Family Class Sponsorship In Canada - With Open work Permit when does OHIP begin?

[VermiciousKnish]

Hey Folks,

Just wondering about this new pilot program for FCS in Canada who can now apply for open work permit together with their permanent residence application. It says on CIC website that it will take about 4 months to receive the work permit. When would OHIP eligibility kick in?

OHIP says that you need 3 months residency to qualify. It's not clear if the 3 months begins from when you receive the work permit, or if you can start counting when you get to Canada and then the 4 months of waiting for the work permit should count and you would be eligible for OHIP immediately on receiving the work permit. (Yes, you have to have an employment letter for a minimum 6 month job offer). Anyone have experience with this yet?

Verm

 

[Rob_TO]

3 months waiting period starts when you become eligible to apply for OHIP. So that would be when you actually receive OWP and have full time job.

 

[VermiciousKnish]

So essentially based on a 4 month waiting period to get the OWP, we are looking at 7 months total before one can apply for OHIP coverage.
Just trying to weigh full pros and cons looking at inside application vs. outside.

So with an application inside Canada and a 2 year OWP after 4 months, OHIP at the 7 month mark, what is the downside on waiting an additional 17 months for PR? All the travel restrictions that normally come with inside application are waived once you get the OWP. As long as you maintain your OHIP residency requirements, is there any real downside in waiting for PR with job and OHIP even though it takes much loner for PR?

 

[scylla]

The fact you shouldn't leave Canada while the inland application is being processed is a big downside for many. There's no way my husband and I would have put off international travel for 2 years.

There is also no appeal option with inland applications in the event of a refusal.

 

[screech339]

So essentially based on a 4 month waiting period to get the OWP, we are looking at 7 months total before one can apply for OHIP coverage.
Just trying to weigh full pros and cons looking at inside application vs. outside.

So with an application inside Canada and a 2 year OWP after 4 months, OHIP at the 7 month mark, what is the downside on waiting an additional 17 months for PR? All the travel restrictions that normally come with inside application are waived once you get the OWP. As long as you maintain your OHIP residency requirements, is there any real downside in waiting for PR with job and OHIP even though it takes much loner for PR?

Ontario Service doesn't accept pilot OWP unless you have a letter of employment to go along with it. Having an pilot OWP alone does not give you ability to qualify for OHIP. This is to prevent a flood of applicants applying for pilot OWP for the sole purpose of getting OHIP coverage only, no intention of working.

Ontario Service does accept "regular" OWP as it is the same as having AIP, which both are valid documents for qualifying for OHIP.

 

[Rob_TO]

All the travel restrictions that normally come with inside application are waived once you get the OWP. As long as you maintain your OHIP residency requirements, is there any real downside in waiting for PR with job and OHIP even though it takes much loner for PR?

The travel restrictions are NOT waived. Having an OWP does not guarantee entry to Canada. Each entry is still decided at each entry by the CBSA officer you encounter. Of course the chance is very small one would be denied with a valid OWP, but nonetheless the chance is still there and if denied, the inland app is cancelled.

For some people another downside of an inland app is that sponsor and applicant must cohabit at the same address in Canada for entire duration of processing. People have had their inland apps denied in cases where one spouse has traveled long-term to another Canadian city for work or school, so CIC considered them no longer cohabiting.

Of course there's also the risk that CIC will see delays in issuing OWPs so that 4 month time after submitting app, may actually be longer (or shorter).

Check the thread dedicated to outland processing of whatever outland visa office you would use. If the times most people are seeing are in the 8 month range... then it would probably be better to do the outland app and get full PR status quicker.

 

[VermiciousKnish]

The travel restrictions are NOT waived. Having an OWP does not guarantee entry to Canada. Each entry is still decided at each entry by the CBSA officer you encounter. Of course the chance is very small one would be denied with a valid OWP, but nonetheless the chance is still there and if denied, the inland app is cancelled.

For some people another downside of an inland app is that sponsor and applicant must cohabit at the same address in Canada for entire duration of processing. People have had their inland apps denied in cases where one spouse has traveled long-term to another Canadian city for work or school, so CIC considered them no longer cohabiting.

Of course there's also the risk that CIC will see delays in issuing OWPs so that 4 month time after submitting app, may actually be longer (or shorter).

Check the thread dedicated to outland processing of whatever outland visa office you would use. If the times most people are seeing are in the 8 month range... then it would probably be better to do the outland app and get full PR status quicker.

Hmmm, ya thanks for that info. This specific case would be a US citizen and the wait time is about 12-14 months.

 

[Panamai]

Hmmm, ya thanks for that info. This specific case would be a US citizen and the wait time is about 12-14 months.

Not sure where you got that info, but right now, it's more like 8-10 months with a straightforward case and some people are getting it even sooner than that. A March applicant with the Ottawa visa office just got "in process" status last week. I'd definitely take my chances with outland over inland (I submitted my outland app in January this year). Just the fact that outland allows travel outside of Canada and an appeals process was enough for me.