CIC's eligibility decision for outland applicants - when? Thinking about OHIP.

[daijoeboo]

Hello all,

I am eligible as a sponsor and my wife is now with me here in Canada on a 6-month visitors permit, a common situation for many couples I think.
Our applications were received at the end of July, I received sponsorship approval mid-September, and we arrived here just two weeks ago.
We made an outland application from Japan via Manilla.

I understand from searching the forum topics that PR eligibility is determined prior to the actual final decision being made, and that this is influenced by the medical and the interview in some cases. Inland applications follow a slightly different route than outland applications, and this decision comes a few months after the initial application (?)

During this outland application process on the other hand, when does the decision on eligibility occur?

The reason I ask is that I would like to know when I can expect to receive the decision on eligibility from CIC which, if successful, would then enable my wife to apply for OHIP in Ontario.

Thank you for any information.

J

 

[Rob_TO]

You need to read this post. http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/important-ohip-eligibility-info-for-all-pr-applicants-residing-in-ontario-t56695.0.html;msg2518001#msg2518001

You can't do this yourself, you'll need to first apply and get rejected for OHIP, then appeal that through the Ohip Eligibility Review Committee, and they will contact Manila on your behalf to determine the effective date.

 

[Kayaker]

I read the post Rob_TO posted a link to before going to the Ministry of Health.

But what actually happened when I went there yesterday was, they looked at the Sponsorship Approval letter from CIC (from March 04, 2014) and the date I entered Canada as a visitor (March 07, 2014) and decided that I was eligible for OHIP after 90 days from March 7. Their criteria seemed to be 1) sponsorship approval letter 2) me being here for 90 days. They even said I could have come there sooner and gotten coverage sooner, in June.

That wasn't at all what I expected, but now I have OHIP. (It's valid already, no 90 day waiting period.)

By the way, they are quite strict about the 3 documents you need to apply for OHIP. I took:
- proof of eligibility (my COPR and Sponsorship Approval letter)
- photo ID with signature (my passport)
- proof of address (they rejected my temporary Ontario driver's license because I'm still waiting for the plastic one to arrive and only have the temporary one. They need either the plastic one, or the paper temporary one (with no photo) AND a plastic one with photo (such as an expired driver's license, I guess). They said a bank statement would do, but I get them by email. They said a print out would not suffice, nor would any paper I get from the bank teller. They said I need to call the bank and ask them to snail mail me a paper statement. (My visitor status extension, mailed to me by CIC, did not suffice either, even though it had my address on it.) So to satisfy the third requirement (proof of address) I had to bring my husband in, who provided his driver's license and OHIP card and signed as my guarantor for proof of address.)


It might be quite possible that you would get rejected because you don't have COPR yet. But then, you can ask for a written rejection, and appeal through the OERC as Rob_TO says.

I'm guessing the outcome may differ depending on who handles your application at the Ministry of Health, and luck. One employee seemed rather clueless about it and had to ask a senior employee for help.

 

[daijoeboo]

Hi all

Thanks very much for the replies.

Rob_TO:
Thanks for the link. It seems that the intermediary step for inland applicants also exists for outland, in this case being called the AFP instead of First Stage Approval. I will have to inquire at Service Ontario about getting them to interact with CIC and determine my wife's AFP status as a part of her application for OHIP. However, as we are still early in the application process I do not think she will have received a decision on AFP yet. Is the timing on this the same as inland? During a search of forum topics the timeframe of 5-6 months came up. The criteria seems to mainly be the authenticity and therein the ability to prove authenticity.

Do you have any more information on AFP specifically? As you mention, the AFP is decided in Manilla, so Service Ontario via CIC would need to inquire with Manilla?

Kayaker:
Your approval seems to have been based on having the COPR letter/status rather than the sponsorship letter. I was told that with the sponsorship letter alone my wife would not get coverage. I will have to, as you and Rob mention, appeal and re-apply. But his seems to hinge on the AFP having been successful or not (behind the scenes at CIC) - if Service Ontario inquires with CIC and finds the AFP is not yet granted then nothing changes (?). I think my wife is still too early into the process for that. I will have to perhaps call CIC in Mississauga and inquire about timelines etc.

Incidentally Kayaker, between March and the other day, what did you have? Blue Cross? Or did you just wing it without any insurance for the whole time?

Thanks everyone for your replies.

 

[truesmile]

Just to set your expectations, the Service Ontario folks won't be aware of any of this. You simply request the denial in writing. Upon your appeal it is the OHIP Eligibility Review Committee that will be contacting CIC in Manila.

It all takes time, I wouldn't fret about their enquiry being too early.

 

[bartjones]

Do you have any more information on AFP specifically? As you mention, the AFP is decided in Manilla, so Service Ontario via CIC would need to inquire with Manilla?

AFP seems to be an OHIP acronym for what CIC calls "Eligibility Assessment". If I were you, I would wait until December and then start ordering your GCMS notes on a monthly basis. Search through those notes and they will tell you whether your wife has successfully passed the Eligibility Assessment stage. Eventually you will see "Eligibility Assessmentassed", in the GCMS notes, and the date upon which that happened. She'll be eligible for OHIP at that date plus 3 months.

 

[daijoeboo]

Hi all,

GCMS notes, this is the first time I have heard of these. Where do I order them from? The outland office or the local office? Or is this something I can get through the online portal?

Yes, if my wife is rejected for OHIP I will certainly want it in writing so as to make a proper appeal. I guess I will prepare for December since that seems to be within the standard 3-5 month period I have been reading about.

Thanks for the information everyone.

Right now I am trying to track down the office which has my wife's file so I can ask them directly about her eligibility.

J

 

[Rob_TO]

GCMS notes, this is the first time I have heard of these. Where do I order them from? The outland office or the local office? Or is this something I can get through the online portal?

See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_E_dq_uLVo

Right now I am trying to track down the office which has my wife's file so I can ask them directly about her eligibility.

You could find yourself waiting a LONG time for an answer via email!

I recommend just to go ahead with applying for OHIP, getting the rejection letter, and then appealing through OERC. Let OERC talk with the visa office to determine date of eligibility, and get that info from OERC when it's available. At least you can talk to someone at OERC to find out what's going on, as opposed to the outland visa office where you can't talk to anyone.

 

[Kayaker]

Hi all

Thanks very much for the replies.

Rob_TO:
Thanks for the link. It seems that the intermediary step for inland applicants also exists for outland, in this case being called the AFP instead of First Stage Approval. I will have to inquire at Service Ontario about getting them to interact with CIC and determine my wife's AFP status as a part of her application for OHIP. However, as we are still early in the application process I do not think she will have received a decision on AFP yet. Is the timing on this the same as inland? During a search of forum topics the timeframe of 5-6 months came up. The criteria seems to mainly be the authenticity and therein the ability to prove authenticity.

Do you have any more information on AFP specifically? As you mention, the AFP is decided in Manilla, so Service Ontario via CIC would need to inquire with Manilla?

Kayaker:
Your approval seems to have been based on having the COPR letter/status rather than the sponsorship letter. I was told that with the sponsorship letter alone my wife would not get coverage. I will have to, as you and Rob mention, appeal and re-apply. But his seems to hinge on the AFP having been successful or not (behind the scenes at CIC) - if Service Ontario inquires with CIC and finds the AFP is not yet granted then nothing changes (?). I think my wife is still too early into the process for that. I will have to perhaps call CIC in Mississauga and inquire about timelines etc.

Incidentally Kayaker, between March and the other day, what did you have? Blue Cross? Or did you just wing it without any insurance for the whole time?

Thanks everyone for your replies.

The insurance we purchased was from TIC. www.travelinsurance.ca I was insured for up to CAD 150,000 and for 6 months it cost CAD 678.

If you already have sponsorship approval, your wife's file has been sent to Manila.

Manila VO won't answer your inquiries about AFP - they are pretty bad at communicating. They don't even answer emails about additional documents they requested from us. Also, even if they answer, I don't think an email would suffice to prove AFP. As Rob_TO says, the OERC needs to contact Manila themselves.

 

[Rob_TO]

My wife used this site to search for travel emergency medical insurance while waiting for OHIP. https://www.kanetix.ca/travel-visitors-to-canada

We ended up choosing Travel Guard (it was the cheapest one), and actually made 1 small claim with them and had no problems at all getting reimbursed everything.

 

[daijoeboo]

Thanks for the replies.
I will try those!

Rob_TO thanks a lot for the information. I will check out GCMS notes in December using that vid. Never knew we could actually view the whole process like that for $5, amazing.

 

[m.ford]

The same problem - outland applicant October 2019. Came to Ontario in May 2020. Applied for OHIP but got a refusal as they don't have information on our eligibility.

You need to read this post. http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/important-ohip-eligibility-info-for-all-pr-applicants-residing-in-ontario-t56695.0.html;msg2518001#msg2518001

You can't do this yourself, you'll need to first apply and get rejected for OHIP, then appeal that through the Ohip Eligibility Review Committee, and they will contact Manila on your behalf to determine the effective date.

Does it mean that we should make the second attempt to apply for OHIP or appeal to reconsider their decision?