Health card for New Immigrant (OHIP) for Ontario

[sussdawg]

You should read here: http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/public/publications/ohip/ohip_eligibility.aspx
- you make your primary place of residence in Ontario; and generally,
- you are in Ontario for at least 153 days of the first 183 days immediately following the date you establish residence in Ontario (you cannot be absent for more than 30 days during the first 6 months of residence); and
- you are in Ontario for at least 153 days in any 12-month period.

Sounds like you will not be in Ontario for 153 days (5 months) out of first 6 months after you landed. So you should expect that when you come back to Canada 6 months later, you will need to do a waiting period again of 3 months before you have OHIP.

Thanks for your response. I probably should go to service Ontario and cancel the health card.

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks for your response. I probably should go to service Ontario and cancel the health card.

I'm not sure if you will need to actually cancel your current OHIP number and need to apply for a brand new one when you return in 6 months... or if you can just keep using your existing card after the new 3-month waiting period in which case there's no need to cancel it. Best to call them and ask.

 

[crawf307]

So I landed Aug. 30 and was added to my husband's lease, thereby establishing residency. In September we went and applied for my card, it came in the mail a little before Nov. 30, when it became valid.

I have to travel a lot for work back to the States and I've made five trips back since Aug. 30, totaling technically 27 days, but some of those are half days, depending on when my flight left Toronto. A generous estimate to me would be 25 days out of the country.

My questions are: how do they calculate the days out of the country/province? How do they keep track of this? If I were out for 31 days in the first 183, would I lose my OHIP card that I already have and have been using since Nov. 30?

My 183 days are up on March 1, so I have to figure out how to break it to my job that I only have 3 or 5 days that I can go on work trips in the next two months.

 

[truesmile]

Travelling for work as far as I know is permitted. Track it?? I'm not so sure that they do. From my experience, I have it on the good that they don't. I'd just let it ride.

 

[bono1]

Hi,

I have a question about OHIP eligibility

my wife landed as a PR on Sept 11, 2014 and stayed for 3 weeks departed Oct 2.. She had to go back home to close things off
She will arrive on March 1, permanently. I understand she will have to wait 3 months from March 1st to be eligible to apply for Ohip.(around June 1st)
The issue I have is that on April 30th we are planning to go to the bahamas for 4 days for vacation. will this impact her eligibility to apply? will she have to wait four more days to apply for ohip?

Please let me know.

Thanks

 

[keesio]

She will arrive on March 1, permanently. I understand she will have to wait 3 months from March 1st to be eligible to apply for Ohip.(around June 1st)
The issue I have is that on April 30th we are planning to go to the bahamas for 4 days for vacation. will this impact her eligibility to apply? will she have to wait four more days to apply for ohip?

No, that is fine. You can be out of Canada for up to 30 days in your first 6 months from the date you establish residence.

 

[bono1]

No, that is fine. You can be out of Canada for up to 30 days in your first 6 months from the date you establish residence.

Thanks for the feedback.. so are my time lines correct, i need to wait till early June to apply for OHIP?

 

[tink23]

Thanks for the feedback.. so are my time lines correct, i need to wait till early June to apply for OHIP?

you can apply for OHIP at any time once you have re-established residency in Ontario. You won't be eligible for the OHIP until 3 months after making Ontario your residence. It is a good idea to apply when you've moved back to Ontario, so that way you will know it is done and don't have to worry. Your card will arrive in the mail on or a couple days before the 3 month mark. If you already have your OHIP card from before, then I'd imagine it will just become active again on the 3 month mark.

 

[keesio]

Thanks for the feedback.. so are my time lines correct, i need to wait till early June to apply for OHIP?

You can actually apply anytime after the date you establish residence (March 1) as long as you can provide proof of residence as requested on the OHIP webpage. But your coverage won't come into effect until after 3 months (at least June 1)

 

[bono1]

Thanks so much for the answers.. will apply ASAP when she arrives.

 

[keesio]

Thanks so much for the answers.. will apply ASAP when she arrives.

Note that some of the address proof OHIP needs may take some time. For example, a bank statement in her name is one accepted proof but you need to open a bank account for her first and then wait until her first statement arrives. But one quick thing you can do is add her to your lease agreement (if renting an apartment) or mortgage (if you own a home). Then you can use that new updated agreement document for address proof.

 

[Rob_TO]

or mortgage (if you own a home).

Just to clarify here... adding a spouse to a mortgage already in force is impossible. You would need to cancel/discharge the entire mortgage first, and re-apply with your spouse under a brand new mortgage contract, causing huge penalties, costs and hassle. Trust me I tried this with my wife's PR app since I already had a mortgage in my name, so just ended up explaining the reason she wasn't on the paperwork in the app.

There is no rush to get an OHIP card. You can apply after exactly 3 months of establishing residency, and get your OHIP number on the same day ready for use (you don't need to wait for them to mail it). There is no incentive to apply any earlier. So during those 3 months, it should be easy to get at least 1 of the required docs to prove residency from "List 2" here. http://www.forms.ssb.gov.on.ca/mbs/ssb/forms/ssbforms.nsf/GetFileAttach/014-9998E-82~1/$File/9998-82E.pdf

 

[rhcohen2014]

Note that some of the address proof OHIP needs may take some time. For example, a bank statement in her name is one accepted proof but you need to open a bank account for her first and then wait until her first statement arrives. But one quick thing you can do is add her to your lease agreement (if renting an apartment) or mortgage (if you own a home). Then you can use that new updated agreement document for address proof.

also note, that service ontario doesn't accept online statements or anything printed at the bank branch for proof of address. the statement must actually be mailed to you at your ontario address. banks (at least TD) only mail out statements once a month in batches, so if you just missed the date, you will have to wait until the next month's statement is mailed. putting my name on the hydro bill ended up being much easier because it took TD Bank 6 weeks to "send" me a statement - which I actually never received.

 

[screech339]

Another option is since there is a 3 month wait, she can apply for a Ontario Drivers licence. Whether is it a new licence or a driver licence swap, it can be done. Getting a Ontario driver licence has no bearing on immigration status. She can apply for driver licence regardless. Once she has the temporary driver licence on hand, she can use that as residence proof of address where OHIP can send the card in the mail.

 

[madmedic_1]

Usually the employer insurance company makes it all or nothing. If you have OHIP you are entitled to all benefits, if you don't have OHIP you aren't entitled to anything. Insurance can't pick and choose which benefits are partially covered by OHIP and which aren't, as it would be too difficult to manage. Easier to just say you get nothing.

I had this same issue with my wife. As soon as we became common-law I added her to my work benefits the same day. I had no clue about requiring OHIP, and they never asked for her OHIP number and just added her no questions asked.

I only found out because at one point we were travelling and she claimed an out-of-country medical expense through my work benefits. They payed the claim, but then sent a form asking for her OHIP info (since OHIP will pay partial payment for out-of-country medical costs). So I called in and asked a "hypothetical" question of what would happen if someone didn't have OHIP, and they said they could not be covered at all, period.

It was over a year later before she landed as PR and did the 3 month waiting period, and during that time we made tons of claims. Luckily for us, they never checked.

My wife arrived from Germany on Dec 1 2014, I had already advised my work and benefit provider about our situation. She has no OHIP at this time, but she is still covered under my benefits from work, but not able to use the Travel insurance part of it because she does not have OHIP. Everything else she is covered though, ie. Prescription meds, dentist, eye glasses ect. They said that they will only cover what is not normally covered by OHIP...she has Emergency medical travel insurance for the rest...hospital visits etc.