You can have a child but you’ll be required to pay. The healthcare provided to international students does not cover pregnancy if you are already pregnant when school starts. Many are unaware of this. Starting school at 6 months pregnant may also lead to an absence during your first semester which may not be compatible with being a successful student. Babies don’t arrive right on your due date and unfortunately many women end up needing to be on bed rest for at least part of their pregnancy. If you can’t afford the 10-20k+ of care then delaying a move until the baby is born is advisable.
Can a pregnant international student get any health support?
- Thread starter Michelle Nguyen
- Start date
Hi there.
So basically my question will be about the same. But in this case I will be permanent residence instead of Canadian.
I'm recently just get updated from the IRCC to update the schedule A. Not sure how long that's gonna take but hopefully asap.
Me and my wife have been really wanting to have a baby, but the concern is that we do not know when I'll be moving to Canada as PR, most likely in Ontario.
Let's just say that we have a baby next year and I got the CoPR, then I have to land right? And will I be able to sponsor my wife and the baby right away after landing?
Also if they are sponsored and got the PR too, will they be eligible to the OHIP and the baby get free vaccines? Or do i still need to prepare the some money for their health expenses?
Thank you
First things first. Your wife needs to be included in your PR application. If you haven't added her yet, do that now. If you include her as an accompanying dependent (vs. including her as a non-accompanying dependent), then she will get PR at the same time as you. I would very strongly recommend that you do this since spousal sponsorship times are around 24 months right now and as a PR, you must be living in Canada while you are sponsoring your spouse. This means you could end up separated from your spouse for the better part of 2 years if you list her as non-accompanying in your application and make the decision to sponsor her later.
Your wife and your future baby will qualify for health care coverage (just like you) once they are PRs.
Agree with @scylla but in a year the 3 month wait time to qualify for OHIP may have returned so you may need to plan on purchasing a travel medical insurance for 3 months. That won’t cover things like vaccines. Due to Covid and monkeypox public health vaccine clinics are no longer available. If you have to pay out of pocket the cost are minimal. If your child is born before you receive PR and have landed in Canada you should also be including your child in your PR application. The one thing you should avoid is having a heavily pregnant wife and needing to move to Canada. If you have to pay for labour and delivery costs that can get expensive. You also want to avoid having to sponsor your child if at all possible because you’ll need to try to get the child a TRV and the child will not qualify for OHIP until they are a PR which takes around a year. Your family should also be considering things like maternity leave payments and/or paternity leave payments. To qualify your wife would have to work 600 insurable hours in the past year (oversimplifying so would look up the exact specifications) . Moving to a new country is difficult but moving to a new country with a baby is much more difficult. As a couple you can be more flexible when it comes to initial accommodations, living without much furniture or supplies, pressure to find a job, transportation, etc.
I see.. how do i include my wife to the PR application? Since I have paid for it, did medical exam and biometric already and all i have to do now is wait for the coPR. Can you please guide me for it ??
Thank you!
You need to contact IRCC and tell them you have gotten married. You then have to complete all of the paperwork to add your spouse to your application. This includes having your spouse complete the medical and provide PCCs. There are several discussions on this topic in the Express Entry section of the forum.
It is mandatory and CRITICAL that you add your wife to your application. If you fail to do so and land in Canada without having her on your application, you will never be able to sponsor her for PR. Add her now.
I have already send a message to the form to update my marital status and add my marriage certificate to it. But I still have not received any updates from them. Not sure if that's the correct way.
Could you please share the link to all documents that we need to completed for my wife ? Thanks!
I don't have that link.
Look through the posts in the Express Entry section of the forum for discussions on adding a spouse to an application.
Hi,
I am an international student landed in canada 3 months ago and after landing here i found that i am pregnant. Can anyone please guide me what to do next.
I am an international student landed in canada 3 months ago and after landing here i found that i am pregnant. Can anyone please guide me what to do next.
How pregnant were you when you arrived in Canada even if you were unaware you were pregnant? What province are studying in? Your province makes a difference because some international students have access to provincial healthcare programs while other provinces require international students to purchase a private policy through their school. Some policies don’t cover you if you arrived in Canada already pregnant.
Belleville, Ontario
I don't my weeks exactly as i haven't done any ultrasound yet but according to my last proper periods my dlmp was june 3 but its not the periods in august also i had them but just for 1 day.
But here's doctor is counting it from june 3 so according to that i am 26 weeks pregnant
Unfortunately normal pregnancy is not covered by the international student healthcare plan in Ontario if you got pregnant before arriving in Canada or during the first month in Canada. The only thing that is covered are emergencies where the life of the mother is at risk. Did your recent doctor’s appointment get covered by the insurance plan? Was this with a GP or OB? The other issue is the fact that you needed to inform IRCC that you were pregnant before coming to Canada. Are you saying you had no symptoms of pregnancy until you were 26 weeks and so had not sought out medical care or done a pregnancy test? Unless you typically have one day periods or you have a history of not having periods for months and the 1 day of spotting you had was similar to your typical one day period most women would do a pregnancy test to rule out pregnancy. Did you have morning sickness, extreme sensitivity to smells, food aversions or cravings, any weight gain since you are almost in your 3rd trimester, lines negra, extreme fatigue, acne, pelvic pain, etc.? Is this your first child? What prompted you to seek medical care at this point? It’s unclear to me from your post whether you had no period in August or just a day of spotting or the spotting was in July. How long is your college program? Do you have the funds to pay out of pocket for healthcare related to your pregnancy? You would probably need at least 10k for prenatal care and labour/ delivery if you want an epidural. You can attempt to find a midwife because that would reduce your costs significantly but finding a midwife willing to accept a patient who is 26 weeks pregnant and who works in Belleville may not be possible. Quinte midwives seems to be the only midwifery practice in the region. Are you in touch with the father of the baby? If not do you have a support system in Canada or in your home country? You can get authorized medical leave from your college for pregnancy and delivery recovery.
https://loyalistcollege.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/PolicyWording_English_Guard.Me_More_Enhanced_Policy_.pdf