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Persons taking up residence in Québec

Persons arriving from another province to take up residence in Québec become eligible for the Québec Health Insurance Plan when they cease to be covered by the plan of their province of origin. For as long as they remain covered by the health insurance plan of their former province, they must present their health insurance card of that province when receiving healthcare from a doctor in Québec. The health insurance plan of their former province will cover the cost. However, if the Québec doctor does not accept that card, they will have to pay the doctor's fee and then apply for a refund with the organization administering the health insurance plan of their province of origin. Usually, coverage under the Québec plan begins on the first day of the third month following the month of arrival in Québec.

Permanent residents

The originals of all the following documents:

-Permanent Resident Card, or any other document issued by the Canadian immigration authorities attesting to their permanent resident status in Canada, along with their visa;

-Québec selection certificate, in most cases.

(7) in the case of a person referred to in section 5 of the Act who settles in Québec for the first time or who returns to settle in Québec, a person who has ceased to be a resident of Québec under the first paragraph of section 6, or a person who has left another province to settle in Québec, one of the following documents:

(a) a residential lease;

(b) a copy of the deed of purchase of the property or of the deed of hypothec;

(c) an attestation from the employer, containing the given name, surname, address, telephone number and signature of the declarant and date of signature, that the person holds employment in Québec;

(d) an attestation of enrolment in a program of study offered by an educational institution in Québec;

(e) a sworn statement from the lessor, representative of the lessor or lessee, as identified on the residential lease, the address of which is provided under subparagraph 3 of section 14, that the person making an application for registration resides there; this statement must also contain the given name, surname, address, telephone number and signature of the declarant, and the date of his signature;

(f) a copy of an invoice or statement of account from a telephone, electric or cable company or a municipal or school tax invoice addressed to the applicant and indicating the domiciliary address, together with the applicant's sworn statement of living at that address;

(8) in the case of a person who is unable to provide a domiciliary address because he is homeless, a signed and dated declaration by a worker with a centre local employment centre or with an establishment, to the effect that the worker knows the person and that the person lives in Québec;

(9) in the case of a permanent resident, within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act who has been temporarily absent from Canada, the original of the document issued by Canadian immigration authorities attesting that he has retained his permanent resident status;

(9.1) (subparagraph revoked);

(9.2) (subparagraph revoked);

(10) except for an application for which the Board issued a health insurance card without the photograph and signature of the insured person under sections 8, 8.0.1 and 8.0.2 or, where applicable, section 8.0.3 of the Regulation respecting forms and statements of fees under the Health Insurance Act, an authentication document duly completed in the manner prescribed in Division V;

(11) (subparagraph revoked);

A copy of one of the documents required under subparagraphs 2, 3 and 4 of the first paragraph is admissible insofar as the person presents the original of that document to a person referred to in section 31.

in the case of a permanent resident, within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act who has been temporarily absent from Canada, the original of the document issued by Canadian immigration authorities attesting that he has retained his permanent resident status;

Countries With a Reciprocal Agreement

Some countries, like the United States, Australia, France and Korea, have an agreement with Ontario which allows licensed drivers to obtain an Ontario licence without having to go through the regular process for obtaining a licence in this province.

If you have a driver's licence from one of these jurisdictions with Licence Exchange Agreement, you can benefit from this privilege.

The type of licence you can get depends on how much driving experience you have. You follow the same process as drivers with a licence from another Canadian province and from Canadian Forces - Europe.

Read about the Licence Exchange program on the DriveTest website to learn more about the process and the documents required.

You can claim eligible moving expenses if:

-you move and establish a new home to work or run a business at a new location; or
-you move to take courses as a student in full-time attendance enrolled in a post-secondary program at a university, college or other educational institution.

To qualify, your new home must be at least 40 kilometres (by the shortest usual public route) closer to the new place of work or school.

CIC officers may make a determination as to whether the sponsored person has failed to comply with the condition during or after the two-year condition period (section 72.4).

If the sponsored spouse or partner does not meet the condition of cohabiting in a conjugal relationship with the sponsor during the two-year conditional period and they are not eligible for an exception to the application of the condition, their permanent resident status could be revoked. An inadmissibility (section 44) report may be written on the basis of non-compliance with paragraph 41(b) of the Act and as per subsection 72.1(1) of the Regulations, as the condition imposed would not have been met. This report could be referred to the Immigration Division (ID) of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) for a hearing and subsequent issuance of a removal order, if applicable.

If the removal order is issued the sponsored person may appeal the removal order before the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) of the IRB, as per subsection 63(3) of the Act. The IAD has the authority to allow an appeal on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, which may include Best Interest of the Child (BIOC) considerations.

If the appeal is dismissed, the removal order could be enforced, permanent residence could be revoked and removal actions could be undertaken.

Amendments to the Citizenship Act limit citizenship by descent

On April 17, 2009, the rules for Canadian citizenship changed for persons born outside Canada to Canadian parents and who were not already Canadian citizens when the rules changed.

These rules did not take Canadian citizenship away from any person who was a Canadian citizen immediately before the rules came into effect.

Canadian citizenship by birth outside Canada to a Canadian citizen parent (citizenship by descent) is now limited to the first generation born outside Canada.

This means that, in general, persons who were not already Canadian citizens immediately before April 17, 2009 and who were born outside Canada to a Canadian parent are not Canadian if:

-their Canadian parent was also born outside Canada to a Canadian parent (the person is therefore the second or subsequent generation born outside Canada), or
-their Canadian parent was granted Canadian citizenship under section 5.1, the adoption provisions of the Citizenship Act (the person is therefore the second generation born outside Canada)
-unless their Canadian parent or grandparent was employed as described in one of the following exceptions to the first generation limit.

Exceptions to the first generation limit

The first generation limit to citizenship does not apply to a person born outside Canada in the second or subsequent generation if:

-at the time of the person’s birth, their Canadian parent was employed outside Canada in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal public administration or the public service of a province or territory, other than as a locally engaged person (a crown servant);
-at the time of their Canadian parent’s birth or adoption, the person’s Canadian grandparent was employed outside Canada in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal public administration or public service of a province or territory, other than as a locally engaged person (a crown servant).

The rules may also affect children adopted by Canadian parents outside Canada, depending on how the child obtained, or will obtain, citizenship.

Persons born to a Canadian parent who are not eligible for citizenship by descent due to the first generation limit may apply for and obtain permanent resident status and subsequently submit an application for a grant of citizenship under section 5 of the Citizenship Act.

Amendments to the Citizenship Act extending citizenship

On June 11, 2015, citizenship was extended to more persons who were born before the Canadian Citizenship Act took effect on January 1, 1947 as well as to their children who were born outside Canada in the first generation. Specifically, the amendments gave Canadian citizenship to persons who were born or naturalized in Canada as well as to those who were British subjects ordinarily resident in Canada on January 1, 1947 (April 1, 1949, in the case of Newfoundland and Labrador), but who were not eligible for Canadian citizenship when the Canadian Citizenship Act took effect. The amendments also retroactively gave Canadian citizenship to the children of these persons who were born abroad in the first generation as well as to children of parents who became citizens on January 1, 1947 (or April 1, 1949), if born abroad in the first generation but who did not themselves become Canadian citizens on those dates.

On June 19, 2014, the exception to the first generation limit to citizenship by descent was extended to children born outside Canada whose grandparent, at the time of the child’s parent’s birth or adoption, was employed outside Canada in or with the Canadian Armed Forces, the federal public administration or the public service of a province or territory, other than as a locally engaged person.