InfoPEIHOME / GOVERNMENT / GOVINFO / HEALTH / HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL SERVICES INSURANCE ON PEI / Eligibility for PEI Health Card Who is eligible for a PEI Health Card?The Plans are designed to provide coverage for eligible PEI residents. (A resident of PEI is defined as anyone who is legally entitled to remain in Canada and who makes his or her home and is ordinarily present, on an annual basis, for at least six months plus a day in Prince Edward Island.) PEI residents lose their eligibility if they are absent from the province longer than six months, unless they obtain a waiver of this requirement from the Department. As a general rule, anyone who has been registered and is ordinarily present in PEI is eligible to receive insured benefits, except those residents who are members of the Canadian Armed Forces, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, inmates of a Federal Penitentiary and those who are eligible for certain services under other government programs such as Workers’ Compensation or the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. A person who is a foreign student, tourist, transient or a visitor to PEI does not qualify as a resident of the province and so is not eligible for hospital and medical insurance benefits. Am I Eligible If I Move to PEI from Another Province? All new residents must first register with the Department in order to become eligible. Persons who establish permanent residence in PEI from elsewhere in Canada will become eligible for insured hospital and medical services on the first day of the third month immediately following the month they became a permanent resident of PEI For example, if you arrive on July 4th, you will become eligible on October 1st. During this waiting period, you will continue to receive coverage from your former province of residence. Am I Eligible If I Move to PEI from Outside of Canada? Persons from outside Canada establishing permanent residence in PEI may be eligible on the first day they become residents of the province. New residents will be required to show proof of Canadian citizenship and citizens of other countries will have their status in Canada confirmed with the Department of Immigration. Permanent residents include Landed Immigrants, repatriated Canadians, returning Canadians, returning Landed Immigrants or a Canadian citizen or spouse of a Canadian citizen assuming residence in PEI for the first time. If you are in Canada on an Employment Visa, Ministerial Permit or other immigration document, you should contact the Department for information on eligibility. Contact Montague | ||||||
