Is entry stamp considered a visitor visa?

[Carlvr88]

We just went to the insurance office in Alberta to add my wife to my health plan as a dependant.
She arrived from Germany with myself on January 15th and all she received was an entry stamp.
I was under the impression that this was enough information to add her to my plan, however the person at the desk says we need a paper glued into the passport with some information on it about her stay as a visitor.
Now Im starting to worry if this may not be enough for the inland sponsorship program as well?
Could someone clarify what needs to be in her passport to apply for the inland sponsorship?

 

[wildemam]

Health plan is a province government issue.
CIC is a federal agency.

You will have to seek answers about requirements which will be different for each of them.

 

[Carlvr88]

Sorry. Maybe i didnt make it clear. I just meant I had that issue with the health care and was wondering if maybe that issue would arrise with CIC?

 

[canvis2006]

she was stamped as a visitor but seems she was not issued a visitor record (document) by immigration officials @ airport.
That's what they(health registration) want to see.

 

[Carlvr88]

And does she need a visitor document for CIC?

 

[Bcboundboy]

And does she need a visitor document for CIC?

So far as CIC is concerned, she's physically in the country, so an inland app is appropriate.

As far as CBSA is concerned for any interactions with them, she has a stamp, is in Canada legally, and all is fine.

For the Alberta health company, they want to see a visitor record, which is a piece of paper in her passport, looks like a work permit but only allows her to be a visitor.

 

[gamechef]

i actually ran into this issue while applying to be added to my spouse's alberta health card earlier this week. i'm from a visa-exempt country so all i have is a stamp on my passport. after talking with three different people they did eventually let me apply using my passport stamp, with the stipulation that my coverage will expire when my visitor permit expires (six months after entry date). i was told that if i extend my stay then i can show them the new permit and extend my coverage.

i dont actually have my health card yet (they said to wait two weeks), so it's possible they were wrong and i'll get rejected. but, i think if one registry office tells you that you can't use your entry stamp then you should try another. even within the same office, it seems people can be somewhat inconsistent.

 

[canadianwoman]

I agree with the above poster. The people working in the health care office don't know all the details about immigration. Just try asking different people, or at different offices, and explaining why she only has a stamp and not a visitor record.
If that doesn't work, she could try leaving the country and re-entering, and this time asking for a visitor record.

 

[Sceena]

Hi everybody,

I am German as well and had a very similar situation in the end of 2015/beginning of 2016. In my case I had travel insurance for 6 months. At the airport, after my arrival, I told immigration about my plans to apply for spousal sponsorship. They gave me a visitor record. After ~4 months I received my open work permit, went to our Health Insurance with my open work permit and my marriage certificate plus passport. They made some copies and I received my health card ~2 weeks later.

So, if your partner has travel insurance, which she should have on a visitor visa, I would not rush through that process yet. The thing is, how should the health insurance know that you guys are applying for spousal sponsorship. Otherwise, everybody could apply for Canadian Heath Insurance with a stamp in his/her passport, right? That won't work either. I guess, if you have proof of your application, it might be easier during this early stage. Not sure, though.

I hope this helped.

 

[Sceena]

Also, I agree with what has been said before. You are in Canada legally and you can apply for sponsorship. Make sure you got all your ducks in a row, before her visa runs out. (e.g. sent application, have proof of it, make sure her status is ok, before her visa runs out after 6 months.)

Cheers!

 

[AJ1234]

Just speaking to the process for getting healthcare coverage for your spouse:

Just added my common law spouse under my Alberta healthcare plan - You need to fill out form ahc2212 Notice of Change/Addition. Under the section "adding coverage for a spouse/adult interdependent partner" just put her info and then under section A check off what kind of permit or record they have to legally be here. In our case, he is from a visa exempt country and we had a visitor extension, so that was our "visitor record". A stamp in the passport should most definitely suffice as it shows when you must depart, which would be your expiry date. Brought in the form, his passport and extension record, and tada, it was processed that day and they gave him his healthcare number, and then he received his actual healthcare card 10 days later. We also got a 90 temporary extension for coverage (his current extension expires in February) while his new application for visitor extension is processed (still waiting for PR). In this case Alberta Health and Wellness sent a letter for proof of coverage as the temporary health card has an expiry date.

 

[BrookeTravels]

Just speaking to the process for getting healthcare coverage for your spouse:

Just added my common law spouse under my Alberta healthcare plan - You need to fill out form ahc2212 Notice of Change/Addition. Under the section "adding coverage for a spouse/adult interdependent partner" just put her info and then under section A check off what kind of permit or record they have to legally be here. In our case, he is from a visa exempt country and we had a visitor extension, so that was our "visitor record". A stamp in the passport should most definitely suffice as it shows when you must depart, which would be your expiry date. Brought in the form, his passport and extension record, and tada, it was processed that day and they gave him his healthcare number, and then he received his actual healthcare card 10 days later. We also got a 90 temporary extension for coverage (his current extension expires in February) while his new application for visitor extension is processed (still waiting for PR). In this case Alberta Health and Wellness sent a letter for proof of coverage as the temporary health card has an expiry date.

wow, this is amazing. I've been in BC for 18 months without any provincial health care..... and they won't give it to me until my COPR is in hand. I wish we'd done this process in Alberta now, would have saved me about 2k in medical bills. O___0

 

[Omegabyte]

Alberta does everything in print to try and discourage you from applying for Alberta Health before you have PR, but a passport stamp will suffice. My first 6 months on AH was based off my passport stamp, although my card did have an expiration date printed on it.

All you need to do to extend that deadline is drop by a Registries office with a new passport stamp, a Visitor Record or Extension, or your CoPR.