Driving, Insurance, etc

[Trav0370]

Hello,

A few things I have been thinking about. My wife from the USA is coming to visit me for an extended stay. (6 months+). while we wait for PR. She has a USA drivers license.

1. Is she allowed to drive MY car in Canada (without my presence in the vehicle)?
2. Do I need to add her to my car insurance policy during this visit?
3. We are looking into purchasing health insurance. Does this cover doctor visits via my family doctor?

Thank you for any info.

 

[Alurra71]

Hello,

A few things I have been thinking about. My wife from the USA is coming to visit me for an extended stay. (6 months+). while we wait for PR. She has a USA drivers license.

1. Is she allowed to drive MY car in Canada (without my presence in the vehicle)?
2. Do I need to add her to my car insurance policy during this visit?
3. We are looking into purchasing health insurance. Does this cover doctor visits via my family doctor?

Thank you for any info.

Depending on which province you live in, her license may only be valid for 90 days and then she would need to trade it in for a provincial license. You would need to contact your insurance company about her her ability to drive your car. I think you will find that she will need to be added to your policy in order to be covered long term, but they won't do that on her USA licence. In regards to the health insurance, it really depends on the policy you choose and what it will or will not cover so you should really be asking that question to your insurance agent as well because they will be better equipped to answer it than any of us here.

 

[scylla]

Standard private health insurance policies only cover emergencies - not family doctor visits. You will have to purchase a more comprehensive (read: much more expensive) policy if you want family doctor visits to be covered. You will likely be better off paying for these visits out of your own pocket rather than covering her for non-emergency visits though insurance.

 

[Trav0370]

Thanks for the info. Thats what I was expecting regarding health insurance.

Now to work on the driving issue. She will be here for quite some time, hopefully. for sure more then 90 days, but only as a visitor. I wonder if you know how to go about making sure she is actually allowed to drive for the entire visit? Oh, and its Ontario.

Thanks

 

[innosense]

She can drive for 60 days in ON with US DL.
You can add her to your insurance with US licence and driving abstracts from all the US states she has held a DL. Ask her to apply in person and collect these original docs before her visit here. Online docs are not accepted. Additionally you may be asked for Insurance abstracts from her Insurance company in US.

She can also exchange her US driving licence. she would still need to provide driving abstracts.

check out this link

http://www.drivetest.ca/EN/licencing/Pages/Exchanging-a-Reciprocal-Licence.aspx

 

[Trav0370]

Thanks for the info. this does clear up some things. However, it also states "you are required to apply for an Ontario driver's licence within 60 days of residing in Ontario."

To emphasize, it says "residing"... thats whats confusing me. Technically my wife is not residing, but only visiting.. so she will keep her USA address as her residing address. I don't think that an ONT license can have a USA address. ??

 

[screech339]

Thanks for the info. this does clear up some things. However, it also states "you are required to apply for an Ontario driver's licence within 60 days of residing in Ontario."

To emphasize, it says "residing"... thats whats confusing me. Technically my wife is not residing, but only visiting.. so she will keep her USA address as her residing address. I don't think that an ONT license can have a USA address. ??

Ontario Service driver license department doesn't care about the applicant's immigration status. As long as you got your US drivers license and driver's abstract and document of when license was first issued (this applies to some states like NJ). They will simply swap the license over.

My wife had a NJ driver license and provided all the requirement document when my wife gotten AIP status. When we showed up to apply, they didn't bother with my wife's status. Had we known this, we could have applied shortly after moving back to Canada.

 

[Trav0370]

With that being said, would they post her USA address on the ONT license? She doesnt technically live here so cannot use a local address...

 

[VioletBlue]

They may issue her a temporary Driverl Licence. It's just a paper one.and Im guessing they would put the Canadian address she will be staying at for the 6 months duration....Easiest way would be to call cervice BC office....oops wait....you r in Ontario?? well whatever office is called there that ssues DLs and they will have all the info

 

[screech339]

With that being said, would they post her USA address on the ONT license? She doesnt technically live here so cannot use a local address...

We gave them the Canadian address while she was still "technically" a visitor. They didn't ask for proof of Canadian address. Just took my wife's word for it. If they did ask for it, I would have produced my driver license to prove that she is residing with me.

 

[VioletBlue]

hey Screech...did they make your wife do written and road test before issuing her DL??

 

[screech339]

hey Screech...did they make your wife do written and road test before issuing her DL??

No. My wife only had to pass the eye test. After she passed that, they issued her DL.

There was a requirement to do a written test / driving test but that was linked to how long ago your US driver licence has expired / car insurance history.

In my wife's case, her licence expired only 3 months prior to applying for driver licence exchange so only eye exam was only required.

Plus due to my wife being over 30 years old, she can legally drive any insured car thus the car insurance history for while she was in Canada was not needed for proof of continuous driving history. Had my wife be under 30, she would have to show proof of insurance coverage for proof of continuous driving.

Screech339