Staying in Quebec temporarily after landing

[Solkien]

Hello all,


I have a question about residency and hopefully someone knowledgeable can clarify things.


If the principal applicant lands as a PR (Spousal sponsorship) and has the intent to make a province in the ROC their province of residence but decides to stay temporarily in Quebec for a couple of weeks in order to spend time with the sponsor's family (with no intent to get a job, healthcare etc. in Quebec) could they be found guilty of “misrepresentation” because of that vacation?


In my mind this isn’t misrepresentation since we would still go ahead with our plan to establish ourselves in our declared city/province after a couple of weeks, but I read all sorts of negative things about living in Quebec under federal spousal sponsorship, so I’m not sure if it applies even to temporary stays after landing.



Thanks in advance.

 

[canuck78]

Hello all,


I have a question about residency and hopefully someone knowledgeable can clarify things.


If the principal applicant lands as a PR (Spousal sponsorship) and has the intent to make a province in the ROC their province of residence but decides to stay temporarily in Quebec for a couple of weeks in order to spend time with the sponsor's family (with no intent to get a job, healthcare etc. in Quebec) could they be found guilty of “misrepresentation” because of that vacation?


In my mind this isn’t misrepresentation since we would still go ahead with our plan to establish ourselves in our declared city/province after a couple of weeks, but I read all sorts of negative things about living in Quebec under federal spousal sponsorship, so I’m not sure if it applies even to temporary stays after landing.



Thanks in advance.

As long as you have proof that you are not planning on settling in Quebec like onward travel and/or housing/jobs secured outside Quebec it should be fine.

 

[Solkien]

As long as you have proof that you are not planning on settling in Quebec like onward travel and/or housing/jobs secured outside Quebec it should be fine.

Thanks for answering Canuck, it provided me with a bit of relief.


As for proof that we intend to settle down outside Quebec, what we have is :

• Confirmed flights going back to the destination city listed on the COPR.

• Airbnb reservations for several weeks in the destination city (We will try to get a lease after finding jobs.)

If you have any other suggestions to further solidify our case then I’m all ears.

 

[armoured]

As for proof that we intend to settle down outside Quebec, what we have is :

Small clarification: you mean that you and the sponsor live abroad and are coming to settle in Canada, and when you arrive (together) you will just stay in Quebec for a few weeks? And after that continue on to province of destination?

 

[Solkien]

Small clarification: you mean that you and the sponsor live abroad and are coming to settle in Canada, and when you arrive (together) you will just stay in Quebec for a few weeks? And after that continue on to province of destination?

Correct, I’m a Canadian citizen that used to live in Quebec. I told IRCC that I wanted to settle down outside of Quebec with my spouse and the application was approved.


I would like to avoid a situation where they falsely believe that we are trying to settle down in Quebec. Due to personal circumstances, we cannot live in the city/province that my spouse was approved for right away.


Basically, I want to make it clear to them that it’s just a temporary visit and there is no intent to emigrate to Quebec. (No lease, no RAMQ for my spouse, no employment for either of us etc.)


The only thing I have left from Quebec is my health insurance for 2025 due to the once every 7 year exemption, but I’m ready to call them when we establish residence in the other province to return my card.


Hope this clarifies things.

 

[armoured]

Correct, I’m a Canadian citizen that used to live in Quebec. I told IRCC that I wanted to settle down outside of Quebec with my spouse and the application was approved.


I would like to avoid a situation where they falsely believe that we are trying to settle down in Quebec. Due to personal circumstances, we cannot live in the city/province that my spouse was approved for right away.


Basically, I want to make it clear to them that it’s just a temporary visit and there is no intent to emigrate to Quebec. (No lease, no RAMQ for my spouse, no employment for either of us etc.)


The only thing I have left from Quebec is my health insurance for 2025 due to the once every 7 year exemption, but I’m ready to call them when we establish residence in the other province to return my card.


Hope this clarifies things.

I think you'll be fine, don't worry about it - what you have mentioned above should be fine.

I've no idea about the Quebec health insurance/once every seven year exemption. As far as I'm aware your health insurance shouldn't be valid if you're living abroad, but again, I don't know about that.

 

[Solkien]

I think you'll be fine, don't worry about it - what you have mentioned above should be fine.

I've no idea about the Quebec health insurance/once every seven year exemption. As far as I'm aware your health insurance shouldn't be valid if you're living abroad, but again, I don't know about that.

Thanks for confirming armoured.


Yeah, I agree this RAMQ 7 year exemption thing is very confusing.


It says that it’s allowed for “personal reasons” and you just need to inform them about your expected return date.


I searched and couldn’t find a webpage stating that the person must intend on staying in Quebec long term or till Dec 31 to benefit from this exemption.

So I just thought of it as “Hey, that’s cool. I get to keep my health insurance while I visit Quebec this year”.


That said, maybe I should call and ask them because I’d rather cancel my health insurance than cause problems for my spouse’s PR status.

 

[canuck78]

Thanks for confirming armoured.


Yeah, I agree this RAMQ 7 year exemption thing is very confusing.


It says that it’s allowed for “personal reasons” and you just need to inform them about your expected return date.


I searched and couldn’t find a webpage stating that the person must intend on staying in Quebec long term or till Dec 31 to benefit from this exemption.

So I just thought of it as “Hey, that’s cool. I get to keep my health insurance while I visit Quebec this year”.


That said, maybe I should call and ask them because I’d rather cancel my health insurance than cause problems for my spouse’s PR status.

Surprised you can still retain RAMQ it is typically for very exceptional circumstances. A valid card does not mean you qualify for RAMQ. If CBSA sees a valid RAMQ card in your wallet or if you use RAMQ that does not show that you don’t intend to settle in Quebec. You would also only be entitled to use RAMQ if you intend to meet the residency obligation which is not a short visit in Quebec. How long are you planning on being in Quebec? A few weeks is very different than end of December if you are landing somewhat soon.

 

[Solkien]

Surprised you can still retain RAMQ it is typically for very exceptional circumstances. A valid card does not mean you qualify for RAMQ. If CBSA sees a valid RAMQ card in your wallet or if you use RAMQ that does not show that you don’t intend to settle in Quebec. You would also only be entitled to use RAMQ if you intend to meet the residency obligation which is not a short visit in Quebec. How long are you planning on being in Quebec? A few weeks is very different than end of December if you are landing somewhat soon.

Based on what I was told by the RAMQ over the phone, any Quebec resident can apply for this exemption once every 7 years. No specific reason is necessary.

I didn’t think of it as an “intent” to settle in Quebec, but perhaps it would be best to not have it on my person as you said so that they don’t get the wrong idea and just tell the RAMQ to cancel my healthcare before going to Canada.

Oh, no it’s nothing close to 5+ months. We are thinking about staying 8-10 weeks at most.