Having my Indonesian wife give birth in Canada

[Clayton.M]

I am a Canadian Citizen who has been living in Indonesia for the past 3 years teaching English. I have recently gotten married and my wife is from Indonesia. We have not had any children yet or have any coming soon but still want to know what the process would be if I wanted to have my child in Canada.

Would I have to pay for the birth or would it be covered under my health care in Canada?

I am also concerned because me and my wife do not want to live there permanently but just on and off. Since my wife is Indonesian she cannot have a dual citizenship and would have to choose one or the other.

would this also apply to a permanent residency as well?

 

[scylla]

PR would be the best way to go if you want to have your child in Canada. Your wife can have Canadian PR and retain her Indonesian citizenship.

However there are a few complications. To be approved for PR, you will have to prove that you plan to relocate to Canada and begin living there again once your wife's PR status is approved. If you have no plans to do this and can't provide evidence that you plan to return to Canada and live there - it may be quite difficult for you to be approved as a sponsor. Even if your wife is approved for PR, you can't simply come to Canada, have the baby and leave. If you do this the province you're living in can come after you for the costs of the birth since you effectively used the province's health care system just to cover the costs of the birth. We had someone on this forum a while ago who was in this situation. If I remember correctly, the province went after her and her husband for somewhere between $30K and $40K. So if you are successul with the PR application, plan to spend 6 months living in Canada after the birth of the child to make sure you don't end up in this situation. Also, some provinces have three months waiting periods to qualify for health care. So you should plan to arrive in Canada 4-5 months before the birth of the child (in case of early labour).

I don't think giving birth in Canada as a visitor will work for your wife. First of all, the chances of her getting a visitor visa are pretty much nil. Secondly, on the slim chance she was approved, she could be refused entry at the border due to her pregnancy. Last but not least, if she was approved and was able to enter the country, there are only certain provinces where she might be covered by the health care system due to you. Most provinces she would have to pay.

 

[sariss]

What province are you planning on moving to?
In most (all?) places, your wife would need her permanent residency to be covered by provincial health care.