Plans to resettle ruined by a blessed event!

[messenger]

Hello to all

This is my first message in the section

Filed for PR for my common law spouse (outland we both are from different European countries) She is from a country of Non-Visa exempt
Done her Medicals (including X-rays), we mailed our apps 3 days ago and we prepared our psych on the wait for the approval (Our VO is Vienna)
Our plan was for me (Canadian citizen) to return to Canada, AB and wait for her till the whole process finished
Everything is fine so far until yesterday morning.
She was delayed in her cycle as this was not the first time and we did not pay special attention. We bought a home test pregnancy kit and what do you know? POSITIVE!
My mind traveled to the Jan 31st when she did her X-ray test and this is freaking me out!

She was pregnant again last summer but she suffered a miscarriage which was devastating for the both of us.What is so strange one must wonder! Nothing! This sort of thing happens to hundredths of couples around the world every day.
We received a blessing because I am in my prime years as a man and she is giving me a chance to renew my contracts with life.And I do love babies and her!

This situation now messes up all our plans as I do not want her delivering our baby in neither of our countries as our shared dream is to have it in Canada. According to some stats I did on Vienna it will from six to ten months to reply with her PR visa. By the end of that time my spouse would be already a mommy and this aside from being a HAPPY event it will certainly kill our plans on resettling to Canada.

My country is a member of Schengen EU but hers is not. So that means I cannot cover her with my local insurance here (Of course she can deliver the baby here) but the law here does not recognize our Common Law status as this status does not exist in this part of the world.
We can have the baby in her country but I do not trust the health services there. They are in shambles!
So our only hope remains is to write to Vienna as soon as we receive AOR and explain to them our condition.

Do you people think is advisable to do this?

Or try to get a visitor's visa for her. I know our chances are slim because I do not have a Canadian address yet for my plans were to be there by May-June 2013.
You know there is a point on a person's life that the brain is not able to provide answers as it seems the roads ahead are dead end!

We will accept from you any input if you had a similar experience

Have a great day!

I will re post this on my original section on Family Class Sponsorship

 

[rjessome]

You realize that if she comes to Canada to deliver the baby, she will likely NOT be covered by any provincial healthcare plan and you will have to pay for the delivery and medical expenses out of pocket?

Most provinces require residence of 3 months WITH student, worker or PR status to be eligible for health care benefits with the exception of Alberta. NO province will cover health care for visitors. And she won't be able to get travel health insurance to cover this cost.

 

[Darrppy78]

While thinking about it, I would advice you talk to CIC both Mississauga and Vienna ASAP. The earlier you inform them the better (although whether they act on it is another question). Check out the Vienna thread to see how their timelines look and get personal experiences. They may have a few helpful suggestions. In the meantime, a baby is a great blessings, thank God for him/her and pray for guidance in making the right decision. Congratulations are in order and All the best to you guys!!!

 

[messenger]

You realize that if she comes to Canada to deliver the baby, she will likely NOT be covered by any provincial healthcare plan and you will have to pay for the delivery and medical expenses out of pocket?

Most provinces require residence of 3 months WITH student, worker or PR status to be eligible for health care benefits with the exception of Alberta. NO province will cover health care for visitors. And she won't be able to get travel health insurance to cover this cost.

While thinking about it, I would advice you talk to CIC both Mississauga and Vienna ASAP. The earlier you inform them the better (although whether they act on it is another question). Check out the Vienna thread to see how their timelines look and get personal experiences. They may have a few helpful suggestions. In the meantime, a baby is a great blessings, thank God for him/her and pray for guidance in making the right decision. Congratulations are in order and All the best to you guys!!!

Thank you very much Darrpy and riessome

Point taken.
I will definetelly update them but I feel that we wont get any special treatment anyway.
I guess we'll just have to wait and take one step at a time

Thank you again

 

[rjessome]

No, you are wrong. It should be other than Alberta, no province will cover health care for visitors under the conditions as explain in this thread:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/questions-for-sponsoring-my-pregnant-wife-from-abroad-t133675.0.html;msg2055495#msg2055495

I'm NOT wrong. Do you believe everything you read on here? At least go to the source.

http://www.health.alberta.ca/AHCIP/registration-requirements.html
Eligible residents

An eligible resident of Alberta is a person who is:
■Legally entitled to be or to remain in Canada and makes his/her permanent home in Alberta;
■Committed to being physically present in Alberta for at least 183 days in a 12 month period;
■Not claiming residency or obtaining benefits under a claim of residency in another province, territory or country;
■Any other person deemed by the regulations to be a resident not including a tourist, transient or visitor to Alberta.

 

[steaky]

Without doubt, yet others got their healthcare even as visitors. Civil servants doesn't necessary follow what is written in the regulation, charter rights or law.

 

[Yasmine_GRL]

Good luck with the pregnancy and congratulations!

In case of pregnancy, if she receives PR in time to fly to Canada she might be exempt from the 3 months rule. I am in the same situation (but I don't have hopes to finish the process in time to land) and that is the case for Quebec, I don't know about other provinces.

 

[amikety]

I'm NOT wrong. Do you believe everything you read on here? At least go to the source.

http://www.health.alberta.ca/AHCIP/registration-requirements.html
Eligible residents

An eligible resident of Alberta is a person who is:
■Legally entitled to be or to remain in Canada and makes his/her permanent home in Alberta;
■Committed to being physically present in Alberta for at least 183 days in a 12 month period;
■Not claiming residency or obtaining benefits under a claim of residency in another province, territory or country;
■Any other person deemed by the regulations to be a resident not including a tourist, transient or visitor to Alberta.

You are definitely wrong to some extent. Dependants with valid visitor status of an Alberta resident can get healthcare.

I'm on a visitor record and my husband added me to his healthcare. I have my own number and I've used it.


The key is being a dependant. I couldn't apply on my own, but with my husband, I am covered.

 

[messenger]

Good luck with the pregnancy and congratulations!

In case of pregnancy, if she receives PR in time to fly to Canada she might be exempt from the 3 months rule. I am in the same situation (but I don't have hopes to finish the process in time to land) and that is the case for Quebec, I don't know about other provinces.

Thank you for your wishes Yasmine_GRL

Lets hope that CIC will improve their process times for everyone here. I've been reading here nearly six months now and my heart goes to those people unlucky enough to be separated from their loved ones. At least my spouse and I are together anyway!

Regards

 

[messenger]

I'm NOT wrong. Do you believe everything you read on here? At least go to the source.

http://www.health.alberta.ca/AHCIP/registration-requirements.html
Eligible residents

An eligible resident of Alberta is a person who is:
■Legally entitled to be or to remain in Canada and makes his/her permanent home in Alberta;
■Committed to being physically present in Alberta for at least 183 days in a 12 month period;
■Not claiming residency or obtaining benefits under a claim of residency in another province, territory or country;
■Any other person deemed by the regulations to be a resident not including a tourist, transient or visitor to Alberta.

Hi riessome

I do not mean to disqualify your findings above which they are definetelly correct
But steaky is right to say that many people permanent residents of Alberta had manged to cover with thei insurance their spouse although she/he were in Canada with a visitor status.
There is always a clause in the law. Look below to an email exchange I had with AHCIP just a few days ago

Dear Sir/Madam

I wish to inquire on the following subject : Health coverage

I am a Canadian citizen living abroad and will be returning to Canada in early summer of 2013. My common law spouse will be arriving with me under a visitors visa to wait in Canada for her Permanent Resident Visa which hopefully we will receive sometime before October!
Will I be able to cover her with health insurance while before she actually becomes a Permanent resident?
If the answer is no would there be another way to cover her medical needs if such arise?

Sincerely xXXXXXXXX


Thank you for your inquiry.

We can not confirm that your spouse will be eligible for coverage
until we have viewed her Canada entry documents. Alberta residents
from outside Canada must provide a copy of their current Canada
entry document to determine their eligibility for Alberta Health
Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP) coverage, even if the person is married
to a Canadian citizen and made an application for permanent residency.

Persons can not apply for AHCIP coverage until
they are physically here in Alberta.

Other insurance plans can not be recommended by our office.

 

[Rob_TO]

You are definitely wrong to some extent. Dependants with valid visitor status of an Alberta resident can get healthcare.

I'm on a visitor record and my husband added me to his healthcare. I have my own number and I've used it.

The key is being a dependant. I couldn't apply on my own, but with my husband, I am covered.

There is more info on this right from their website:

Dependants are defined as:
Married spouses – must register together

AHCIP eligibility while waiting for permanent residency status
In order to be eligible for AHCIP coverage you must have a valid Canada entry document or a letter from Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) indicating a “positive first decision” has been made regarding your application for permanent residency.

If you receive a “positive first decision” letter from CIC with respect to your permanent residency application, forward a copy of the document along with your completed application for AHCIP coverage and other required documentation to Alberta Health.

Your AHCIP coverage may be reinstated to the date of the “positive first decision” letter but not earlier.


I assume this "positive first decision" letter is stage 1 approval??

 

[scylla]

There is more info on this right from their website:

Dependants are defined as:
Married spouses – must register together

AHCIP eligibility while waiting for permanent residency status
In order to be eligible for AHCIP coverage you must have a valid Canada entry document or a letter from Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) indicating a “positive first decision” has been made regarding your application for permanent residency.

If you receive a “positive first decision” letter from CIC with respect to your permanent residency application, forward a copy of the document along with your completed application for AHCIP coverage and other required documentation to Alberta Health.

Your AHCIP coverage may be reinstated to the date of the “positive first decision” letter but not earlier.


I assume this "positive first decision" letter is stage 1 approval??

That's what it probably means on paper.

However I agree that we've seen a number of instances on this forum where people have been granted coverage sooner.

Ontario is very strict. Alberta seems to be more flexible.

 

[amikety]

Thanks Rob. I was posting from my phone while unable to sleep.

I got my healthcare before we even applied. All they cared was we were married. When we registered for our license, the woman told me as soon as we got the certificate, my husband could add me. I've dealt with three different registries about this and all were willing to provide healthcare once I was married to an Alberta resident.

 

[kyc221]

Thanks Rob. I was posting from my phone while unable to sleep.

I got my healthcare before we even applied. All they cared was we were married. When we registered for our license, the woman told me as soon as we got the certificate, my husband could add me. I've dealt with three different registries about this and all were willing to provide healthcare once I was married to an Alberta resident.

Same was explained to me. I asked them about my situation, being in the country with a Working Holiday Visa. They said I was eligible under this category, but if we decided to get married in the future I would also be eligible in that case.

 

[rjessome]

Same was explained to me. I asked them about my situation, being in the country with a Working Holiday Visa. They said I was eligible under this category, but if we decided to get married in the future I would also be eligible in that case.

Having a work permit through the WHV program (now IEC) means that you had status as a worker.

It's obvious from posters with experience that Alberta seems to act arbitrarily. That makes me angry. Here's why. I had a case. I had a client who had been in Canada for almost 7 years. 4 years study permit and 3 years PGWP. Came to me at the last minute because had made mistakes in how to apply for PR. Had been living with her CL Canadian partner for 4 years but never considered applying for sponsorship in that manner. Thought she could go through one of the economic programs and she could have but she got confused and applied via the wrong one. At the time she contacted me her PGWP was expiring in 3 weeks, and her employer (a large hospital) would not participate in an LMO procedure (against policy). So the only reason for filing In Canada class was to be able to continue working and remain in Canada with her partner. This was back when AINP took 11 months.

A month after the application was submitted, she got pregnant. It was a very high risk pregnancy. And despite having lived for 7 years, studied, worked, CL relationship of 4 years and owning a home in Alberta, the Alberta Health Authority refused to give her health care coverage. She went to MPs, MLAs, media, etc. Nothing worked. By the grace of the universe and just some luck, AINP and the OWP was granted in 8 months rather than 11. She ended up having the baby 4 weeks early, just 1 month after receiving the OWP but luckily she had health coverage by that time and both mama and baby were fine.

The stress was overwhelming for her and her partner during that time. It could have gone very badly. This was only last year! So I'm not angry that anyone is receiving health care in Alberta as a visitor. I'm angry that it seems to be random. My client was on implied status as a worker and had been a tax paying contributor to the Albertan and Canadian economies for many years!

So be careful. I'm happy for those who are receiving health care coverage but it is NOT guaranteed by any means.