Hi All , My Husband and I are both PR in Canada and I am pregnant .We do not plan to settle in canada long term and plan to go back to India . Confused about if healthcare wise is it better to deliver in canada or India? Any one who has gone through a similar dilemma or who can help with information tha could help us make an informed decision
Need advice
- Thread starter juvelle
- Start date
You will have to research the requirements for the province you are living in and make your decision based on that, most have conditions you have to meet to be eligible. This is from the Ontario OHIP site:
Who qualifies
With certain exceptions, to qualify for OHIP, you must meet all of the minimum qualifications listed below plus at least 1 of the additional requirements.
To meet the minimum qualifications you must:
- be physically in Ontario for 153 days in any 12‑month period
- be physically in Ontario for at least 153 days of the first 183 days immediately after you began living in the province
- make Ontario your primary residence
- are a Canadian citizen
- are an Indigenous person (registered under the federal Indian Act)
- are a permanent resident (formerly called a “landed immigrant”)
- are applying for permanent residence in Canada and:
- have submitted an application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and
- IRCC has confirmed they have reviewed the application and that you meet the eligibility requirements to apply (see document requirements) and
- you have not yet been denied
This does not answer which country (Canada or India) has better healthcare to deliver a child.
But my guts is telling me that if the mother is pregnant in Canada and had been visiting a OB, then Canada is better.
I realize that and I'm not knowledgeable enough to give an opinion so I just gave some info to help the OP to make their own decision, they are from India so they should know how things are there.
Not necessary. Maybe they are first time mom and dad - they don't have the experience. They need recommendations.
hi , Yes I am pregnant in canada and have been seeing doctors here ! I Know for a fact that Indian healthcare is good never had experience here and Yes we are first time expecting parents. Also, since we are really new here ( 2 years ) we don't have family support ( From that aspect i thought India might be better ) not sure how much support we would need post delivery as such and if it will be possible for us to manage by ourselves. I Have applied for a visa for my mom but not sure how much she could help because she will also be new to the system
When do you plan on leaving Canada and what province do you live in? The residency requirement for your child to qualify for healthcare varies from needing to be living in that province for the next 6-12 months. If you or you child don’t meet the residency requirement you can be asked pay back any care you received. When applying or a health card for you newborn in the hospital there is usually a line that says that your baby has plans to meet the residency requirement to qualify for healthcare in that province. I haven’t seen the application for all provinces but remember a similar line in the newborn OHIP application. If you plan on living in India then your child having Indian citizenship will be much easier and less expensive than OCI. Where do you have a better support network especially if you have other children, are unfamiliar with caring for a baby, etc.? In terms of the medical care if you are in an urban centre and can afford to go to a private hospital then care will very similar in India and Canada. There may be some differences if you have a high risk pregnancy with certain complications but the care you would receive in Canada for high risk pregnancies or certain complications will also vary depending on where you live. Care for certain conditions is only available in the largest cities in Canada.
Where you decide to have your child will probably be determined by when you plan on returning to India and whether you want/need your child to have Indian citizenship.
If you can read, they have been living in Canada for 2 years. They are asking for recommendation whether to give birth in Canada or India based on whichever has better healthcare. Do you know which country has better healthcare?
Family support is nice but not essential. It's possible for us to manage by ourselves. Before the delivery, since we were also first time parents, we went to prenatal and post delivery lessons on how to do this and that. We talked to a relative who gave birth in Toronto, Canada and in our former country of residence at that time.
Hi ,Thank you for your detailed response ! I live in Mississuaga and I am assiged to trillium. I have my first appointment with the OBGYN next week so will consult with them too. Also , I am categorized as high risk pregnancy so there are multiple things I need to look into ( 1) Is it safe for me to travel to india 2) Does it make sense to switch the doctors in between ). Do you think Trillium group(credit valley) Ontario, Mississuga) is equipped to handle high risk pregnancies well?
My Plan 1 ) If i deliver here I plan to travel to India post deliver and return back to canada after a few months as I need to rpeort back to work
2) If I decide to deliver in India then I plan will come back after delivery and recovery (spend somtime in India) Apply PR for the kid and travel back . ( Because I need to report back to work ) irrespective after my mat leave so that is a given
Adding to this our plan is to move back by beginning of 2026 and we want our kid to have a primary education in India.So we are not so keen about the citisenship as such
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1. That would mean your baby wouldn’t be compliant with the residency requirements to qualify for OHIP. Residency requirement is to be present for 5 out of the first 6 months and 6 out of 12 months and make Ontario your permanent home. You would also have to get a passport and visa to travel and most OBs would discourage travel with a newborn especially before first set of vaccinations at 3 months. Why you or your baby were high risk may also influence whether travel should happen and when. Traveling with a newborn is something you can discuss with your OB or GP there are no strict rules.
2. Your spouse would have to apply for PR as long as they remained in Canada. A PR can only sponsor their child from Canada and the must remain in Canada except short travel abroad. It can take 6-12 months to sponsor a child. You would have to try to secure a TRV to travel earlier. If denied you can try and secure a TRP. You would have to secure an Indian passport before this. The whole process can take many months. Your child will only qualify for OHIP once they have PR which could take up to around a year. Most pay for emergency travel medical insurance and pay for routine care out of pocket until the child qualifies for OHIP.
Whether you are safe to travel would depend on why you are high risk and when you travel. There are higher risks early in pregnancy and later on in pregnancy. Most airlines will not allow you to fly after 35-36 weeks. If you want to qualify for maternity leave (EI) you will have to factor in
Why you are considered high risk makes a big difference as to what limitations you may have, whether you remain high risk throughout pregnancy and what your level of risk actually is. You can be categorized as high risk for many reasons like having twins, having other health issues unrelated to pregnancy, etc which often just means more monitoring while other issues require intervention, bed rest, hospitalization, etc. You can also be high risk because issues with baby not mom. What hospital you go to is related to where your OB has hospital privileges but you are seeking care at a large urban hospital so yes your OB should be able to provide good care. OBs are trained to look after most types of high risk pregnancies. In a large portion of the world OBs only look after high risk pregnancies and midwives look after straightforward pregnancies and even some of the high risk cases. If for whatever reason there is concern that you need a higher level care or your baby will need a higher level of care when born most are transferred to Mt Sinai or Sunnybrook.
So now that we have determined we can have similar care for high risk both In India and canada. Do you think it make sense to switch doctors when I am already seeing the doctors here ?
No, it does not make sense. If baby born in India, one parent need to return to Canada to sponsor the child in order for the child to immigrate. Otherwise, the child can get Canadian citizenship by birth.