I am a foreign worker with a work permit valid for one year. I arrived at Toronto on the first of July 2010 along with my wife and I have been working with my sponser employer since then. I figured out from the FAQ section that I am eligible for OHIP. Is my wife eligible for OHIP too? Please note that my wife has an open work permit but she does not have a job. I understand from FAQ section that on account of her being my wife, she should be eligible for the health card. Please confirm if my understanding is correct?

I believe your understanding is correct subject to ful filment of other conditions of OHIP eligibilities such as;

you make your primary place of residence in Ontario;

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

you are in Ontario for at least 153 days in any 12-month period.

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Pramod Chopra
Senior Mortgage Consultant
Mortgage Alliance Company of Canada

Thanks Pramod,

I have already got the OHIP so I guess I satisfy those requirements. However problem arises from the fact that my wife is in kind of two categories -

a) She is spouse of an OHIP eligible worker

b) She is an open work permit holder with no job as of now.

By criteria a) She qualifies, but by criteria b) she does not.

Document wise her passport has my name as husband, and we have lease of apartment in both of our names. However her visa says category W-1. Does that disqualify her from availing OHIP as spouse?

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Originally posted by techsaur

Thanks Pramod,

I have already got the OHIP so I guess I satisfy those requirements. However problem arises from the fact that my wife is in kind of two categories -

a) She is spouse of an OHIP eligible worker

b) She is an open work permit holder with no job as of now.

By criteria a) She qualifies, but by criteria b) she does not.

Document wise her passport has my name as husband, and we have lease of apartment in both of our names. However her visa says category W-1. Does that disqualify her from availing OHIP as spouse?

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Your wife should be eligible for OHIP. Better rush to Service ontario. Sometimes they expect atleast 6 months validity on WP.

Thanks for your replies. I will visit the OHIP office and let you know how it went.

Hey Guys, Finally I have successfully registered my wife for the health card. It wasn't a straightforward thing. When I had gone to the OHIP office at Yonge & Sheppard the officer had refused on the basis of open work permit. But thanks to the confidence I got from your replies, I tried again. This time I went to the College Park center. Again the officer was in two minds about my wife's case, but I insisted that I had got a green signal for my case from the helpline number. She confirmed it with her superiors and finally registered my wife. Thank you so much for your help!! kudos to this forum