krosfyah

Hi all, i'm about to travel to the US to see family, handle some affairs and activate my IR1 visa. We are there for a very swift trip of less than a week and then need to get back here.

Now, my question is, how does travel insurance work for me as a UK citizen, and soon-to-be US permanent resident, not travelling there for a "tourist trip" but going as a PR?

I note on M&S insurance policy that you need to indicate you are a "Permanent Resident" of the UK. Well i currently am, but surely by making this trip to the US, i'm now becoming a PR there, and no longer a PR of the UK? I mean, if i was to have an accident and need medical treatment, the first thing i would do as an insurance company is say that i'd taken out insurance that broke that initial clause because i can't be a PR of 2 different countries, and the trip to the US meant i was relinquishing my PR status of the UK, no? I'm not a lawyer but i imagine i wouldn't have a leg to stand on if i needed to claim.

So my question is - are my assumptions correct, and if so, how do i take out insurance for this short trip to the US?

Thanks in advance!

PS as an aside, i just found this company:

http://www.visitorscoverage.com/immigrant/plans/

Is this what i should be taking out for limited duration trips, rather than traditional travel insurance with a UK based company?

GeoffM

An interesting one... if you weren't going to be back in the UK for long then perhaps you could start your US health cover from the date of your first trip. if you are able to.

ian-mstm

Here's something to consider... when you take out the insurance, you haven't yet arrived in the US and so are not yet a PR. You aren't "going as a PR".

Ian

GeoffM

When the OP arrives in the US to activate their visa, are they not now a PR - for immigration purposes if nothing else, whether they like it or not? So at that point are they residents of both the UK and the US? At what point does the UK insurance decide that the UK is no longer their normal residence and thus travel insurance becomes void? Small print on policy I guess with written confirmation from the insurer if unclear.

scrubbedexpat099

You are confusing immigration terminology and insurance terminology.

UK Travel Insurance would be fine for this trip, maybe not the next one.

Duncan Roberts

Don't confuse the US immigration definition of permanent resident with UK insurance or even state definitions. Unless you set up your home in the US I can't see you being classed as anything other than a UK resident (since you actually live there) going on vacation.

S Folinsky

Have not seen the policy. That said, whenever my dual-nat brother-in-law travels comes to the US, he has used travel insurance -- it covers a period up to a year.

That said, my pedantic self will note my continuing wonderment at the term "activating" the visa. An immigrant visa is valid for one use. It is not unheard for a non-immigrant visa being issued for one use only -- I would not call use of that visa "activation." Of course, I am also irritated by the former INS being referred to as the "Legacy INS" its legacy agencies in the DHS.

GeoffM

My point is, at what time does your insurance company decide that you're no longer a permanent resident of the UK? Let's say the OP had sold their house before going on the first trip, came back to stay with parents temporarily while the US house purchase/rental went through, then went back to the US. It's not an entirely obvious situation - though I am slightly on your side of the fence - and one which I am trying to point out should be clarified with your insurer rather than just take Boiler's word that "travel insurance will be fine". After all, doesn't everybody say to read the small print carefully?

ian-mstm

Not to put too fine a point on it, but until someone spends more than 6 months of the year outside the UK, one is still considered a UK resident unless you present such information to the UK authorities. At the time the travel insurance is purchased, the person is still resident in the UK... made more certain by the fact that they fully intend to return to the UK after a week abroad. How the US treats the person upon arrival is irrelevant to the UK laws that govern the policy.

FWIW, I agree with Boiler. OP is purchasing "travel insurance" and he is travelling. He is not intending to stay in the US on this trip.

Ian

Bob

Aye, but the insurance company probably have their own definition and make it unclear on purpose, to make it easy for them to get out of paying for anything expensive.

Just call the company and ask for clarification.

There's a couple of threads on going in the main US forum that covers short term travel insurance for people in this very situation, with a few possible recommendations to check out.

rew1000

I'd second this: with insurance, all you've bought is a piece of paper, until you go to make a claim. In that situation, you don't want to discover that the insurance company disagrees with the advice you found on the internet...

In a slightly different situation, we wanted 1 week's "hit by a bus" insurance until my employer's health insurance kicked in. Every standard travel insurance policy stipulated that the trip should be a round trip. I spoke to an actual human insurance broker, who understood our requirements, and arranged with the insurance underwriter to have the relevant bit of boilerplate waived in writing.