OHIP waiting period

[amr95]

Hello

I had a question about OHIP's waiting period

Is it true that the waiting period only starts after registration.

I arrived in August and I've been waiting since then because I thought I could only apply after actually staying for 3 months ?

So the two months I've stayed won't count because I haven't registered ?


Thanks

 

[scylla]

No - it's not true.

 

[Leon]

It is not true. You should by now have evidence that you are living in Ontario, utility bills etc. so you should go and apply now so that they can have your OHIP card mailed to you as soon as you reach the 3 month mark

 

[Fani]

I noticed that OHIP time period depends on residency establishment. Please correct the time lines below:

October 5, 2014 1st Landing (not "Established 1st residency")
October 24, 2014 Sister`s Mobile Bill received with home address of My name - Apartment - Ontario ("Established 1st residency")
October 26, 2014 OHIP Application Submission
October 27, 2014 Returned to UAE
January 22, 2015 OHIP coverage activated after 3 months of residency establishment
November 23, 2014 Must start staying in CA to maintain OHIP 1st 153/183 days requirement
April 25, 2015 here is first 183 days after residency establishment
October 24, 2015 1st OHIP Card validity 12 months cycle over; Card kept valid due to stay from Nov 23 2014 to April 25 2014
October 25, 2015 2nd OHIP Card validity 12 months cycle starts here
Spend 153 days anytime in ON
October 24, 2016 2nd OHIP validity cycle overs here; Card kept valid if spent 153 days in ON

 

[Leon]

a) If you move to Ontario from another country:

The waiting period begins on the date you establish or re-establish residence in Ontario. If you are an eligible temporary resident, such as a foreign worker who meets the citizenship and residence requirements described in Ontario's Health Insurance Act, the waiting period begins on the date you establish residence in Ontario.

Your coverage begins when the waiting period ends - after three calendar months.

You may be eligible for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) if you are included under one of the following categories:

you are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or landed immigrant, or are registered as an Indian under the Indian Act;
...

AND

- 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.

The date you establish residency is the date you land even though you didn't apply for OHIP right away because you couldn't prove it your residency yet. You can still leave for up to 30 days in this first 6 month period but I think you will get your health card as of January 5th and not the 22nd.

However, there are one 12 month health card periods from your issue date. They state "any" 12 month period which means any given day to any given day 12 months later. Therefore, if you use the time spent from Oct. 5 2014 as a part of your 153 days and leave on April 5 2015 after having completed your 153 days with one break of 30 days for your trip, your days will start to move outside the 12 month window after 12 months so you would have to return by Oct 5th 2014 in order to keep your OHIP. If you don't use that time but complete a full 5 months when you return from your trip at the end of November, you would have to return by the end of November 2015.

You need to keep OHIP informed if you end up staying outside Ontario more than 7 months in any 12 because then you should have lost your OHIP. They may however let you keep it depending on your situation or if not, you can always do the 3 month waiting period again.