scylla said:
If you're not planning to settle until mid-2014, then you won't be able to start counting your three months until you arrive in mid-2014. So no - the 1-2 weeks you will spend in Canada this year won't be counted towards the three month waiting period. You should wait until you return in mid-2014 to apply. Yes - you are allowed to travel outside of Canada during your first 3 months in Canada but for no more than 30 days. You're going to exceed that by far.
http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/msp/infoben/eligible.html#who
When does Coverage Begin?
New residents or persons re-establishing residence in B.C. are eligible for coverage after completing a wait period that normally consists of the balance of the month of arrival plus two months. For example, if an eligible person arrives during the month of July, coverage is available October 1. If absences from Canada exceed a total of 30 days during the wait period, eligibility for coverage may be affected.
Browntrout,
You'd also have to find a way to pay your premiums during your absence. Should you decide to register with BC MSP early in contravention of the rules, an even if you managed to register on the first or second day of your visit, you wouldn't receive your first statement in the mail prior to your departure. By the time you finally do return you might have 2 or 3 bills past due and since you'll be a brand-new enrollee, they might cancel coverage for non-payment.
There's also the issue of BC Fair PharmaCare (the provincial prescription drug plan) enrollment to consider. Fair PharmaCare is an income-based plan and is normally the primary payer (employer-provided and privately-procured prescription plans are normally secondary). Fair PharmaCare has an annual deductible and pays a percentage of prescription drug costs once the deductible has been met. There's also an out-of-pocket maximum cap, and when this out-of-pocket cap is met Fair PharmaCare pays 100% of prescription costs. Thankfully, any secondary plan(s) you have (including employer plans) will pick up a big chunk of costs (mine plan pays 90%) until you've met the Fair PharmaCare deductible and then will pay the % share that Fair PharmaCare does not. To give you an idea of actual figures, the amounts for a family with an annual
net income of $30,000 are $600 annual deductible, 70% payment share, and an annual Family Maximum of $900. For a family with a net income of $45,000, the amounts are $1300, 70% and $1750. For a net income of $60,000 the amounts are $1800, 70%, $2400. As they net income level increases, so do the deductible and Family Maximums. At some point for high earners (not sure at what income level) the Fair PharmaCare benefit drops to zero. There is no premium or other cost associated with Fair PharmaCare.
Here's the problem ... unless you want to pay for all prescription costs on your own, enrollment in BC Fair PharmaCare is pretty much mandatory. Even if you have an employer-sponsored plan, it'll likely refuse to pay any costs unless you first enroll in BC Fair PharmaCare (remember, other insurance is secondary). Enrollment is easy ... it can be done with a 15-minute phone call, and all family members
must be enrolled simultaneously, but you'll need to following in order to do so:
- 1. BC MSP CareCard numbers for you an all family members.
- 2. Social Insurance Numbers (SIN) for you and all family members.
In order to verify incomes, BC Fair PharmaCare uses the amounts from your federal income tax return from two years ago. For someone enrolling today (2013), the amounts would be based on the 2011 income tax return. Since you will be newly arriving in Canada, Fair PharmaCare will be unable to find a return for you when it tries to verify the income amount you specify when it checks with the CRA. About two weeks after enrolling, you'll receive a letter from Fair PharmaCare telling you it couldn't find your tax return for the 2011 tax year and that you should file one with the CRA immediately, and that failure to comply will result in cancellation of Fair PharmaCare coverage 60 days from the date of the letter. However, the letter will also mention that for newly-landed PRs (who obviously haven't filed returns prior to their arrival in Canada), they can base income amounts on their world-wide income (your home-country tax return) amounts. Fortunately, the form on the flip-side of the letter you receive is used to declare these income amounts and the form must signed by all adult family members, in front of a BC notary public who will notarize the declaration and affix his/her official seal.
Incidentally, you'll have to submit the same form again the following year with updated figures, since coverage is based on two-year old income data. When Fair PharmaCare tries to once again establish your income/benefit amounts (it does this annually) it will once again not find a tax return, and you'll receive another letter from them. As before, you'll have to have the form notarized before returning it to them. In subsequent years, the annual recheck will be automatic and should be completely transparent to you, since they'll find the pertinent tax return of file with the CRA from then on. All you'll receive is a letter informing you of your new deductibles and cap (if your income changes significantly).
beside residing there for 3 months then applying for health card.