Activating Health Insurance Plan after Returning to Canada

[mmahmud]

Answer for the 2nd part that you think you already know.
You cannot and should not renewal your PR card until you meet our RO. If you renew without meeting RO, yes you can try to write a letter and explain but it's not the normal process and your application will likely go to some secondary review with your H&C justification. What we've seen is that could result in a very long processing time for the PR card (I saw a few saying that if they waited for the 2 years, they wouldn't still be waiting... ) and it may be refused. It could even triggered a review of your PR status. (no one reported that yet... as far as I've read here)

Thanks for your reply and explanation. I understand. Though it is still in the future, but in such cases, would you advice to wait for meeting the RO and then apply to renew PR card?

 

[meyakanor]

Thanks for your reply and explanation. I understand. Though it is still in the future, but in such cases, would you advice to wait for meeting the RO and then apply to renew PR card?

If you can enter the country without being reported, then the advice is: wait 731 days after the date of your entry before applying to renew your PR card.

Do not leave the country even once for the next 731 days, and do not try to engage with IRCC (such as sponsoring anybody) or CBSA in any way until then.

And since you will be in Ontario, you don't need PR card to apply for health card, so it should not be an issue.

 

[mmahmud]

If you can enter the country without being reported, then the advice is: wait 731 days after the date of your entry before applying to renew your PR card.

Do not leave the country even once for the next 731 days, and do not try to engage with IRCC (such as sponsoring anybody) or CBSA in any way until then.

And since you will be in Ontario, you don't need PR card to apply for health card, so it should not be an issue.

Understood. Thanks.

 

[canuck78]

If you can enter the country without being reported, then the advice is: wait 731 days after the date of your entry before applying to renew your PR card.

Do not leave the country even once for the next 731 days, and do not try to engage with IRCC (such as sponsoring anybody) or CBSA in any way until then.

And since you will be in Ontario, you don't need PR card to apply for health card, so it should not be an issue.

OHIP offices have started asking for a valid PR card. You could sue because it isn’t technically a requirement. Many examples of others on the forum who have had to wait the 2-3 years until they could get an OHIP card.

 

[meyakanor]

OHIP offices have started asking for a valid PR card. You could sue because it isn’t technically a requirement. Many examples of others on the forum who have had to wait the 2-3 years until they could get an OHIP card.

Do you know if this is universally practiced by all Service Ontario offices? If it is only true for some locations, or even tellers, then I guess a PR can always go to another office and try their luck there.

BC, for example, does not mention that they would accept CoPR as proof of permanent residency, whereas Service Canada only mentions IMM-1000 and PR card (other forms of CoPR would only be accepted within one year of landing).

Service Ontario, however, explicitly mentioned that either IMM 5292, IMM 5688, IMM 1000 or PR card is accepted as proof of permanent residency for the purpose of applying for OHIP. You would think that they would mention this on the website if they were to make PR card a requirement (and this would also mean that hundreds of thousands of new PRs would not be able to get health care until at least 3 or 4 months after their landing).