Why wouldn't you let your parents take their chances? Yes, your dad will need to be honest with CBSA.
There's no easy or clear path for them. No matter which option you go with there will be risks and challenges.I know there's going to be a risk involved and we may or maynot get reported at the POE upon re-entry.
But what I learnt during this discussion is that they might not have their Alberta health coverage when they come back to Canada.
Although my parents are holding up well and do not have any major health issues but given their age (77, 68), this is a big concern.
As per https://www.alberta.ca/ahcip-apply.aspx , in order to be elgible people have to be legaly entitled to live in the country and should
not have any expired immigration documents (among other things). My parents did seek medical advise upon arrival in 2013, but my gut feeling is that the next time they show up for service Alberta Health Care might deny it; unless some unexpried immigration documents are furnished. Even if we don't get reported at POE, we still won't have a sufficient proof to justify that we meet the requirements. Whereas if we do get reported and go through the Appeal proceedings, it could take months-year(s) to get the final verdict; hence no Health Care coverage.
This is the key reason why I am re-thinking/re-evaluating the plans to enter from the border crossing.
Please do let me know if I am mis-informed on the above details.
If I go the PRTD route, I might not have as solid of a case to get the required approvals.
Hence considering my options of renouncing and re-applying for parents sponsorship from scratch
As per your question above, we applied for their immigration with all good intents. My dad became a Certified Canadian Arbitrator through https://adric.ca/ and was planning to pursue a law program in Canada. But somehow things did not materialize. Although he is well over his retirement age, but he is quite passionate about his work.
He left Canada to resume his Law practice back home and has been working there since. But because of extended closure of courts due to COVID, he is having some serious thoughts of retiring from his profession and joining me in Canada.
Cheers!
You are unfortunately correct on the problems you may face with the border crossing, we can't decide or even offer much advise on what you should do, just inform you on the advantages and disadvantages of each option. Unfortunately at this stage you have limited options and none of them are great.
In terms of health coverage they may be able to find insurance coverage that covers everyday care minus preexisting conditions but it would be extremely expensive if it exists. The less expensive option would be to pay for emergency medical insurance and pay for routine care out of pocket. Like any other traveller if you have a medical event you will likely be covered for the emergency part but once stabilized you are usually expected to return home to continue treatment.
Think your family has to examine your risk tolerance. If they attempt to come to Canada when not knowing if they’ll be able to remain it is very difficult and probably not advisable to get rid of your housing, your possessions, etc. in your home country in case you need to return. There is also the decent risk of having a serious medical event for 2+ years. What would you do if that is the case. Would suggest taking out more than 100k coverage if you do take out travel medical insurance. Your parents should never lie to IRCC. It would be very easy for them to find out that your father had returned to working as a lawyer when he went back to India. Believe they needed to have been in Alberta for over 6 months to meet the residency requirements to access healthcare at that point. It is now 12 months. If they spent less than 6 months in Alberta in 2013 they could be asked to pay back any services they used.I know there's going to be a risk involved and we may or maynot get reported at the POE upon re-entry.
But what I learnt during this discussion is that they might not have their Alberta health coverage when they come back to Canada.
Although my parents are holding up well and do not have any major health issues but given their age (77, 68), this is a big concern.
As per https://www.alberta.ca/ahcip-apply.aspx , in order to be elgible people have to be legaly entitled to live in the country and should
not have any expired immigration documents (among other things). My parents did seek medical advise upon arrival in 2013, but my gut feeling is that the next time they show up for service Alberta Health Care might deny it; unless some unexpried immigration documents are furnished. Even if we don't get reported at POE, we still won't have a sufficient proof to justify that we meet the requirements. Whereas if we do get reported and go through the Appeal proceedings, it could take months-year(s) to get the final verdict; hence no Health Care coverage.
This is the key reason why I am re-thinking/re-evaluating the plans to enter from the border crossing.
Please do let me know if I am mis-informed on the above details.
If I go the PRTD route, I might not have as solid of a case to get the required approvals.
Hence considering my options of renouncing and re-applying for parents sponsorship from scratch
As per your question above, we applied for their immigration with all good intents. My dad became a Certified Canadian Arbitrator through https://adric.ca/ and was planning to pursue a law program in Canada. But somehow things did not materialize. Although he is well over his retirement age, but he is quite passionate about his work.
He left Canada to resume his Law practice back home and has been working there since. But because of extended closure of courts due to COVID, he is having some serious thoughts of retiring from his profession and joining me in Canada.
Cheers!
While perhaps drifting into advice - but as something to consider, given all the uncertainty -If I go the PRTD route, I might not have as solid of a case to get the required approvals.
Hence considering my options of renouncing and re-applying for parents sponsorship from scratch
...
He left Canada to resume his Law practice back home and has been working there since. But because of extended closure of courts due to COVID, he is having some serious thoughts of retiring from his profession and joining me in Canada.
Think that parents need to think about their tolerance for risk, their ability to deal with uncertainty for potentially a number of years, their concerns about free access to healthcare and potentially needing to keep a residence in India in case they need to return. There is no clear solution or clear answer to their situation and luck is a pretty big factor in some of the situations. Nobody will be able to give advice about route they should take.
I misphrased what I meant at the beginning there - the intention was without drifting into advice (for all the reasons you mention), to provide one alternative to consider.
Did they spend over 6 months in Alberta that year? Believe the rules were that you had to spend 6 months in Alberta to qualify for health coverage but you must now spend the first 12 months in Alberta. They could be asked to repay any services they used if they were in Alberta for less than 6 months. It seems to be hit or miss whether they will be asked to pay. Alberta and all the other provinces are trying to prevent people from coming to Canada for a few months using medical care and leaving Canada without even being a tax resident and paying taxes. Alberta grants healthcare on arrival so many were also landing and having a baby in Alberta and leaving after the 6 months or moving to another province. I assume that is why there is now a 12 month requirement when you reenter Alberta or enter the 1st time.
Nothing will free them from paying back the service that they don't qualified and received.
There are still other requirements to retain Ontario healthcare during your first year (rules are different after the first year). You must remain in Ontario for the first 5 out of 6 months and stay in Ontario for 6 out of the 12 months. Every province have their own residency requirements to retain health coverage. In general you usually must spend enough time in the province to be a tax resident.
