Hi there,
Firstly, thank you in advance for listening to my problem, and I hope someone out there can help.
I recently arrived into Canada (Ontario) from the UK on a closed temporary foreign worker visa, and my wife and baby daughter have joined me - they have entered the country using the Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA), which allows them to stay for up to 6 months.
I have successfully applied for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) using my work permit, but my wife and child have had problems. ServiceOntario have told us that while my wife and child are both absolutely eligible for OHIP as my dependents, they require an original paper document, issued by immigration, as proof that they are allowed to stay in Canada. Because they arrived on an eTA, this did not come with any paperwork at all, as it is fully electronic and is linked to their passports. You can see how this presents a problem...
ServiceOntario have told us to contact immigration directly to request some kind of original document, but so far all attempts to contact them have been met with automated services (which give no relevant options), or simply a message stating that they are extremely busy and to call back later - I'm not even put on a call queue. (The number I am calling is 1-888-242-2100).
It surprises me that this issue hasn't been encountered before, and that ServiceOntario and Immigration haven't worked together to avoid these kinds of discrepancies. It is particularly worrying for us because if my 4-month-old baby can't receive OHIP coverage then her healthcare will become extremely expensive, all because of some red tape...
If anyone has any advice about what to do here, that would be extremely appreciated. As far as I can tell, the only option is to resolve the issue with immigration - I will of course keep trying to call them on the number above, but if anyone knows another way to get their attention, please let me know. Also, if anyone has been in a similar situation, maybe you can tell me what you did to resolve it?
Thank you for your help.
Firstly, thank you in advance for listening to my problem, and I hope someone out there can help.
I recently arrived into Canada (Ontario) from the UK on a closed temporary foreign worker visa, and my wife and baby daughter have joined me - they have entered the country using the Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA), which allows them to stay for up to 6 months.
I have successfully applied for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) using my work permit, but my wife and child have had problems. ServiceOntario have told us that while my wife and child are both absolutely eligible for OHIP as my dependents, they require an original paper document, issued by immigration, as proof that they are allowed to stay in Canada. Because they arrived on an eTA, this did not come with any paperwork at all, as it is fully electronic and is linked to their passports. You can see how this presents a problem...
ServiceOntario have told us to contact immigration directly to request some kind of original document, but so far all attempts to contact them have been met with automated services (which give no relevant options), or simply a message stating that they are extremely busy and to call back later - I'm not even put on a call queue. (The number I am calling is 1-888-242-2100).
It surprises me that this issue hasn't been encountered before, and that ServiceOntario and Immigration haven't worked together to avoid these kinds of discrepancies. It is particularly worrying for us because if my 4-month-old baby can't receive OHIP coverage then her healthcare will become extremely expensive, all because of some red tape...
If anyone has any advice about what to do here, that would be extremely appreciated. As far as I can tell, the only option is to resolve the issue with immigration - I will of course keep trying to call them on the number above, but if anyone knows another way to get their attention, please let me know. Also, if anyone has been in a similar situation, maybe you can tell me what you did to resolve it?
Thank you for your help.