American Spouse immigrating with Canadian spouse to Canada

[dpowellnt]

I am an American with my spouse being a Canadian Citizen. We have decided to return to Canada from Washington State. We are both retired and will be purchasing a home in Canada soon.

How do I (the American) go about staying in Canada with my spouse in our new home while applying for PR and eventually Canadian Citizenship? I've read the info but it is somewhat confusing. How soon would I be eligible for health insurance also, as I currently have cancer and need monthly care?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[scylla]

I am an American with my spouse being a Canadian Citizen. We have decided to return to Canada from Washington State. We are both retired and will be purchasing a home in Canada soon.

How do I (the American) go about staying in Canada with my spouse in our new home while applying for PR and eventually Canadian Citizenship? I've read the info but it is somewhat confusing. How soon would I be eligible for health insurance also, as I currently have cancer and need monthly care?

Any help would be appreciated.

Your spouse will need to sponsor you for permanent residency. Recommend that you do that now before you move to Canada following the 'outside of Canada' process. Processing will likely take around 6-10 months. Information here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/spouse.asp

Where do you plan on settling in Canada? Many provinces have three month waiting periods after you move to Canada as a permanent resident before you qualify for provincial health care. During these three months, you would have to pay for any care out of pocket or obtain private insurance to cover the costs (likely not possible since it's a pre-existing condition).

 

[Hurlabrick]

How soon would I be eligible for health insurance also, as I currently have cancer and need monthly care?
.

Summary of Canadian provincial healthcare here with links to official provincial websites.

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Medical_Insurance-Canada

 

[Hurlabrick]

Summary of Canadian provincial healthcare here with links to official provincial websites.

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Medical_Insurance-Canada

As the spousal sponsorship route is 'excessive demand exempt' your cancer would NOT affect your spousal sponsorship.

 

[canuck78]

There are also residency requirements for provincial healthcare so you can't stay in one province to get healthcare immediately then move soon after.