sks46

I'm thinking of eventually moving to Canada to join my daughter and her family. I'm retired, in receipt of UK state pension and public sector pension, and would be interested to hear from anyone who has gone through this process. I'm particularly interested in Canadian health service implications, payment overseas of occupational pension etc. (I know about illogical refusal of UK to pay state pension increases!) Any information gratefully received. Thanks.

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

First question has got to be what visa do you intend to use? Sorry for the obvious question, but just checking!

Re: health coverage, whereabouts do you intend to go? It will vary depending on the province, but there is lots of info in the Wiki (on blue bar at top of page) so that may well be worth a look.

Siouxie

At a guess the OP will be applying under the family class visa (being retired and that they have children/grandchildren in Canada).

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Catego...gration-Canada

My first piece of advice would be to get the application in now (even if there is a possibility of you not moving over) as the present processing times for parental sponsorship is 43 months for initial approval of sponsorship then another 26 months to complete the process - 69 months in total! http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/informa...fc-parents.asp

You could enter as a visitor whilst it is in process and extend your visitor status but you would need to arrange medical insurance to cover you in the interim.

Your public sector pension can be brought over (there are many companies who will do it for you) and as you are aware your UK state pension would also be portable.

With regards to health as christmasoompa stated, this would depend on which province you are moving to but overall I have found waiting times to get specialist treatment far less than the UK. As a personal example, from seeing the doctor to getting an ENT surgeon appointment was 6 weeks, from seeing a doctor to getting a Cardiologist appointment 4 weeks, Nuclear Stress tests etc., were 2 weeks after that.

Dependant again on province any medicines you would require may be subsidised (if you are a senior) or you could purchase cover privately.

There is a very informative thread here on BE that you may want to read - http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6260661.

If you have more questions there are a few here that either have come to Canada as Grandparents or who are sponsoring their parents, who I am sure would be happy to answer them.

christmasoompa

I would assume that is the visa route they intend to use too Siouxie, but there was no mention of what the OP's daughter current status is in Canada - it may only be a TWP or similar, so they may not be able to sponsor.

Even assuming they are a PR or citizen, as current processing times are around 5 years and that is predicted to rise to 13 years, they may well want to have a 'Plan B'! There may also be the option of family sponsorship via a PNP, depending on where the family of the OP are.

So there are many variables, hence the question about visa route.

Siouxie

Very true christmasoompa, I stand corrected.

Apologies for treading on your toe

If the NDP get in, Jack Layton has promised to reduce waiting times for family class applications

christmasoompa

No apology needed, my toes weren't trod on at all! I was just pointing out that family sponsorship may not be an option, or that there may be other family related routes depending on the province.

Hopefully the OP has got a visa in mind (or may even already be a PR or citizen, he didn't say whether a visa was even needed) anyway.

rach_woz99

I didn't realise this - do you know which provinces have family PNP ??

PMM

Hi

Saskatchewan Manitoba NewFoundland

christmasoompa

Used to be Alberta as well, but that's been on hold since about August of last year. Still took years and years though, but the main advantage for most people is that the family streams allow further family to be sponsored (i.e. adult siblings, niece/nephew, aunt/uncle etc) unlike the Federal program.

NS also has a stream for adult children of people who have emigrated there under the PNP I believe. so that may apply to some with parents there.

sks46

Wow! Lots of responses. Thanks, everyone. The main message I'm getting from all of this is apply as soon as possible, which I'll set in train as soon as they get their PR (later this year hopefully). They're in BC so any BC-specific comments welcome.

christmasoompa

Note that they cannot apply until they have earned a certain amount from Canadian sources in the year preceding the application, so just being a PR isn't enough and you'll need to check that they've earnt enough money in Canada (presumably whilst on a TWP?).

BC doesn't have a family stream under the PNP, so it'll have to be a federal application and as you say, the important thing is to get the application in asap - current processing times (approx 5 years) are predicted to rise considerably with a limit on the number of applications processed, so you might want to look in to other visa options as well to see if you qualify for any other route.

Good luck.