how long can one stay out of Canada

[Robin888]

Hello

My friend who just turned 65 will be getting her OAS and she is planning to stay in Asia for 6 to 9 months. Can she request that her monthly OAS be deposited to her bank while she is away and she can withdraw from her bank while she is in Asia. Are there any rules or how long can she stay away? She is presently in Ontario. Thank you.

[Toronto.gal]

Why don't you call Service Canada to get accurate/faster information.

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/i.../oas/oas.shtml

[Causalien]

The rules for this are steps based on years spent in Canada.
Below 20 years you get 6 months of pension
20 years means you can receive OAS anywhere in the world even as a non resident
40 years means you can receive full OAS anywhere
Though you have to be careful if you are at the cutoff line of 20 since a year for Service Canada starts in April and ends in April.
It also depends on whether or not the country has signed a pension treaty with Canada. Most of the time, these are handled case by case. In all case, you will need to let Service Canada know.

[OhGreatGuru]

If she is only planning to be gone 6-9 months, and intends to have the OAS deposited to her CDN bank account, I suspect she would still be considered a 'deemed resident" for tax & OAS purposes, so the 20-year rule would not apply. But best to check it out.

PS. Completely apart from OAS she needs to look into residency requirements for OHIP coverage. i believe it is nominally 183 days. Some provinces allow an extension upon application, but I don't know if Ontario does.

[AltaRed]

Completely apart from OAS she needs to look into residency requirements for OHIP coverage. i believe it is nominally 183 days. Some provinces allow an extension upon application, but I don't know if Ontario does.

I would agree with respect to health coverage, but OHIP would not likely throw her out of the plan for being away more than 183 days (may be province dependent). For example, Alberta based ex-pats who are out of country on lengthy assignments can maintain 'membership' status in the plan, but cannot avail themselves of health coverage. The intent there is to avoid the returning resident having to re-apply for health coverage and incur the 3 month 'waiting period' once they return to Canada.

[bbsj]

I think if you are out of country for more than 183 days, you have to wait for 3 months to restore your OHIP coverage. Lot of people do not report the 183 days absence, and the coverage remains in place, though not really legal.