be eligible for OHIP right away. For my daughter, she won't be until she is a PR herself regardless of whether she stays the next 153 days or not.

Apply for PR and once you receive AIP, you can apply for Ohip. You need not wait until she receives PR. Although to get AIP, you would need to wait for 6 months or more which would anyways satisfy 153 days requirement

 

[thementor]

Apply for PR and once you receive AIP, you can apply for Ohip. You need not wait until she receives PR. Although to get AIP, you would need to wait for 6 months or more which would anyways satisfy 153 days requirement

Hi @lithosh007 that's very interesting and new to me. Thank you so much! I just discovered

Approved in principle / Approval in principle (AIP)
Your application is “approved in principle (AIP)” if:

• you have received a letter from IRCC stating that you meet the permanent residence eligibility requirements, but
• you still have to pass the medical, security and background checks for you and, if needed, your family members.

Some Reddit posts say that many do not receive AIP. I am wondering if there are specific streams who do. If you know please feel free to share.

 

[canuck78]

Apply for PR and once you receive AIP, you can apply for Ohip. You need not wait until she receives PR. Although to get AIP, you would need to wait for 6 months or more which would anyways satisfy 153 days requirement

Pretty sure it may have changed to AOR from AIP this year.