A few questions I can't get answered anywhere else please help.

[Holdy81]

Hello,

I am a Canadian citizen who has been living in the US on a green card for the last 5 years. I am looking to return to live in Canada with my family but I have a number of concerns.

My concerns are as follows:

I have a new baby and a wife who is American. I think that since I am the father and I am Canadian that makes my baby Canadian by birth. What I am concerned about however is the following:

If I get a job and move my family to Canada will my daughter have immediate access to health care to take care of her baby needs?


Secondly, can I bring my wife into the country on a visitor visa and then apply for permanent resident status for her? Or is there a different method that is required?

I am not concerned with her ability to work right away so much I am concerned that she is able to be in the country legally and then be entitled to health care within six months or whatever the wait time is.

 

[mollybloom]

I'm an American living in Canada with my Canadian husband. Yes, your wife can live with you in Canada while your applications for sponsorship, permanent residence, and an open work permit are processed. It's apparently much faster to apply outland, though.

I hope that at least partially answers your question. There are some very helpful people on this forum, so you'll get some more complete answers soon. Best of luck!

 

[Holdy81]

Thanks for your reply molly. Could you tell me if you were granted medical coverage after you were in the country for a certain amount of time or did you have to apply for it through permanent resident application?

 

[mollybloom]

Thanks for your reply molly. Could you tell me if you were granted medical coverage after you were in the country for a certain amount of time or did you have to apply for it through permanent resident application?

Once she receives her open work permit she'll be eligible for a medicare card. I didn't actually know this until yesterday, so I've been living in Canada for the past two years without any health coverage (going to a doctor was extremely difficult as doctors don't want to take on the liability of treating people from out of country). Last year, the government started a pilot program to expedite the process for spouses of Canadian citizens applying inland to get an OWP issued within four months. So, she'd be without coverage for four months plus however long it takes to get the health card (I think it's usually three months).

Someone who knows more will definitely eventually comment on this thread to give you better info.

 

[Decoy24601]

From what I've read on this forum, if your wife is American she will not need a visitor visa to travel to Canada. However, she may have issues at the border if she says that she is *moving* to Canada before actually obtaining Permanent Residency. She can *visit* you while her application processes and should bring what would look like a person visiting would bring (no more than a few bags). You can apply inland only while she is in Canada, or you can apply outland either before or after she comes to Canada, although having a permanent residence application in process will likely make it easier for her to visit you. It's recommended for Americans to apply via outland, since it's much faster: 8-10 months.

If any of this is wrong, someone please correct me.

 

[wowsers]

Although a landed PR I have still not moved to Canada and am therefore not writing this from personal experience. From reading the discussions on this forum for several years however I believe it is correct that the medical coverage varies from province to province in Canada; so it depends where you intend to settle. One of the senior members of this forum, Ponga, has set out a lot of very useful information on medical coverage in his posts and if you can, read as many of his past posts as you can on the subject. Possibly after reading this post he can be persuaded to add his observations to this thread.

 

[Holdy81]

So in this case the most expedient way to get health for my wife and child would be to apply for PR for my wife prior to moving? We are planning to move back to a suburb of Toronto in Ontario.

Also, I am still a little confused about my child. I am Canadian, does that mean that she is Canadian as well? Does my daughter need to get a medical exam and do all the prerequisite things that my wife will have to do or is she exempt because she shares blood with me?


I am just looking for the most expedient path for all three of us to be able to move back to Canada together without having to deceive the government or to make multiple trips across the border to get my wife, kid and moving van.

 

[canusa13]

We just went through this recently. Your baby is a Canadian citizenship. You need to apply for proof of citizenship for your child. It takes about 5 months. Apply ASAP. Your wife can stay in Canada as a visitor while your application is processed.

Not sure about other provinces but if you want to come to Ontario, you need to establish residency here and wait 3 months to obtain health card (for you and for the baby once the baby receives her proof of citizenship). Your wife doesn't get health coverage because she doesn't qualify (she needs to be a permanent resident).

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hi

Apply outland for your wife ASAP. She can come to Canada as a visitor while waiting out the app. In Ontario, she will not be able to get health coverage until she is a PR, even if you apply inland and she gets the OWP; OHIP does not give coverage to pilot program OWP holders.

You need to apply concurrently for your child's Certificate of Citizenship and a limited validity passport. The certificate can take many months to recieve. The passport will allow you to obtain health coverage for the child.

OHIP has a 3 month waiting period for everyone, so you will need to pay out of pocket for anything during that time.

 

[Leon]

There would only be one scenario where your baby would not be a Canadian citizen and that is if you were born outside Canada and gained citizenship at birth, based on having a Canadian parent. In that case, you would have to sponsor your baby too. However, if you were born in Canada or if you are a naturalized citizen, even if you were naturalized as a child, your daughter would have citizenship. Here's how to apply for her certificate: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/proof-how.asp

As for your wife, yes, there are various ways to apply. If you apply for her PR outland, as a citizen living outside Canada, you would have to prove that you are intending to move to Canada once she gets her PR. If you apply after arriving in Canada, you don't have to prove that anymore. Applying outland is faster to get PR but applying inland would allow her to work a bit sooner. When you enter Canada with your wife, you can ask for a visitor record to allow her to stay longer than 6 months. They can give her a visa for a year if you say it is your plan to sponsor her. You and your wife have to make sure she doesn't get out of status while you wait for her PR. If you don't get a visitor record, you can also apply to extend before her 6 months are up.