Husband Canadian, living in the US, works in Canada, health care?

[captainsgirl]

Okay thanks Fred, I can understand now about the residency , still wondering if they will consider the fact that he is actually residing in Canada on the ship for 186 days residency....I guess only OHIP can tell us that. But I did look into our health insurance which is blue cross and I see they will cover him for urgent or emergency care worldwide so I guess paying almost 800.00 a month for both of us might be worth it if we need it.

We are having his company research excactly what they are going to be cancelling on him since his contract does say they offer him extended health care..could be interesting!

Thanks again for your info , this has all been very helpful!

Donna

[iceshots]

In which province will he be residing in Canada when he is on the ship? If I understand correctly, he will be at sea 1/2 the year, and then living in the US for the other half.

If being employed on a Canadian flagged ship counts as Canadian residency is probably the big point here. Will he have a permanent land address in Canada? What address will he use when he submits his Canadian taxes at the end of the year?

If he has a permanent Canadian address, AND the time spent on a Canadian ship counts as residency time, and not as time out of the country, then he should be classed as a resident of that province and the company should be paying the provincial Medicare and his (hopefully) company paid supplemental insurance. He would NOT be living in the US the rest of the time, though he could easily be visiting there the entire time he is not at sea.

Since he is going for permanent US residency, all of the above does not apply. In that case, he is the resident of a foreign country who is taking employment on a Canadian vessel. I am not exactly sure how that will play out in terms of taxes and everything else. The health insurance would be just one of the wrinkles in that case.

I would be consulting someone versed in naval law. I do not think this would be an uncommon situation. Is there a union or some association that you could turn to for advise?

One other question. Are we talking about an ocean going vessel, or a ship that will be staying within Canadian waters the entire time? Ferry, tour ship etc. Does he live on board, or does he stay on land?