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Immigration Newsweek

By Atty. Henry Moyal

All Immigration applicants must be admissible to Canada on health grounds. To be admissible and healthy an applicant must not have a condition that is a danger or risk to others ( ie Tubercolosis) and must not have a condition that is an excessive demand on health or social services. A visa officer will refuse an application, after you undergo a medical exam, if they reasonably believe that your health condition might cause an excessive demand on health or social services in accordance with section 38(1)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

What is an Excessive Demand?

An excessive demand on health or social services can mean two things. It can mean that the need for health services to treat your health condition would negatively affect medical service wait times in Canada. It can also mean that the services to treat and manage your health condition would likely cost more than 3 times the Canadian average for health and social services(per person.

Recent changes to the cost threshold were announced that has been a welcome to many.

What is the Cost Threshold?

The cost threshold is the average dollar amount that federal, provincial and territorial governments spend in a year on health and social services for Canadians and permanent residents.

In 2017, the excessive demand cost threshold was $33,275 over 5 years (or $6,655 per year).

In April of 2018, the Government of Canada made changes to the excessive demand policy and to the cost threshold.

For 2018, the new cost threshold is $99,060 over 5 years (or $19,812 per year) which is equal to 3 times the Canadian average for health and social services.

How does the Cost Threshold Work?

The following are the main steps:

1. You will be asked to undergo a medical examination.
2. The medical officer will review the results of your medical examination and provide an assessment to the officer who is processing your application. If you have a medical condition, the medical officer will calculate the cost of health and social services needed to treat and manage your condition and will compare those costs to the cost threshold.
3. The officer who is processing your application will consider the information provided by the medical officer and decide if your health condition might cause an excessive demand on health or social services. The officer will consider if the costs to treat and manage your condition are more than the cost threshold. The officer will find you inadmissible on health grounds (excessive demand) if your costs are more than the cost threshold.

Before refusing application the officer will give you a chance to respond and provide additional information to satisfy that you are admissible ( called procedural fairness letter).

Attorney Henry Moyal is a certified and licensed immigration lawyer in Toronto, Ontario.
The above article is general advice only and is not intended to act as a legal document.
Send questions to Attorney Moyal by email canada@moyal.com or call 416 733 3193