# how long can one stay out of Canada



## Robin888 (Aug 1, 2011)

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.


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## Toronto.gal (Jan 8, 2010)

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

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/isp/pub/oas/oas.shtml


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## Causalien (Apr 4, 2009)

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.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

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.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

OhGreatGuru said:


> 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.


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## bbsj (Aug 26, 2010)

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.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

From OHIP web site:
_You may be out of the province for up to 212 days in any 12-month period and still maintain your Ontario health insurance coverage provided that you continue to make Ontario your primary place of residence.

To maintain eligibility for OHIP coverage you must be an eligible resident of Ontario. This means that you must :

- have an OHIP-eligible citizenship/immigration status; and
- be physically present in Ontario for 153 days in any 12-month period; and
- be physically present in Ontario for at least 153 days of the first 183 days immediately after establishing residency in the province; and
- make your primary place of residence in Ontario.
If you will be out of the province for more than 212 days in any 12-month period, please refer to the Longer Absences from Ontario fact sheet._

See also http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/pub/ohip/longer.html

Ontario allows extended absences of various lengths, depending on the reason for the absence. It sounds like you have to apply to the ministry to ensure your eligibility.


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## Serb (Nov 11, 2012)

OhGreatGuru said:


> From OHIP web site:
> _You may be out of the province for up to 212 days in any 12-month period and still maintain your Ontario health insurance coverage provided that you continue to make Ontario your primary place of residence.
> 
> To maintain eligibility for OHIP coverage you must be an eligible resident of Ontario. This means that you must :
> ...



Right.

BUT, who makes sure that if you stay outside of Ontario longer than 212 days you actually lose the OHIP coverage and have to wait the 3 months to get it back?

As in, who determines that you've stayed out of the province for too long and decides to terminate that coverage?

Someone at the border, on your way back?

Is it done automatically, on the system, somewhere?

Scan of your passport at the border is stored in a central database and that's where all the calculations are made or something?

Who determines that?


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

I have the same questions as Serb. Given the poor state of communication already regarding patient files between doctors/pharmacists/hospitals etc., how does your doctor's office or a hospital know if you've been out of the country for too long? They certainly don't seem to be capable of accessing your immigration record electronically.
I suppose the only way is for Immigration Canada to send out a letter to Health Canada updating your status and then they would inform your doctor's office... Is there ACTUALLY a system in place to do that and monitor these restrictions??


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Yes. There is a system in place to monitor restrictions. It's actually very simple, if you think about it: your health care coverage out-of-country is not valid unless you meet the requirements. Providers don't much care about the services they provide you in your province of residence. They care about your eligibility for out-of-country services. If you become ill or injured out of the country, and you cannot demonstrate that you were physically present in your province of residence for whatever their required number of days is (i.e., that your coverage is valid), your treatment is not covered.


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## Serb (Nov 11, 2012)

so what you're saying is that the check kicks in AFTER you claim any sort of benefits or treatments and such?

as in, if you try and claim an eye surgery or something, they will request proof of you being in province for at least 7 months of the year (in Ontario) before approving that?


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I have had jobs where I was out of my home province for 2 weeks out of every month, plus I was out of country for 3 weeks on holidays. Lucky I never had any extended trips.

I suspect they have no system for tracking. I do know someone who gave up his domicile in BC and used his father's address. I think that triggered a follow-up because they cut him off after 6 months.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

What I am saying is that for all practical purposes, the audit is triggered when an out-of-country request is received. If you need medical care that you want covered by OHIP and you are out of Ontario (that's where my experience with the health care system is), you will be asked to present evidence that you have not been out of Ontario for more than the maximum permissible number of days required to retain health care. OHIP can and will use your passport scans at international borders to track your presence/absence in Canada.


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## Square Root (Jan 30, 2010)

MoneyGal said:


> What I am saying is that for all practical purposes, the audit is triggered when an out-of-country request is received. If you need medical care that you want covered by OHIP and you are out of Ontario (that's where my experience with the health care system is), you will be asked to present evidence that you have not been out of Ontario for more than the maximum permissible number of days required to retain health care. OHIP can and will use your passport scans at international borders to track your presence/absence in Canada.


This is why one should obtain emergency medical travel insurance if out of country. This will also have some residency restrictions (such as max 60 days out of country coverage per trip). Usually, the amounts covered by the provincial med plans are inconsequential when compared to the private health care coverage.
i have never had an issue obtaining health care when in Ont using my Alberta health care card. i believe there is reciprocity for health care coverage in most provinces(excluding Quebec of course). Out of country more of an issue I think.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Yes, absolutely, AND one should be aware of the gaps in coverage of both sets of insurance (travel insurance and OHIP / provincial insurance). 

Travel medical insurance will cover your *emergency* costs and typically will get you back to your "home" country as quickly as possible. Why? Because they want to limit their exposure to costs. 

If you are injured or develop a medical condition while out of the country and you have not maintained your Canadian health care coverage, you will find yourself returned to Canada by your "travel" medical insurance carrier _and then the cost of continuing coverage is on you_. Think heart attack requiring a bypass - the travel medical insurance will cover the cost of getting you stabilized and back to Canada. If you have not maintained your eligibility for provincial health care, the bypass won't be covered.


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## Square Root (Jan 30, 2010)

Seems to me that as long as you are paying income tax to the province where you have health care coverage, you would probably be OK. I would think it would be more of an issue if you don't pay tax but want the coverage.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Yes, absolutely. The definition of "resident" and "non-resident" is tied to your tax status and your eligibility for health care coverage.


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## fraser (May 15, 2010)

We have been travelling outside of our home province ( AB) since the end of August and have been travelling outside Canada since early Oct. We anticipate being outside Canada until sometime in late March.

One of the key factors for us was out of country medical. All of the reasonable and comprehensive plans that we looked at were based upon a Provincial health plan being in force and most would only cover us for up to six month absence from Canada...some even stipulated six months from our province of residence. It made the decision easy for us.


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