Canadian about to marry a British Citizen

[screech339]

I had this issue with my wife getting on my work benefits plan. She couldn't get any benefits until I shown them proof that my wife is on OHIP (ontario health care). They didn't need a copy of proof. Just wanted me to show them that my wife has coverage.

 

[daveyboy1978]

Thanks to everyone... this helps a ton.

Re: healthcare - anyone know about specifics in BC? ie: if she's here, not PR yet, not working.

My employer doesn't actually cover my MSP (BR Provincial Healthcare), I do. I pay about $70 a month and can increase to $125ish if we register a 'family'. Will she be able to get coverage even without PR?

 

[OhCanadiana]

Thanks to everyone... this helps a ton.

Re: healthcare - anyone know about specifics in BC? ie: if she's here, not PR yet, not working.

My employer doesn't actually cover my MSP (BR Provincial Healthcare), I do. I pay about $70 a month and can increase to $125ish if we register a 'family'. Will she be able to get coverage even without PR?

Welcome, daveyboy1978!

Take a look at http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/msp/infoben/pdf/covering-a-spouse-or-child-who-is-an-applicant-for-permanent-resident-status-in-canada.pdf. Note that there are special rules for spouses: keep reading past the 'visitors aren't eligible portion until you get to "In addition, certain non-permanent residents may be deemed residents and thus be considered eligible (e.g., many holders of study and work permits valid for six or more months and many applicants for permanent resident status who are the spouse or child of an eligible B.C. resident)." There's also a section on what documents to include with the application for spouses.

Regarding your prior question about working, you don't mention your fiancee's profession, so http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-nopermit.asp may help if you're very lucky. Also, http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/institutions/work-volunteer.asp, while written for students, gives insight into how CIC thinks through volunteering (vs. "work, remunerated or not", "which competes with the Canadian labour market").

Applying 'outland' means she would apply requesting the London visa office for Phase 2 (you would still send the application first to CPC-M). She can do this whether she is physically in the UK or in Canada. The application forms are available at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp. The alternative would be to apply once she is in Canada ('inland'), in which case she would need to stay in Canada throughout the application process (if she leaves and is denied reentry, her inland application would be deemed abandoned since she wouldn't be able to land in Canada, and thus she'd need to start over applying 'outland'). As a British citizen, the complete 'outland' is generally faster than Phase 1 alone for 'inland' applicants. You can do the whole process via mail (once approved, the London visa office) will mail her the CoPR (Confirmation of Permanent Residency) that she would use to land (either at a border if you drive down to the US and visit the US or 'flagpole' and turn right around or at an inland office). The risk of applying outland is that if an interview were necessary, it would be in London. Interviews are rare and typically requested if there are questions on genuineness of the relationship.

Where you get married doesn't matter for CIC purposes. As long as it is legally valid civil marriage, and the marriage is valid both under the laws of the jurisdiction where it took place and under Canadian law you will be fine. So, get married wherever YOU two prefer to do so.

 

[Becki567]

I had this issue with my wife getting on my work benefits plan. She couldn't get any benefits until I shown them proof that my wife is on OHIP (ontario health care). They didn't need a copy of proof. Just wanted me to show them that my wife has coverage.

7

I think your experience was because you are in Ontario. Which seems to be a particularly difficult province to deal with.

My experience in Alberta was completely different. My husband was added to my work plan after we lived together for one year before we were married. At the time he was added he was purely a visitor in the country, no application in process and he was in between visas. After I started school, he was moved to my school insurance plan with no problem. We were now married but a month away from filing our applications. Again, no issue.

Also, as I noted to the OP, his province of BC will cover his wife as soon as an application is received by CIC

 

[Becki567]

Take a look at http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/msp/infoben/pdf/covering-a-spouse-or-child-who-is-an-applicant-for-permanent-resident-status-in-canada.pdf. Note that there are special rules for spouses: keep reading past the 'visitors aren't eligible portion until you get to "In addition, certain non-permanent residents may be deemed residents and thus be considered eligible (e.g., many holders of study and work permits valid for six or more months and many applicants for permanent resident status who are the spouse or child of an eligible B.C. resident)." There's also a section on what documents to include with the application for spouses.

Regarding your prior question about working, you don't mention your fiancee's profession, so http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-nopermit.asp may help if you're very lucky. Also, http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/institutions/work-volunteer.asp, while written for students, gives insight into how CIC thinks through volunteering (vs. "work, remunerated or not", "which competes with the Canadian labour market").

Applying 'outland' means she would apply requesting the London visa office for Phase 2 (you would still send the application first to CPC-M). She can do this whether she is physically in the UK or in Canada. The application forms are available at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp. The alternative would be to apply once she is in Canada ('inland'), in which case she would need to stay in Canada throughout the application process (if she leaves and is denied reentry, her inland application would be deemed abandoned since she wouldn't be able to land in Canada, and thus she'd need to start over applying 'outland'). As a British citizen, the complete 'outland' is generally faster than Phase 1 alone for 'inland' applicants. You can do the whole process via mail (once approved, the London visa office) will mail her the CoPR (Confirmation of Permanent Residency) that she would use to land (either at a border if you drive down to the US and visit the US or 'flagpole' and turn right around or at an inland office). The risk of applying outland is that if an interview were necessary, it would be in London. Interviews are rare and typically requested if there are questions on genuineness of the relationship.

Where you get married doesn't matter for CIC purposes. As long as it is legally valid civil marriage, and the marriage is valid both under the laws of the jurisdiction where it took place and under Canadian law you will be fine. So, get married wherever YOU two prefer to do so.

Dave if you look on the first page I included a link to the health care website for you, right to the page that would help you.

Here it what it says exactly : A spouse or a child of an eligible B.C. resident may also be deemed a resident provided that an application for permanent residence status has been accepted for processing by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), and the application remains active. For more information, see Covering a Spouse or Child who is an Applicant for Permanent Resident Status in Canada (PDF 177K ).

 

[screech339]

7

I think your experience was because you are in Ontario. Which seems to be a particularly difficult province to deal with.

My experience in Alberta was completely different. My husband was added to my work plan after we lived together for one year before we were married. At the time he was added he was purely a visitor in the country, no application in process and he was in between visas. After I started school, he was moved to my school insurance plan with no problem. We were now married but a month away from filing our applications. Again, no issue.

Also, as I noted to the OP, his province of BC will cover his wife as soon as an application is received by CIC

I know I was using Ontario as an example and not BC. But I thought maybe employers follow similar rules on spouses qualifying for spouse's work benefits. Which to me makes sense. It is unfair for spouses to get company benefits if they are not on BC health coverage, especially when employers pay toward BC health coverage as well.

 

[Becki567]

I know I was using Ontario as an example and not BC. But I thought maybe employers follow similar rules on spouses qualifying for spouse's work benefits. Which to me makes sense. It is unfair for spouses to get company benefits if they are not on BC health coverage, especially when employers pay toward BC health coverage as well.

Not trying to argue with ya here. You are a super respected member for this forum. However...

Again, I can only speak for sure on Alberta. I owned a business for many years and had employees. None of the payroll deductions or business taxes were for health care. So I am not sure why you think employers pay for health coverage. The only health coverage we paid for was 80% of our employees private (workplace) health insurance premiums. The employees paid the remaining amount. This has nothing to do with provincial health care. (At least in Alberta). Alberta also does not charge its' residents anything for health care currently. So maybe that is the difference?
As for workplace insurance not allowing spouses because they do not have provincial health care. I also don't agree with this for the following
1) We would hire employees from the east coast. They would not immediately qualify at the time, for Alberta Health Care. They were still able to be placed on our company benefits.
2) Back when we used to have to pay $44/month per person for $88/month for a family, we had employees that would qualify for Alberta Health Care but chose not to pay, therefore they did not have coverage. They were still covered by company benefits.
Our company benefits included prescriptions, dental, eyeglasses, massages etc. It didn't cover doctor visits. And I am not aware of any that do, since those would be covered if they had provincial health care. If our employee got a prescription filled, our insurance would cover 80% of it. It didn't matter to the insurance company who the employee saw or how they paid for the doctor that wrote the prescription.

Provincial health care and work place benefits cover very different things.

But again, all of this doesn't really matter since she will be covered as soon as the application is received. In Ontario, she wouldn't be so it may be more of a discussion then, but in BC she will be.

 

[OhCanadiana]

daveyboy1978: I think the point screech339 is trying to make is that some employers (like his and those of many others who have shared their situation in the forum over the years) don't provide additional coverage until the spouse or common-law partner meets specific employer-based requirements (including having provincial coverage). This is, indeed, a challenge that repeatedly has been reported over the years. Therefore, it's probably a good idea to check with your employer whether your wife would be covered under their plans and when she would be eligible based on their rules (e.g., once you are married regardless of when she lives, once she is eligible for BC coverage, once she has proof of BC coverage). That way you can take informed decisions based on the totality of her coverage and decide if you wish to acquire any coverage independently.

Becki567: it sounds like you were more generous when you were a business owner than other employers reportedly are.

 

[screech339]

@ becki567

I hate to burst your bubble here. A portion of your business tax goes towards provincial health care through provincial income tax. You won't see it as an obvious tax but it is there as part of the business tax. Ontario for example have added a "ontario health premium" to address the health care problems on top of the ontario income tax.

If you want spouses of your employees to be covered under company benefits without any provincial coverage, that's your prerogative. Just saying that some companies have qualifications rules to get employee's spouse on benefits.

 

[Becki567]

@ becki567

I hate to burst your bubble here. A portion of your business tax goes towards provincial health care through provincial income tax. You won't see it as an obvious tax but it is there as part of the business tax. Ontario for example have added a "ontario health premium" to address the health care problems on top of the ontario income tax.

If you want spouses of your employees to be covered under company benefits without any provincial coverage, that's your prerogative. Just saying that some companies have qualifications rules to get employee's spouse on benefits.

I am not living in a bubble. While I would agree a portion of business tax does go towards health care, a portion also goes towards education, road maintenance, a politician's pocket (but I digress) etc etc etc It has been my personal experience in Alberta when I was an employer, employee and a student there was no issue adding my husband.

I have also pointed out repeatedly, it is going to be very easy for Dave to get his wife provincial coverage in BC. Therefore, even if you were correct, once their application is received his wife will be allowed coverage. They are fortunate not to be living in Ontario where that would not be the case.

 

[screech339]

I am not living in a bubble. While I would agree a portion of business tax does go towards health care, a portion also goes towards education, road maintenance, a politician's pocket (but I digress) etc etc etc It has been my personal experience in Alberta when I was an employer, employee and a student there was no issue adding my husband.

I have also pointed out repeatedly, it is going to be very easy for Dave to get his wife provincial coverage in BC. Therefore, even if you were correct, once their application is received his wife will be allowed coverage. They are fortunate not to be living in Ontario where that would not be the case.

Am I safe to assume that you were an employer in Alberta? Alberta health care rules are unique in that it is the only province whereby you can get health care coverage from day one as a visitor being a spouse of a Canadian. So pretty much everyone that works in Alberta, their spouses/common law qualifies for company benefits from the start or after 3 month probation period.

Since OP is dealing with BC, the companies there may have issues with employee's spouses getting company benefits before they get BC health care no matter how easy it is. Do BC have a 3 month wait? I don't know. I am not familiar with BC health rules in qualification but I'm sure it is not from day one.

Screech339

 

[MofC2014]

Am I safe to assume that you were an employer in Alberta? Alberta health care rules are unique in that it is the only province whereby you can get health care coverage from day one as a visitor being a spouse of a Canadian. So pretty much everyone that works in Alberta, their spouses/common law qualifies for company benefits from the start or after 3 month probation period.

Since OP is dealing with BC, the companies there may have issues with employee's spouses getting company benefits before they get BC health care no matter how easy it is. Do BC have a 3 month wait? I don't know. I am not familiar with BC health rules in qualification but I'm sure it is not from day one.

Screech339

Screech, actually you are correct, when it comes to private company provided benefits. I am covered through manulife with my company and could not add my husband until he is here (we are applying outland and the only reason why I wanted to add him is to have more proof of joint things etc), anyways I was able to add him as my beneficiary on my life insurance, but not on insurance portion of the benefits. I am fairly certain it depends who the private insurer the company uses is. Blue Cross will add a spouse regardless if they have provincial coverage or not, Manulife will not.

And when it comes to provincial health care in AB, if my spouse was to even come now on a 6 month visit, because we have the PR application in process he would immediately be covered by AB health care, no waiting period.

Alberta also used to have a fee for health care but they scrapped it few years back and it is now completely free. And I must say, based on living in Ontario before, hands down the public health services in AB are much better, better quality care, doctors, hospitals, etc.

 

[screech339]

Screech, actually you are correct, when it comes to private company provided benefits. I am covered through manulife with my company and could not add my husband until he is here (we are applying outland and the only reason why I wanted to add him is to have more proof of joint things etc), anyways I was able to add him as my beneficiary on my life insurance, but not on insurance portion of the benefits. I am fairly certain it depends who the private insurer the company uses is. Blue Cross will add a spouse regardless if they have provincial coverage or not, Manulife will not.

And when it comes to provincial health care in AB, if my spouse was to even come now on a 6 month visit, because we have the PR application in process he would immediately be covered by AB health care, no waiting period.

Alberta also used to have a fee for health care but they scrapped it few years back and it is now completely free. And I must say, based on living in Ontario before, hands down the public health services in AB are much better, better quality care, doctors, hospitals, etc.

Of course Blue Cross will add a spouse as long as you pay for spouse out of your own pocket. I am sure Blue Cross hired through a company will make additional rules to qualifications benefits. Besides I thought the company is the one that makes the decisions on how to qualify for spousal's work benefits that the company pays for towards any insurance company. Whatever benefits the employees gets/claims through the insurance company will come out of the company's bottom line. Not the insurance that provides it.

 

[Becki567]

Screech, actually you are correct, when it comes to private company provided benefits. I am covered through manulife with my company and could not add my husband until he is here (we are applying outland and the only reason why I wanted to add him is to have more proof of joint things etc), anyways I was able to add him as my beneficiary on my life insurance, but not on insurance portion of the benefits. I am fairly certain it depends who the private insurer the company uses is. Blue Cross will add a spouse regardless if they have provincial coverage or not, Manulife will not. (And no, I did NOT pay out of pocket for Blue Cross)

And when it comes to provincial health care in AB, if my spouse was to even come now on a 6 month visit, because we have the PR application in process he would immediately be covered by AB health care, no waiting period.

Alberta also used to have a fee for health care but they scrapped it few years back and it is now completely free. And I must say, based on living in Ontario before, hands down the public health services in AB are much better, better quality care, doctors, hospitals, etc.

I may have misunderstood the question. If Dave's wife was in England then no the insurance company would not cover her. I thought Dave was asking about when his wife came to BC if he would be able to add her to his work place benefits. In my opinion and experience that is a yes. I had this experience with Blue Cross and Sun life. I have not dealt with Manulife so I have no idea about that one.

Regardless, Dave a quick phone call to your insurance company will give you a definite answer that no amount of back and forth here will change

My thought is you will be told yes they would cover her once she was physically in BC and you two are married. Good luck!

 

[screech339]

I may have misunderstood the question. If Dave's wife was in England then no the insurance company would not cover her. I thought Dave was asking about when his wife came to BC if he would be able to add her to his work place benefits. In my opinion and experience that is a yes. I had this experience with Blue Cross and Sun life. I have not dealt with Manulife so I have no idea about that one.

Regardless, Dave a quick phone call to your insurance company will give you a definite answer that no amount of back and forth here will change

My thought is you will be told yes they would cover her once she was physically in BC and you two are married. Good luck!

Mind you, I do wish the wife can get on the spouse work benefits. But isn't that's the company's decision, not the insurance's decision?

If you call the insurance company directly asking them, isn't that like calling them to see if they will cover your spouse without company's involvement. In other words, sure they will cover the wife, as a private insurance outside the work benefits.

I still think the OP's work company still have authority on how the employee's spouses get access to work benefits. They are the one paying the insurance company to handle/manage the work benefits. Since a company can hire any insurance company they want to manage the work benefits, I'm sure they dictated to insurance how employee's spouses are qualified.

In short, when the OP and his wife do settle in BC working, OP is best to contact his work HR department on how his wife can access the work benefits.