My girlfriend works 9:00am to 3:30pm mon-fri and as such she isn't classed as having a full time job, even though she works other jobs making up more time, since she doesn't have a single full time job with one employer she is apparently not eligible for OHIP.

She is here on a work permit.

Are there any alternatives, even if she has to pay for some kind of private health care? She would just like to be able to go to see a doctor and needs to know what her options are.

Any advice appreciated.

she can risk it and just pay for visits, but this could get expensive if something biggish happens or she can get insurance. There are plenty of companies around. CAA does insurance. Otherwise just Google and decide the level of cover she needs/wants.

PS are you a common law couple?? cos I think then she is eligible if she in on an openwork permit attached to your work permit.

What sort of work permit? As long as she's legally resident here, I don't understand why she wouldn't be eligible for OHIP (3 months after getting her SIN).

If she's on WHV/IEC that's something else.

It's the full time employment that's the problem.

Have the rules changed ? I had OHIP and wasn't employed
I don't recall them ever asking about employment status

Novo's question is pertinent. What sort of work permit is she on? I can't quite reconcile the regular, tied-to-one-employer work permit with the part-time job and multiple employers, so presumably there's more to the story.

My only piece of advice is to challenge any decision made at your local OHIP office not to grant coverage. It's a long and tedious process but in my direct personal experience is worthwhile. A long-winded saga below explains why...

We had, so we thought, a gap in coverage between the end of a work permit and the granting of permanent residence. Our local office had been adamant that (despite having lived here for several years) we were not eligible, CIC assured me that they couldn't issue an "in process" letter for a Canadian Experience Class applicant, as I was. I didn't see a good reason to disagree with them. When PR was finally sorted out I went down to our local Service Ontario office and got OHIP arranged for myself and my son with immediate effect. HOwever, when my OH went down the following day, the staff at the local office told her she'd have to wait 3 months for coverage to kick in.

As the service clerk had suggested, we appealed that decision (there's an OHIP Eligibility Review Committee to write to...) and were informed that not only was my OH eligible for immediate coverage, but none of us should ever have been ineligible for OHIP in between times as we had passed whatever stage it was of the PR application - this despite having phoned both the Ontario ministry of health and CIC helplines to ask, specifically, at the time. Since then we've submitted various receipts for self-pay treatment for reimbursement, as instructed by the letter OHIP sent with the review determination.

http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/publi...igibility.aspx

Am I eligible for Ontario health insurance coverage?

You may be eligible for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) if you are included under one of the following categories:

- you are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or landed immigrant, or are registered as an Indian under the Indian Act;
- you have submitted an application for permanent residence in Canada, and Citizenship and Immigration Canada has confirmed that you meet the eligibility requirements to apply for permanent residence in Canada ;
- you have applied for a grant of citizenship under section 5.1 of the Citizenship Act (Canada), and Citizenship and Immigration Canada has confirmed that you meet the eligibility requirements to apply for citizenship (i.e., children adopted internationally by Canadian citizens);
- you are a "protected person" - i.e. a Convention Refugee or a person in need of protection;
- you are a foreign worker who holds a valid work permit or other document issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) permitting you to work in Canada, and you also have a formal agreement in place to work full-time for an employer situated in Ontario which sets out the employer's name, your occupation, and confirmation that you will be working for no less than six consecutive months;
- you are a member of the clergy who is legally entitled to stay in Canada and will be providing services to a religious congregation in Ontario for at least six months;
- you hold a Temporary Resident Permit with case type 80 (for adoption only), 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94 or 95;
- you are the spouse, or dependent child (under 22 years old or 22 years and over if dependent due to a mental or physical disability) of an OHIP-eligible member of the clergy or OHIP-eligible foreign worker;
- you hold a valid work permit under the federal Live-in Caregiver Program;
- you hold a valid work permit under the federal Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program;
AND

- you make your primary place of residence in Ontario; and generally,
- you are in Ontario for at least 153 days of the first 183 days immediately following the date you establish residence in Ontario (you cannot be absent for more than 30 days during the first 6 months of residence); and
- you are in Ontario for at least 153 days in any 12-month period.

We had the same thing happen. We eventually got the MPP on the case and it was all sorted. However, in this case the new rules say that on a work permit you must have a full time job unless she in on an open work permit related to a spouses work permit.

Thanks for you replies guys, sorry it took so long for me to get back to you.

So she has an open work permit, it doesn't seem to be tied to any particular employer.

We are not a common law couple and she is not on any kind of visa/permit that it associated with me or my work permit. We met here in London, Ontario a year or so ago. She is Romanian, but I don't think nationality would affect anything.

So from the stuff MarylandNed posted it seems it's true, she can't have OHIP? It seemed really strange to me, which is why I wanted to check. I thought anyone legally resident in Ontario should have access to OHIP. That's the way I always imagined it with the NHS too, but wouldn't know since always had it.

I guess she just has to find a place that allows you to pay for visits and/or get some private insurance. Can you get insurance that will cover basic doctors visits? It never occurred to me that health insurance was for anything other than getting a nicer room/queue jumping for operations etc.

I appreciate this doesn't help answer your question but how do you get an open work permit withut a job or being tied to spouses TWP?

I'm trying to extend my understanding here , as like you I thought that if you were legally able to work and resident in Ontario then you were entitled.

I can see how you get an open work permit from your spouses TWP. I can't see how youcan get a work permit without a job, but I've been out of touch with the immigration process for a while , so I'm curious.

10.2. Who can be issued an open work permit?
Applicants in the following categories are eligible:
• persons described under R206(a) or (b), exemption code S61 or S62 (see Section 5.40);
• persons described under R207, exemption code A70 (see Section 5.41);
• persons described under R208(a) or (b), exemption code H81 or H82 (see Section 5.42);
• certain workers authorized to enter Canada on a reciprocal basis:
♦ Canada World Youth Program participants, exemption code C20 (see Section 5.36);
♦ certain international student and young worker exchange programs, C21 (some programs are employer-specific vs. being ‘open’);
♦ family members of foreign representatives and family members of military personnel:
LMO exempt, C20, where a reciprocal arrangement exists (see Appendix F and Appendix C);
♦ professional athletes authorized to enter Canada on the basis of exemption C20, who require other work to support themselves while playing for a Canadian team (e.g., CFL);
• spouses of skilled workers, eligible under R205(c), C41 (see Section 5.38);
• spouses of foreign students, eligible under R205(c), C42 (see Section 5.38);
• spouses or dependent children, or persons working in an occupation specified by a province,
who are eligible under a provincial/territorial program or pilot related to a Temporary Foreign Worker Annex of a Federal-Provincial/Territorial Immigration Agreement (see section 5.27).
If a medical has not been completed, work permits should be open, or open/occupation restricted.

It's not strange, it's a different country. We were spoiled by the NHS. NHS care is available to anyone who is normally resident in that country. It's also free for certain infectious diseases and treatment in A and E.

Even when you are eligible for OHIP you have to wait 3 months before it kicks in. So she needs to get some insurance. Try CAA they do a cheapish one