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RE: HIV and immigrating to Canada
- Posted Thu, Apr 12th, 2007 by google blogger Post a reply

Or, stated another way, what is the difference between a citizen anda permanent resident?

A Canadian citizen has a legal =right= to live and work in Canada.A permanent resident (commonly nicknamed a "landed immigrant") can-- roughly speaking -- live and work in Canada as long as he/shedoesn't break the law and doesn't abandon his/her status by stayingoutside Canada for a prolonged period of time.

A Canadian citizen can vote in Canadian elections, be elected orappointed to government office, serve on juries, etc. -- thingswhich a permanent resident cannot do.

Permanent residents are entitled to the same provincially sponsoredhealth insurance as Canadian citizens living in any given province(or territory). Under federal law (the Canada Health Act), theprovinces/territories are not allowed to discriminate againstpermanent residents, charge them more than citizens, etc.

A permanent resident can, in most cases, apply to become a citizenafter living in Canada (as a permanent resident) for at least threeyears.

In order to become a permanent resident of Canada, one must applyfor (and be approved for) immigration as a permanent resident. TheCanadian government can basically accept, or refuse, whomever itwishes for permanent residence.

If you're from the US (or familiar with the US), you have probablyheard the term "green card" -- which is a slang expression for apermanent resident of the US (i.e., a foreigner who is not a UScitizen, but who has been approved to live and work in the US foras long as he/she wishes, with the option to eventually apply tobecome a US citizen). If you understand the difference between a"green card" holder and a US citizen, you will also understand thedifference between a "landed immigrant" (Canadian permanent resident)and a Canadian citizen.

> I don't feel I would place "excessive demand" on the health > system as I am healthy even tho I am positive. If I needed > additional medical care that would pose a great demand, I > would simply fly back to the States for treatment.

You may be healthy now -- and I (and, no doubt, many others) hopeyou will remain healthy for a very long time to come. However, asI'm sure you understand, many -- possibly even most -- people whoare HIV-positive, but currently in good health, will =eventually=become very ill and require expensive medical treatment.

If Canada were to accept you for immigration as a permanentresident, you would obtain a legal =right= to health insurancecoverage for as long as you continue to reside in Canada. Thiswould include coverage, in Canada, for treatment for HIV/AIDS.

Now, you might possibly decide, on your own, that you would go tothe US for treatment -- assuming you could afford it, of course --but you would =not= (and =could= not) be legally =required= to dothat. If you were to choose to stay in Canada and have your healthcare there -- or if you didn't have enough of your own money to payfor care in the US out of your own pocket -- the province in whichyou lived at the time would be stuck with you. You can't legallyagree to waive that right to coverage, by the way, so if you werethinking of breaking the logjam by offering to sign some sort ofwaiver, that won't work AFAIK.

As a result, a would-be immigrant is =extremely= unlikely to beaccepted for permanent resident status if there's any reasonablelikelihood that he/she might need expensive, prolonged healthcare in the future. It's kind of like life insurance -- eventhough you may be very healthy now, you (unfortunately) wouldmost likely not be able to find anyone at all at this point inyour life who would be willing to issue a life insurance policyin your name.

RE: HIV and immigrating to Canada
- Posted Thu, Apr 12th, 2007 by google blogger Post a reply

Only in the sense that you can't get Canadian citizenship without
first being granted permanent resident status -- and I would assume that an HIV+ individual applying for immigration is unlikely to be admitted because he/she will be presumed likely to create an exces- sive demand on Canada's health care system.

Eric may want to consult with an immigration lawyer (or a licensed immigration consultant) to confirm whether or not being HIV+ really is a bar to immigration to Canada. I assume it probably is, but I'm not a professional and I might be mistaken on this.

Rich Wales *NOTE: I've lived in both Canada and the US and have dual citizenship.
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant, or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.

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