paolob99

Hello folks,

I have been in Canada since April 2013. I am married to a Canadian.

I am on an extended Tourist Visa. We are completing a Spousal Visa Application.

I am in the UK right now due to a family bereavement.

If I need medical assitance for anything in the UK, I use the NHS. In Canada, I use the walk in clinic.

Is there any insurance I can buy, either in the UK, or in Canada, which will cover me for all medical eventualities? I have a new cycle waiting for me in Canada, so it does have me wondering!

I am a UK National.
Married to a Canadian.
I don't work in Canada.
My UK Travel Insurance expired long ago.
I live in BC.

I contacted a company in Canada, but they were of little help, and I cannot remember their name. I feel like I am in 'no mans land' and the cost of medical care is madness without insurance. I might carry a card saying 'leave me at the side of the road'.

My wife starts a new job on 2nd July, and will not qualify for benefits until 3 months have passed. In addition, I doubt whether I will be covered on her employment insurance anyway.

Has anyone been in a similar situation, and did anyone find any solutions?

Thanks

Paul

ann m

Manulife "Cover Me" for visitors to Canada? ( sorry, on my tablet and can't make link work but easy to find on Manulife.ca website?

burks

By spousal visa application, do you mean your spouse is sponsoring you for PR? If so, and you are in BC (I notice you have posted in the ICBC thread) then you should be able to be added to your spouse's MSP once they have been approved as your sponsor.

Aviator

As a Canadian resident, I would not travel to the UK without insurance though. You are not entitled to free NHS and may get a bill.

paolob99

I wish I could find insurance for me being in Canada.....I am strugg;ling

1jerusha

Hi,

yep, you should get travel insurance again to cover yourself. Try here:

duinsurance.com - select the one way travel option. Most travel insurance companies don't allow one way travel, this is one of the only ones. Also, this company insures you if you have previously been outside the UK for more than 6 months - many don't. Trust me, this will save you about a days worth of research. The insurance for a year will be about £200 ish, you can add extra to cover sports activities - read the t&cs.

Since you have a tourist visa only, you are still legally resident in the UK - you have to be, since you are not a legal resident in Canada. This should allow you to claim NHS treatment. You're running a huge risk by being in Canada without any kind of emergency insurance though!

Aviator

Pacific Blue Cross, Manulife or go to an insurance broker.

1jerusha

True, but health insurance will cost you about 10x the cost of travel insurance. So long as you are reasonably healthy, and don't anticipate needing to see a doctor before your PR is complete, emergency coverage/travel insurance should be fine. Especially if you've been going without anything until now!

Aviator

Travel insurance works differently to health insurance for residents. It is only valid from your departure from your country of residence until the end of your journey. If one lives in Canada, travel insurance to Canada is not an option.

1jerusha

Yes, travel insurance is an option. From the company I quoted. They have a one-way travel option at the top of the form.

If you only have visitor status in Canada, your legal residence would really be the UK, since your tourist visa states that you must return to your country of origin. Obviously your intention isn't to do that, but that's what your visa says.

Since you're currently in the UK, what you are doing is making a one-way trip to Canada, for which you can have travel insurance. Some companies even give you the option of purchasing travel insurance after departure. It all depends on the company, which is why it's necessary to read T&Cs. Trust me, I've done my research on this - I am completely covered under the policy from that company, duinsurance. I'm in exactly the same situation as you - married to a Canadian, in the process of filing for PR, currently here on working holiday visa.

Aviator

Key parts of that are:
 Emergency Medical Expenses: This policy is NOT a Private Medical Insurance
policy, and does not provide cover for procedures that can be carried out in Your country
of residence after repatriation or for any medical expenses incurred in private facilities if
a medically suitable State facility is available. This policy does not provide cover for
private medical expenses when You are hospitalised in a state run hospital or clinic where
EU residents have a right to state provided emergency treatment.
 Repatriation: Please note that in the event that You require repatriation after an
incident abroad, You will be returned to Your Home Country. This policy does NOT
cover onwards transport to Your Final Country of Destination.

If Our Medical Officer advises a date when it is feasible and
practical to repatriate You, but You choose instead to remain
abroad, Our liability to pay any further costs under this
Section after that date will be limited to what We would have
paid if Your repatriation had taken place.

In essence, if they consider any medical emergency (not routine doctors visits) are cheaper in your country of origin, you have to go back for treatment or saty where you are and pay yourself.

Maple_Sassenach

To give an idea of emergency medical expenses, a visit to the ER in Calgary currently costs $718 to get a chart made if you have no insurance, this does not include medical treatment.
We have had some patients keep receipts and later process for a refund when they are insured but each case is specific and I can't comment as to how successful the refund process has been for each individual.

burks

Are you not in BC and/or not being sponsored for PR by your spouse/common-law then?

DandNHill

When we first arrived on TWP our oldest son, although eligible for a study permit as a result of TWP, was not entitled to medical insurance as he was 19 years old.
We paid for bluecross for the 13 months it took to get PR. It worked out about $100 per month which wasn't bad. That being said he never needed to make a claim during that time so I have no idea how good it would have been...

paolob99

Thanks for all of this advice, I am looking at it all right now, including duinsurance.

This thread is a great help to me