Landing in Toronto and live in Calgary what about (AHCI)

[Canastyle]

Dear All,

Very glad to post here for the first time.

Me and my wife are planing to land in Toronto, and stay for a week or two, to get our PR status as (FSW). We will go back then again to the UK to finalise our accommodation, jobs, etc. After this being done we have two scenarios:

1) In 2 months we will be moving permanently from the UK to Calgary, AB. In this case will we be covered by Alberta Health Care Insurance (AHCI) from day one?

2) If we decide to move permanently from the UK to Toronto, after 2 month from the initial landing, do you recommend that we apply for Ontario Health Insurance (OHI) while in Toronto for the first time just to save time?

Many thanks in advance for your answers

 

[steaky]

What are AHCI and OHCI?

 

[Canastyle]

AHCI: Alberta Health Care Insurance
OHCI: Ontario Health Care Insurance

 

[natasha963]

Dear All,

Very glad to post here for the first time.

Me and my wife are planing to land in Toronto, and stay for a week or two, to get our PR status as (FSW). We will go back then again to the UK to finalise our accommodation, jobs, etc. After this being done we have two scenarios:

1) In 2 months we will be moving permanently from the UK to Calgary, AB. In this case will we be covered by Alberta Health Care Insurance (AHCI) from day one?

2) If we decide to move permanently from the UK to Toronto, after 2 month from the initial landing, do you recommend that we apply for Ontario Health Insurance (OHI) while in Toronto for the first time just to save time?

Many thanks in advance for your answers

Does any one have clarity on point no 1? Even in case we land in calgary from a different country, wuld we be covered for Alberta Health Care insurance from day 1?

 

[Leon]

Ontario health insurance plan = OHIP, not OHCI
Alberta health care insurance plan = AHCIP, not AHCI

Anyway, yes, Alberta would cover you from day one if you land in Alberta and settle there or if you briefly land somewhere else and then move to AB as long as you could claim that you are moving to AB from outside Canad and not from another province.

Same with pretty much any other province except Ontario, BC and Quebec. Those 3 provinces all have a 3 month wait for health care.

However, before someone gets the idea that they will make a quick stop in AB or another first day health care province just to get a health card and then move off to a place they'd rather be like BC or Ontario, keep in mind that in order to be eligible for health care in any province, you must stay there 183 days a year (about 6 months). If you do not stay in your first province for 183 days in your first year there, they could retroactively decide that you were never eligible for their health care in the first place and should pay back whatever health care bills they covered for you. There actually have been such cases so now that you know, if you do go to AB, make sure you stay for at least 6 months and you'll be fine.

 

[freewilly]

Ontario health insurance plan = OHIP, not OHCI
Alberta health care insurance plan = AHCIP, not AHCI

Anyway, yes, Alberta would cover you from day one if you land in Alberta and settle there or if you briefly land somewhere else and then move to AB as long as you could claim that you are moving to AB from outside Canad and not from another province.

Same with pretty much any other province except Ontario, BC and Quebec. Those 3 provinces all have a 3 month wait for health care.

However, before someone gets the idea that they will make a quick stop in AB or another first day health care province just to get a health card and then move off to a place they'd rather be like BC or Ontario, keep in mind that in order to be eligible for health care in any province, you must stay there 183 days a year (about 6 months). If you do not stay in your first province for 183 days in your first year there, they could retroactively decide that you were never eligible for their health care in the first place and should pay back whatever health care bills they covered for you. There actually have been such cases so now that you know, if you do go to AB, make sure you stay for at least 6 months and you'll be fine.

Thanks a ton for the information Leon. Based on this I can move to calgary instead of toronto now. All I need is coverage since I cant afford to move to canada otherwise for now, dont mind spending 6-12 months there.

 

[Leon]

Alberta is also the best place to be if you need a job

Stay for 6 months and by then if you still want to go to Toronto, you can slowly start looking for job offers there. If you move from AB to ON, your AB health will cover you for the 3 months while you wait for OHIP to kick in.