BC Health Fee for children of Provincial Nominees

[chelle1002]

Hi folks,

We came to BC in February this year. My husband is a Provincial Nominee and we both entered on Work Permits. My 2 children, aged 7 and 8, both entered on open Study Permits.

This week we got communication that because the kids are on Study Permits, they will both be charged a $75 a month BC Health Fee. This took us by surprise as I had not previously read about this in any of our paperwork or in the IRCC guidance for Provincial Nominees. I rang and queried if it definitely applied to children of Provincial Nominees and was told that it does: it applies to anybody in BC on a Study Permit.

I am a bit confused as to whether we followed the process correctly in the first place when we obtained Study Permits for the kids. Technically as children of Work Permit holders, they do not actually require a Study Permit to attend school. They also qualify for MSP without a Study Permit as children of a Provincial Nominee with a pending application for Permanent Residence. The IRCC website was confusing with their guidance on whether or not the kids would need a Study Permit to enter Canada, so we erred on the side of caution and applied for them anyway.

I'm now thinking that perhaps we made a mistake. As they technically are not required to have a Study Permit to attend school, can we simply cancel the Study Permits and avoid this unexpected $150 a month fee? With the cost of living going bonkers at the moment, it would certainly help. If we did go down the route of cancelling the permits, would it have any negative impact our PR application or the kids' entitlement to remain in Canada in the meantime?

Any advice or experience you have related to this would be very welcome!

Thank you

Michelle

 

[canuck78]

Hi folks,

We came to BC in February this year. My husband is a Provincial Nominee and we both entered on Work Permits. My 2 children, aged 7 and 8, both entered on open Study Permits.

This week we got communication that because the kids are on Study Permits, they will both be charged a $75 a month BC Health Fee. This took us by surprise as I had not previously read about this in any of our paperwork or in the IRCC guidance for Provincial Nominees. I rang and queried if it definitely applied to children of Provincial Nominees and was told that it does: it applies to anybody in BC on a Study Permit.

I am a bit confused as to whether we followed the process correctly in the first place when we obtained Study Permits for the kids. Technically as children of Work Permit holders, they do not actually require a Study Permit to attend school. They also qualify for MSP without a Study Permit as children of a Provincial Nominee with a pending application for Permanent Residence. The IRCC website was confusing with their guidance on whether or not the kids would need a Study Permit to enter Canada, so we erred on the side of caution and applied for them anyway.

I'm now thinking that perhaps we made a mistake. As they technically are not required to have a Study Permit to attend school, can we simply cancel the Study Permits and avoid this unexpected $150 a month fee? With the cost of living going bonkers at the moment, it would certainly help. If we did go down the route of cancelling the permits, would it have any negative impact our PR application or the kids' entitlement to remain in Canada in the meantime?

Any advice or experience you have related to this would be very welcome!

Thank you

Michelle

IRCC has started requiring study permits even though technically it isn’t required. We have seen many children be denied TRVs and told to apply for study permits.

 

[gaurav1282]

Yes this policy became effective from Jan 1, 2020 with MSP premiums becoming zero for residents. They started charging 37.50 in 2019 and the amount was 75 per child in 2020. There is no escape from this charge till you get permanent residence in
Q1. What is the change that will take place on Sept. 1, 2019?
As the Province eliminates Medical Services Plan (MSP) premiums for British Columbians, an updated payment method will ensure international students continue to contribute to, and benefit from, B.C.‘s health-care coverage.

Under the updated system, effective Sept. 1, 2019, all international K-12 and post-secondary students will begin paying a monthly health-care coverage fee of $37.50.

For post-secondary students who currently pay $37.50 per month in MSP premiums, the health-care coverage fee will restore their contributions to the original $75 per month. On Jan. 1, 2020, with the elimination of MSP premiums, the health-care coverage fee for all international students will be $75 per month.

 

[chelle1002]

Thanks for the reply. I knew the criteria about who has to pay already. The question was more about whether the kids actually needed study permits- as PR applicants who were the offspring of work permit holders, they technically didn’t need study permits to attend school. So the health fee seemed a little unfair- almost as if we were being punished for having applied for the study permits in the first place. To classify 7 and 8 year old kids as ‘international students’ seems a little tenuous!

But, that being said, we sucked it up and paid it. We only actually had to pay for about 4 months before we got permanent residency, so it wasn’t such a big deal after all.

Appreciate the reply though!

 

[gaurav1282]

I had kind of similar situation but I took it this way that earlier as residents we had to pay some amount of MSP which was waived and I had to now pay for my kids.

regarding Study permits, yes the kids need that but if you on work permit you dont need to pay international student fee