How many months do I have to be in Ontario to be eligible for health care service?

Question

I thought it was 3 months also, but I look at the OHIP website and it says 153 days which is almost 6 months.

Answer 1

Assuming you are a Canadian citizen, you must also make Ontario your permanent home.  (not just "have been here" eg you could come here in January for a temporary job, but decided to make Ontario your permanent home in October-your three month waiting period would begin when you took up permanent residence-not when you came here.  That is why section B of the registration forms are worded like that)

In  most cases there is a 3 month waiting period.  If you are moving from another province, the province you are moving FROM will cover you for that wait.  (interprovinical portability agreement)  If you are moving here from elsewhere, you should get private insurance to cover the waiting period.  (the exception to the three month wait is mostly in some special cases, like military families)

If you have moved here from another province, and had coverage in that province, you do not have to be here 153 days of the first 183.  That portability agreement carries you from the other province.  If you moved here from elsewhere, it would apply.

You may also be talking about the term "permanent residence" as it is mentioned on the OHIP site.  Basically, every province has a certain amount of days you need to be physically in the province to be eligible for coverage.  In Ontario, that is 153 days of any 12 month period.  (not YEAR, that is different)  In some provinces you need to be in the province for longer, eg Manitoba's criterium is 183 days in any 12 month period.  That stops people from owning property in Ontario, but living in the USA for the majority of the year.  (or, taking advantage of Ontario's health tax being built into our taxes, rather than paying a large monthly bill like British Columbia....if you were mostly in BC you would be eligible for their health care etc)

There are always exceptions to that...attending fulltime school in another province, certain vacation/job things etc.  Those are all special situations with too many requirements/restrictions to name here.

Answer 2

Approximately 3 months. Apply right away, and they will send your card around that time. (We got ours in that time period.) Specifically:

" [. . .] you are in Ontario for at least 153 days of the first 183 days immediately following the date you establish residency in Ontario (you cannot be absent for more than 30 days during the first 6 months of residency)."

See link below to government site.