We're OHIP!

Yes we are! What is OHIP? Well, OHIP is the Ontario Health Insurance Program and heath insurance is a must for all residents
in Canada. In Ontario, it is called OHIP. The OHIP covers all basic medical costs and takes care of your General Practitioner visits as well.

These services are funded by the government of Ontario and is an essential piece of identification while seeking medical care. You need to establish residency in Ontario for three months before you are eligible for coverage, though you may apply for the coverage in advance.

Here again, I must talk about the Canadian efficiency and the ease the system brings to you, if you carry the right pieces of identification. There are three categories of identification that you need to have in order to complete the application process. While the list of items are endless in each category, to summarise, you need two pieces of photo identification with your signature, which can be your Passport and PR card and one piece of residency proof which can be a utility or mobile bill, bank account statement or your permanent or temporary driver's license.

There are very few offices for OHIP and each office covers a large area of residents, the closest office to us, is in Mississauga, so we needed to show up really early. The queues were serpentine, though once the office opens, it takes about 15 minutes to complete the application. The assistants check your ids, ask you for a signature that gets imprinted on the card and take a picture to complete the registration process. The OHIP card arrives in the mail, a few days before actual coverage begins.

So make sure that you apply for coverage a month after you have established resdiency in Ontario so that you have all the ids that you need. This will ensure that you save time at the OHIP office and don't make too many trips there.