I hear the they have free health care in Canada, could I move there to retire, and get it?

Question

If I just moved to some small town in Canada, and didn't work, and played golf all day, would I get the free health care that everybody else gets?

Answer 1

You need citizenship or its non-existant.

Answer 2

One of the qualifications for permanent residency in any country is that you have enough money in your bank account to support yourself if you are not planning to work.  Immigration Canada will check your financial situation before they approve.  So, If you have sufficient money, then, yes you can.  Otherwise, no.

Answer 3

It isn't free, it is funded by taxes.  We don't pay taxes to cover people who just want to move here and leech off our system.  You have to satisfy residency requirements, starting with checking to see if you even qualify to live in Canada.  You can't just move into Canada just like people can't just move into the US.

Answer 4

Three things to get 'free' health care in Canada

(1) You would have to immigrate to Canada and become a Canadian Permanent resident or citizen.

(2) Your permanent or principle home must also be in Canada

(3) You must be physically present for 153 days out of the year in Canada

But requirement #3 is different depending on which province in Canada you are living in.  For example it's 153 days for Ontario currently, but 6 months for British Columbia.

Also for many provinces it takes awhile for your health care to kick in if you are a new immigrant.   For example in Ontario for the first 3 months, you can't claim anything against the government health care, and instead would need to pay privately yourself.   After the 3 months waiting period for new immigrants/applicants your full health care would kick in.

Also as previously mentioned, the "free" health care in Canada is paid for by tax payers money.    

So examine where you live now, how much income tax and sales tax you currently pay, and then if you moved to Canada, how much you'd then pay in the future.

Also remember some things aren't covered by Canada's free health care.  For example if you have a cavity in your teeth, that's usually not covered.   Or if you want to go to a chiropractor, just recently they dropped coverage for that.  

So most employers also provide their employees in Canada "extended" health care plans to cover things like dental, chiropractors, massage therapists, some prescription drugs that the free health care won't pay for (but also remember most drugs are cheaper in Canada anyways) etc that the free health care doesn't fully cover.

Answer 5

I don't know about Canada, but in the UK system, people who live there for a time but have not paid taxes have to pay if they are admitted to the hospital or use other services. Emergency rooms are free for everyone though.