Wife pregnant, student visa and no MSP help!

[iamsh]

Currently my wife is in B.C Canada and is on a student visa that is about to expire in a couple of months. Wife is also pregnant we believe it is 7weeks in and she doesn't have msp coverage. Went to my family doctor but either very pricy to have check up or can't. Thinking of returning back to wife's home country and apply for spousal/ family visa outland or apply for open work visa and apply for inland spousal/family visa. Also maybe have child there if visa takes too long for the wife and try to get the child a Canadian visa. I currently am a Canadian citizen open to other options/ suggestions prefer if the child is born in Canada so he/she doesn't have to deal with any of these issue.

 

[Buletruck]

If your a Canadian citizen, it doesn't matter where the child is born, they will be Canadian. You can apply for a passport while your wife's sponsorship is processing.

 

[Rob_TO]

If your a Canadian citizen, it doesn't matter where the child is born, they will be Canadian. You can apply for a passport while your wife's sponsorship is processing.

Not quite, it depends how he got citizenship. If he was born outside Canada but got citizenship via Canadian parents, then he would not be able to pass citizenship on to his kids born outside Canada.

 

[Buletruck]

Right...I assumed he was Canadian by birth. My mistake.

 

[simpsol22]

Currently my wife is in B.C Canada and is on a student visa that is about to expire in a couple of months. Wife is also pregnant we believe it is 7weeks in and she doesn't have msp coverage. Went to my family doctor but either very pricy to have check up or can't. Thinking of returning back to wife's home country and apply for spousal/ family visa outland or apply for open work visa and apply for inland spousal/family visa. Also maybe have child there if visa takes too long for the wife and try to get the child a Canadian visa. I currently am a Canadian citizen open to other options/ suggestions prefer if the child is born in Canada so he/she doesn't have to deal with any of these issue.

Have you read over this document? Your wife could have been covered just with the study visa. Once you apply for PR and get a letter stating the app is in process, that would work too. http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/health-drug-coverage/medical-services-plan/bc-residents/eligibility-and-enrolment/are-you-eligible/covering-a-spouse-or-child-who-is-an-applicant-for-permanent-resident-status-in-canada.pdf

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Have you read over this document? Your wife could have been covered just with the study visa. Once you apply for PR and get a letter stating the app is in process, that would work too. http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/health-drug-coverage/medical-services-plan/bc-residents/eligibility-and-enrolment/are-you-eligible/covering-a-spouse-or-child-who-is-an-applicant-for-permanent-resident-status-in-canada.pdf

Note that despite this publication, in practice, it is extremely difficult to actually get MSP coverage before PR. Most people who have tried have been refused.

 

[GFLiam]

I applied Outland PR for my wife, while she only has a visitor status and still be able to get msp. The only thing you need to convince HIBCa is the applicant's (meaning the sponsored spouse) application will have to be "in process" on ecas or an email from IRCC saying the application is transferred to the visa office. Of course, given you have MSP yourself...

 

[simpsol22]

Note that despite this publication, in practice, it is extremely difficult to actually get MSP coverage before PR. Most people who have tried have been refused.

I had no issue....nor did any of those I know who tried.

 

[sylvain1]

I had no issue....nor did any of those I know who tried.

We have those issues.... Until we get AIP, Quebec health insurance plan (RAMQ) won't cover my wife (she is also in Canada with a study permit). However, because she is a foreign student, she is covered by a private insurance which mandatory at her university and is charged directly with the tuition fees. This insurance would cover fees related to pregnancy should that happen.

 

[simpsol22]

We have those issues.... Until we get AIP, Quebec health insurance plan (RAMQ) won't cover my wife (she is also in Canada with a study permit). However, because she is a foreign student, she is covered by a private insurance which mandatory at her university and is charged directly with the tuition fees. This insurance would cover fees related to pregnancy should that happen.

Yeah I've seen that for Quebec. In BC it's much easier to get on BC MSP. You dont have to wait for aip. Might be easier here since we have to pay a monthly premium.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I had no issue....nor did any of those I know who tried.

Lucky for you. I've seen many people on the forum have issues with MSP, including myself. MSP continually refused to cover my partner during the process until I sent a complaint to the Minister of Health.

 

[samahmedpk2000]

Currently my wife is in B.C Canada and is on a student visa that is about to expire in a couple of months. Wife is also pregnant we believe it is 7weeks in and she doesn't have msp coverage. Went to my family doctor but either very pricy to have check up or can't. Thinking of returning back to wife's home country and apply for spousal/ family visa outland or apply for open work visa and apply for inland spousal/family visa. Also maybe have child there if visa takes too long for the wife and try to get the child a Canadian visa. I currently am a Canadian citizen open to other options/ suggestions prefer if the child is born in Canada so he/she doesn't have to deal with any of these issue.

r u citizen?

I was in bc and i m citizen my husband was on student visa he got MSP. Hope it helps you, call MSP

 

[GFLiam]

We have those issues.... Until we get AIP, Quebec health insurance plan (RAMQ) won't cover my wife (she is also in Canada with a study permit). However, because she is a foreign student, she is covered by a private insurance which mandatory at her university and is charged directly with the tuition fees. This insurance would cover fees related to pregnancy should that happen.

I think the TC's wife has msp covered when her student visa is still active. In addition, I doubt any private insurance company would cover any prenatal and delivery costs as they are categorized as "pre-existing conditions".

Back to the TC's concerns, there are actually a few ways to go about this:
1) Check on CIC and see what is the outland sponsorship processing time for your wife's home country, especially the sponsor approval time because that's about how long it would take for the application to become "in process" or transferred to visa office. Hence, the time you can apply MSP for your wife. The pros for this is once you get MSP for her, you are pretty much set. HIBC may back date the commencing date of MSP, with you may not need to wait 2 months plus the remaining dates for the month for application of MSP. The cons are during all this time before MSP approval, you will have to fork out of your own pocket for any doctor's visits and lab testing fees.
2) If you and your wife are living in the lower mainland area, the BC Women's hospital actually has a programme for pregnant women, who are waiting for their PR application (hence, no MSP coverage) and in financial difficulties. (Google BC Women's hospital new beginnings, as I do not have the rights to post links, yet.) The pros to this is they take care of everything once your wife has been approved and BC Women's is probably the best hospital for delivery in BC. The cons are first you will still need to apply for family sponsorship for your wife first, whether inland or outland. Second, you and your wife will need to prepare some financial documents, as laid out on their website, for their financial advisor to determine if your wife is eligible or not. They make the decision pretty promptly (on the contrary to pretty much every other public services here) and if it fails, you will probably still have a lot of time to weigh out your other options.

My opinion is, apply outland for your wife and do both options 1 and 2. It doesn't hurt if you tried and fail with the BC Women's programme. If they approved your wife and then she got approved MSP, you can always tell them and withdraw from the programme. It's always better to have more options than to be stranded. I was on the same boat as you and foolishly applied for inland. I later withdrawn the applications, resubmitted for outland and got MSP about 3 months before the expected delivery date. It was stressful and scary as my family doctor told me the delivery costs (2 nights at hospital, the doctor's fee for delivery and misc. costs) are expected to be $30k and can skyrocket if there are any implications.

Act quickly and do the outland application. Whichever option you go for would require that, unless you and your wife decided to have her go back to her home country for the delivery.

PS. You mentioned you couldn't find a doctor to see her? I think your own family doctor shall be more than happy to take her as she's officially your family now.

 

[GFLiam]

Actually, in December 2016 somethings have changed and it seems both inland and outland both have 12 months of processing time. However, it also removed the expected time for the sponsor approval. I suggest you look in the threads for applications after December 7, 2016 to see if there are any trends on how long does it take for SA.

 

[sylvain1]

In addition, I doubt any private insurance company would cover any prenatal and delivery costs as they are categorized as "pre-existing conditions".

For sure if you are pregnant before getting the insurance, you won't be covered. What I said is that our private insurance would cover fees related to pregnancy should that happen and this is explicitly written in the coverage description.