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OHIP Eligibility & Travel Ambiguity

totoronto

Newbie
Nov 22, 2019
1
0
I've been in Canada for 13+ months, but have only recently gotten PR approval. My landing date was at the end of October. Now I am trying to apply for OHIP. One complication is that my husband might be taking a temporary job in the U.S. and I will go with him if he goes. (This part is not negotiable for us.) The job would be for about two months.

My understanding is that if he takes this job and I go with him, I will not be eligible for OHIP until we return and I'm able to stay for five out of the first six months. At that point, I will have a new entry date and the clock will start from there. Is that correct?

At the same time, we don't know for sure whether he will be going. And, even if he doesn't go, we cannot say for certain that we will not travel for longer than 30 days over the course of the remaining months. In addition to the possible temporary work assignment, we have shorter trips planned to visit family, friends, etc. Overall, the days may add up. (We sometimes go through periods of needing to travel a lot. The next 5–6 months are uniquely busy for us, but then after that we will be settled here without much travel for some time.)

My questions are these: At what point do you have to know for certain whether or not you will meet (or have met) the eligibility requirements? Can you apply, assuming that you will meet the requirements, and then change your application status if it turns out you weren't able to meet the requirements?

I'm trying to wrap my head around the ambiguity and the timeline. I understand that if I travel, it will delay my eligibility. But I'm not sure when in the application process this comes into play. What if someone intends to be present and then has an emergency and has to leave for over 30 days? What if you don't know for sure the exact number of days you'll be gone ahead of time?

Between my husband's potential job, mandatory travel for my own job, and trips with various family and friends, there are a lot of potential trips up in the air. We won't know for sure until they happen (or don't). One possible scenario is that my husband won't take the job, we won't go, and our other trips will be fewer than 30 days combined. If this ends up being the case, I would love to be able to apply for OHIP now so that the clock has started and I'm covered as soon as possible—but I also don't know for sure and don't want to break any rules.

Does anyone have experience with OHIP eligibility and travel ambiguity? How does this work?
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,959
12,758
I've been in Canada for 13+ months, but have only recently gotten PR approval. My landing date was at the end of October. Now I am trying to apply for OHIP. One complication is that my husband might be taking a temporary job in the U.S. and I will go with him if he goes. (This part is not negotiable for us.) The job would be for about two months.

My understanding is that if he takes this job and I go with him, I will not be eligible for OHIP until we return and I'm able to stay for five out of the first six months. At that point, I will have a new entry date and the clock will start from there. Is that correct?

At the same time, we don't know for sure whether he will be going. And, even if he doesn't go, we cannot say for certain that we will not travel for longer than 30 days over the course of the remaining months. In addition to the possible temporary work assignment, we have shorter trips planned to visit family, friends, etc. Overall, the days may add up. (We sometimes go through periods of needing to travel a lot. The next 5–6 months are uniquely busy for us, but then after that we will be settled here without much travel for some time.)

My questions are these: At what point do you have to know for certain whether or not you will meet (or have met) the eligibility requirements? Can you apply, assuming that you will meet the requirements, and then change your application status if it turns out you weren't able to meet the requirements?

I'm trying to wrap my head around the ambiguity and the timeline. I understand that if I travel, it will delay my eligibility. But I'm not sure when in the application process this comes into play. What if someone intends to be present and then has an emergency and has to leave for over 30 days? What if you don't know for sure the exact number of days you'll be gone ahead of time?

Between my husband's potential job, mandatory travel for my own job, and trips with various family and friends, there are a lot of potential trips up in the air. We won't know for sure until they happen (or don't). One possible scenario is that my husband won't take the job, we won't go, and our other trips will be fewer than 30 days combined. If this ends up being the case, I would love to be able to apply for OHIP now so that the clock has started and I'm covered as soon as possible—but I also don't know for sure and don't want to break any rules.

Does anyone have experience with OHIP eligibility and travel ambiguity? How does this work?
If you think there may be a chance you will not meet the eligibility requirements I would avoid going to the doctor unless really necessary knowing you could be asked to pay back any care you use.