Canada 2010-2011?

PrinceMax

Confab wrote: »

Eh? Travel insurance doesn't work like that. It covers emergencies only and even then will only reimburse you after the event.

The visa requires 'comprehensive travel medical insurance' - so what exactly does that include? I don't really understand what good insurance is if you have to pay up front anyway. In essence would that not mean that the travel insurance is useless unless you have thousands of dollars to pay for medical expenses up front should anything happen?

eire86

Jeff33 wrote: »

Hi Eire86,

I got a one way flight from Shannon to Toronto Direct with airtransit on the 12th of July for E595.00. I'd say once you have received your letter of Introduction, book your flights straight away as they are going up all the time. From looking around the fares start to jump in price from Mid June till Mid Sept, so anytime before or after that you could get a flight out for about E400.00. Hope that helps.

Jeff.

Happy days nice1 for that..

PrinceMax

If anyone is going to Montreal, you can get a ticket for many dates with BA from Dublin via London for between 300 and 400 via ebookers. Mine was 360.

SarahToronto

On the FAQ section for the IEC, here's what they say about insurance:
You must have and maintain insurance for the entire duration of your stay in Canada. Your insurance policy must cover you for:
- Health care, hospitalization and repatriation;
- The Canadian territory (the policy should specify North America, Canada/USA or worldwide);
- The entire duration of your stay in Canada.
- You must be able to provide proof of this insurance to the Immigration Officer upon your entry to Canada. Please note that the Embassy of Canada does not have the mandate of providing a list of insurers.

So, buying insurance only costs €169 up to €500 or so, depends who you go with. The basic insurance policies cover what you need for the visa above; however the cheap ones - I'd say they're pretty bad for making claims and getting money back because they're so cheap. Winter sports, baggage loss etc. are all extras on most policies.

I've tended to buy really cheap policies for four reasons:
A) They cover the minimum requirements, and immigration don't care about insurance anyway, but I have it to be on the safe side.
You can go to a doctor for FREE in Canada - there's special clinics which diagnose and treat under 26s or under 30s, they're hard to find but they're great. They include some family planning clinics - which just treat regular medical issues and sometimes you can get whatever antibiotics, cough stuff, vaccinations and stuff for cost price.
C) Medicine and hospital treatment are just as expensive here as anywhere - but I guess I'm lucky I haven't needed one yet. If I ever did, maybe that crappy cheap insurance will come in useful! BUT some hospitals will work out payment plans with you if you're very ill.
D) How often have you gone to the doctor in the past year? Well, I rarely have to for any illness, so I figured I might not have to Canada. Anytime I was hurt (3rd degree burns on my arm, coughs, colds, etc), I went to either free doctors or a nurse in emergency in hospitals and they'd give me free advice and tell me which over the counter medications I'd need to heal my arm etc etc.

Honestly, if you're allergic to anything, suffer from any illnesses or conditions of any kind, or you're a crazy daredevil, then yes you should get expensive medical insurance.

Otherwise, cheap stuff will do! Just throwing some ideas out there, up to yourselves!

timmyboy83

GGirl2010 wrote: »

Hi timmyboy, you have been waiting almost the full 8 weeks from the dates above , ... how did you get on with the medical form , id say either this week or next week i hope to get it . I take it the LOI. letter of introduction does not get sent out until after they check the med form yeah ?

I think the medical went good, obviously I won't know until I get the results but hopefully it will be ok.
The LOI won't be sent until the medics in the UK are satisfied, approx 2-3 weeks.
Your letter should come any day now

Hurtzington

remember the main thing your insurance must include is "repatriation".

some insurance companies dont include this, but according to the IEC guidlines you must have this in your insurance.

just a tip 4 people that have insurance and have missed this point

GGirl2010

timmyboy83 wrote: »

I think the medical went good, obviously I won't know until I get the results but hopefully it will be ok.
The LOI won't be sent until the medics in the UK are satisfied, approx 2-3 weeks.
Your letter should come any day now

ah ok.. yeah im over 7 weeks total up to this friday. For that form do you send it back to them via post after getting the medical done. I think i will book my flights then if i get that medical form letter in the post then .

Thanks, GGirl2010

lillieme

Anyone getting medical how is it taking to get visa sorted including getting medical done. My visa application is in London a month next week, getting worried now.

luluslollypop

timmyboy83 wrote: »

I think the medical went good, obviously I won't know until I get the results but hopefully it will be ok.
The LOI won't be sent until the medics in the UK are satisfied, approx 2-3 weeks.
Your letter should come any day now

Hey timmyboy!!

Im waiting on my medical too my application was in London on 14th of Feb so hopefully it'll arrive some day soon!!
Did it come by post?
Im booking with the doctor in Cork too and you said he wasn't to busy? what was involved in the medical?
Where did you book your x rays? or does he do them?Thanks man your the only source of info i have come across yet about the medical!
thanks a bunch!!!:D

sweetlikejelly

timmyboy83 wrote: »

I think the medical went good, obviously I won't know until I get the results but hopefully it will be ok.
The LOI won't be sent until the medics in the UK are satisfied, approx 2-3 weeks.
Your letter should come any day now

thanks for this Timmyboy. Just wondering, how much did the medical cost?

aidanl

What are the chances of getting rejected when its in the UK?? I wanna book flights around june and i can get them for around 520 return and im afraid dey will sky rocket if i wait 2long. Also there is 3 of us going to toronto, ye hear of any good spots to live a find work in the city for irish lads?

gdmaestro

poor timmy boy, we're all dyin to hear back haha!

im defo gonna book my flights once i get my medical...definately

JoolsVan

You need fully comprehensive medical insurance to get into the country. I got mine through USIT - think the insurance company was MAPFRE or something - as they couldn't sell me a visa with the wrong insurance.. This was last year though. Coming up to the end of my year and visited a doctor twice - once had to pay ($150 for two mins!!!) as I'm supposed to declare it back from insurance, the other was a clinic that was actually free to temporary residents! So best bet is look out for the free clinic when you arrive if there is one (I found out about it at the local Shoppers Drug Store).

louisejscott

lillieme- I wouldn't worry my application was is lonfon over a month 4.5 weeks

GGirl2010

JoolsVan wrote: »

You need fully comprehensive medical insurance to get into the country. I got mine through USIT - think the insurance company was MAPFRE or something - as they couldn't sell me a visa with the wrong insurance.. This was last year though. Coming up to the end of my year and visited a doctor twice - once had to pay ($150 for two mins!!!) as I'm supposed to declare it back from insurance, the other was a clinic that was actually free to temporary residents! So best bet is look out for the free clinic when you arrive if there is one (I found out about it at the local Shoppers Drug Store).

For medical insurance can this not be included within the Travel insurance ?? does it have to be separate?

Jlav

Yep,
Im lost with this insurance deal too, its seems like we re gonna be paying up to E500 simply to pass immigration and then we have to pay for all our health care anyway. Seems like a good deal for the insurance companies. Anyone enlighten me?

GGirl2010

[FONT=Arial,Bold][FONT=Arial,Bold]

Insurance

[/FONT][/FONT]

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada requires that all participants in the IEC
initiative have comprehensive health care and repatriation insurance upon their arrival to Canada. This
insurance must be valid for the entire duration of their permit.
In Canada, the health care and social security systems vary by province and territory. Know your rights:

www.ireland.gc.ca

Before buying insurance, make sure that the policy:

• covers health care/hospitalisation/repatriation;

• is valid for all of Canada (North America, Canada/USA or worldwide coverage);

• is valid for the duration of your work permit in Canada.
You are strongly advised against buying an insurance policy until you receive your Letter of Introduction.
You must present your proof of comprehensive insurance coverage (health care/hospitalisation/
repatriation) to officials upon your arrival to Canada.

All of the above is within the selected insurance policies so separate medical care is not necessary i think anyway..

Jlav

Hey GGirl
What "selected policies" do you mean, what company are you going with?

FreeAnd..

Jlav wrote: »

Yep,
Im lost with this insurance deal too, its seems like we re gonna be paying up to E500 simply to pass immigration and then we have to pay for all our health care anyway. Seems like a good deal for the insurance companies. Anyone enlighten me?

its insurance - you need to have it but never want to need it...believe me you'll need it should you ever spend time in hospital for anything - especially in North America/Canada where a short stint might end up costing you 100,00s to 100,000s - the cheaper the policy usually the greater rip off, if you try to claim on it or rely on them when you actually need them -

real comprehensive medical insurance for NA/Canada is not cheap - in the same way its not particularly cheap here either but it runs at least double over there

bellasolis

Hi all

Know this has been discussed before but back on the return flights issue... Got my LOI today..woop... looking to head on June 24th, have found great flights from Gatwick direct to Vancouver for 290e one way, can get returns for 598e but only allows you to change the date once. Asd like most Im not planning on returning any time soon, only want the one way.. My friend travelled out last Nov and she said they were pretty strict on immigration with having the return flight however on the letter of introduction it doesnt say its needed.. is it worth the risk?

Intocable

LOI Received today, flight booked to Toronto for Friday! POW!!!!

SarahToronto

bellasolis wrote: »

Hi all

Know this has been discussed before but back on the return flights issue... Got my LOI today..woop... looking to head on June 24th, have found great flights from Gatwick direct to Vancouver for 290e one way, can get returns for 598e but only allows you to change the date once. Asd like most Im not planning on returning any time soon, only want the one way.. My friend travelled out last Nov and she said they were pretty strict on immigration with having the return flight however on the letter of introduction it doesnt say its needed.. is it worth the risk?

Okay so flights, you should have a return flight (canada to Ireland) when you first enter canada. Border Immigration really want to see a return flight most of the time. You could be refused entry on the grounds of having no return flight, they CAN do this.
If you purchase a flight home, its good for two reasons.
A) If you ever want to go home (either end of your visa, or family emergency, or visit home for a holiday).
If you want to stay in Canada for longer, either through applying for a workers extension visa, visitor visa, or another IEC visa, you will always need to show proof of a flight home.
So, since on your flight you can only change once, leave it to the last month before your flight leaves, to change the flight and hopefully you can change it for many months ahead.

I got screwed my first time in Canada, I couldn't change my flight beyond one year of the original flight coming into Canada, so basically I lost that flight as I chose to stay here. But before that flight expired so to speak, I applied to stay on here (and I did stay) and now I've to book a brand new flight home, whenever I get this new IEC visa.

Try to find the cheapest possible flight home. At the furthest possible date away!
And one point - if you are going to Vancouver as I think you might have said in your comment, Jobs in Van are hard to come by. Smaller cites in the mid-west are your best bet for jobs.

bellasolis

Thanks a mill SarahToronto for the great reply

Yeah so they can ask.. thats what my friend had said alright, so looks like Ill get it just to cover myself.

Only reason was asking was when I went to Oz I got a return which immigration never looked for and my then bf had a single and got in grand.. I ended up staying 2 years but came back to ireland for 3 weeks holiday to use it and kinda regretted it after... your hard earned dollars dont go far when ya come back to expensive old Eire!

Have heard that work aint so great in Van but thats where a few of my friends live, am gonna start on the skilled visa process after i hand in this dissertation... (groan) so hopefully gonna try and make canada my home so trying, at first, to go where I have good friends.. you can live in the most beautiful place in the world but if you dont have people there ya love, can be pretty lonely

SarahToronto

Jlav wrote: »

Yep,
Im lost with this insurance deal too, its seems like we re gonna be paying up to E500 simply to pass immigration and then we have to pay for all our health care anyway. Seems like a good deal for the insurance companies. Anyone enlighten me?

Your insurance will be the best thing ever if you're ever badly injured. You pay for your care , but you get the money back once you claim. Do read the small print of your insurance policy on how to claim. I had one policy where I had to ring while I was either being injured or still in hospital/with the doctor and within 72hours of the initial accident. Pretty stringent stuff!

Personally, I don't bother buy expensive insurances, I go to free clinics and stuff, but that doesn't mean I should do this! I've been lucky so far, I've known people who've had massive asthma attacks - they almost died and wouldn't go to hospital coz it was too expensive, around $600 or so in Toronto to go to accident and emergency. Thankfully they're okay now, but yes, insurance is a safety net that has to be there.

I'm going skydiving at the end of the summer,if anything went wrong, I'd need travel insurance with extreme sports included to cover me for this.

For people not sure about travel insurance requirements:
You'll be buying insurance called travel insurance, or backpacker insurance, or longstay insurance.
You can buy insurance from any company you want.
The insurance covers many things, including baggage loss, flight problems, medical issues, money, accidents etc etc...
You can choose whatever you want with your insurance policy with whatever company, some are expensive some are cheap. BUT remember whatever insurance you choose it must cover ALL of the folling points as outlined by the IEC:
Your insurance policy must cover you for:
- Health care
- Hospitalization
- Repatriation
- The Canadian territory (the policy should specify North America, Canada/USA or worldwide);
- The entire duration of your stay in Canada. (12 months)
- You must be able to provide proof of this insurance to the Immigration Officer upon your entry to Canada. (the policy booklet and confirmation of purchase)

I hope this helps. Any other questions? -I'll try to answer!

SarahToronto

bellasolis wrote: »

Thanks a mill SarahToronto for the great reply

Have heard that work aint so great in Van but thats where a few of my friends live, am gonna start on the skilled visa process after i hand in this dissertation... (groan) so hopefully gonna try and make canada my home so trying, at first, to go where I have good friends.. you can live in the most beautiful place in the world but if you dont have people there ya love, can be pretty lonely

I agree, its great to have people you know. I moved to Toronto to see my friend from college for a while, travelled around Canada a bit (still so much to see!!), I returned to Toronto for what I thought would be a few weeks. I ended up falling in love with a Canadian guy and I'd never leave Canada now! We plan to move out of the city in a year moving to somewhere a but nicer - we're waiting til I'm a permanent resident, But damn people, Canada is a fantastic place - doesn't matter what peoples budgets are, they are always doing something, from tubing, hockey, hiking, camping, fishing, curling, nightclubbing, roadtrippin' everything!

Okay, to anyone coming to live over here, remember you might never want to leave, start saving for your second visa now!

timmyboy83

RE: GGIRL2010
The clinic will send it back to the UK via courier when the results are in.

RE: luluslollypop
Yes it came by post, I was booked in very quick to do my medical so they are not too busy at the moment. The medical itself was pretty straight forward – it involved urine & blood samples, my blood pressure, height and weight were took, a quick eye test and some Q&A, it probably only took 40mins to do including filling in forms and waiting time. They were really nice to which helps. The clinic in Cork don’t do the x-rays, it’s another clinic which is only about a 10 minute drive away and again they were done really quick and they were lovely too. I am not sure if I can put up their contact details but if you google the names you should get the info or I can PM you them if you want..

RE: sweetlikejelly
The medical cost €190 and the x-ray was €80.

RE: gdmaestro
You could book the flights, I mentioned this to the doctor and he said that I shouldn’t book anything until I get the visa as the Canadian authorities are so slow to process everything, as I am sure all of you have already noticed!!!

Hopefully all of you will get word soon and I hope this answers all of your questions, if you have any further questions don’t hesitate to ask

bellasolis

Sarah ... Im sooooooo fecking excited woop woop, cant wait to head hiking, camping, fishing, am such an outdoor girl so know Im gonna love it!

Oh Id love a Canadian Man... has your's any single mates in BC??? lol

JoolsVan

GGirl2010 wrote: »

For medical insurance can this not be included within the Travel insurance ?? does it have to be separate?

My medical and travel insurance were all part of the same policy that USIT sold me. Basically, it's travel insurance that covers all the things IEC requires in a medical sense too.. Need to get new insurance when I - fingers crossed - get a new LOI! Have no clue as to where I'm going to get it this time as I'm not going to be in Ireland any time soon and I think if I remember correctly, I was supposed to be resident in Ireland for the previous 6 months min to get it last time..

If anyone has any ideas where to get new insurance while being in Canada I'd appreciate the advice!

GGirl2010

hi sarah so for flights return flights are required or not required??
thanks ggirl2010

bellasolis

Ok just reading through the Eligibility Criteria on the canadian govs website...

Under point 4 of the conditions it states;

"Be in possession of a departure ticket leaving Canada at the end of your authorized period of stay or sufficient financial resources to purchase such a ticket"

So on that it looks like either sufficient funds or return flight can suffice..

Also I have used blueinsurance for a 2 year backpacking trip and they were pretty good, am after sitting here comparing their policy with 2 others here and they seem to still be the best for their price, including hazardous activity grade 1 and wintersports its around 260 I think.. also I rem when I booked a few years ago the guy on the phone said did I want to pay for the waiver, think it cost another 30e but meant I didnt have to pay the waiver when making a claim, think its something they dont advertise but you can ask for.