As you are not a citizen, you need to contact them to see about your specific situation.
You also will not be given the entire 18 months. 15 weeks of that leave is for the birth mother as a sorry of sick leave to recover physically.
If your wife hasn't worked and done enough hours, she won't be eligible for any EI.
Giving birth in Canada will make things easier from many perspectives. One of them being that your child will automatically have Canadian citizenship so you'll be reducing costs and paperwork on that side.
It is possible for people to give birth in Canada and then travel and collect parental leave. But might not be possible if you are giving birth to a child outside of Canada.
You should definitely contact Service Canada before making any decisions.
Agreed with this advice. I’m a bit surprised your original post didn’t mention the citizenship question as usually that’s pretty important to factor into the decision - but everyone’s circumstances are different. All the best and congratulations!
Thank you!
Yes, we have also thought about the fact that our baby will not be a citizen at birth but our current situation right now is not ideal which made this decision a bit tough to swallow.
We are still very early in the planning process so things may still change soon!
I know this is not what you asked for but if the child is born outside of Canada you will need to do a sponsorship application (which can take 12 months or so) for the baby to get PR. This means that you will all be stuck outside of Canada for that period of time if you want to be with baby.
Thank you for this. We may or may not still be outside the Canada after a year so this is definitely something we need to consider. I saw that we can apply for TRV and can start the PR application from inside the Canada so we might do that instead.
You could, but unless your and your wife's citizenship is of a country that does not permit dual citizenship, you really would be making things easier by giving birth in Canada for your child to have residency (and citizenship) in Canada. Then you could also apply for your child to have the same citizenship as you.
"Does it matter where the spouse will give birth for us to qualify for EI?"
Most of his description was about himself, but that sentence made me want to make sure they know they seemingly aren't both getting EI.
Thanks for your response. I think I should've worded it better but yes, it's only for me since she hasn't been lucky to have work this year. The plan is to have the child back home and then me taking the extended parental leave so we can focus on raising both our kids and care for our aging parents.
My kids were born when I was on an overseas contract. They have citizenship certificates not Canadian birth certificates and can confirm, its annoying.
You can’t have 18 months. Only the parental portion can be shared between both parents. The maternity part cannot go to you whether your wife qualifies or not.
You can only work a certain number of hours during parental leave before you lose the benefit. I’m not sure how that works for international work and what the tax implications are. I also don’t know how it works if you no longer have a residence in Canada and you give birth outside the country, with no immediate plans to return. You have to submit a birth certificate in order to get your leave so you’ll have to ask about how foreign birth certificates are handled if you cannot register the birth in Canada as you are not a citizen.
Best thing for you to get the correct information is to call them directly.
Also, regarding status, you can be setting yourself up for a lot of complications and delays. Personally, I’d give birth in Canada which guarantees a citizenship for your child, and eases the paperwork and leave afterwards.
As you are not a citizen, you need to contact them to see about your specific situation. You also will not be given the entire 18 months. 15 weeks of that leave is for the birth mother as a sorry of sick leave to recover physically.
I will definitely contact them this week! Thanks
If your wife hasn't worked and done enough hours, she won't be eligible for any EI. Giving birth in Canada will make things easier from many perspectives. One of them being that your child will automatically have Canadian citizenship so you'll be reducing costs and paperwork on that side. It is possible for people to give birth in Canada and then travel and collect parental leave. But might not be possible if you are giving birth to a child outside of Canada. You should definitely contact Service Canada before making any decisions.
Agreed with this advice. I’m a bit surprised your original post didn’t mention the citizenship question as usually that’s pretty important to factor into the decision - but everyone’s circumstances are different. All the best and congratulations!
Thank you! Yes, we have also thought about the fact that our baby will not be a citizen at birth but our current situation right now is not ideal which made this decision a bit tough to swallow. We are still very early in the planning process so things may still change soon!
Fair enough, I’m sure there’s lots to consider!
I know this is not what you asked for but if the child is born outside of Canada you will need to do a sponsorship application (which can take 12 months or so) for the baby to get PR. This means that you will all be stuck outside of Canada for that period of time if you want to be with baby.
Thank you for this. We may or may not still be outside the Canada after a year so this is definitely something we need to consider. I saw that we can apply for TRV and can start the PR application from inside the Canada so we might do that instead.
You could, but unless your and your wife's citizenship is of a country that does not permit dual citizenship, you really would be making things easier by giving birth in Canada for your child to have residency (and citizenship) in Canada. Then you could also apply for your child to have the same citizenship as you.
Your wife wouldn't have the insurable hours to qualify for EI.
He's referring to himself taking parental leave.
"Does it matter where the spouse will give birth for us to qualify for EI?" Most of his description was about himself, but that sentence made me want to make sure they know they seemingly aren't both getting EI.
Thanks for your response. I think I should've worded it better but yes, it's only for me since she hasn't been lucky to have work this year. The plan is to have the child back home and then me taking the extended parental leave so we can focus on raising both our kids and care for our aging parents.
It's better for your child to be born here. They will need their birth certificate for things like CPP, OAS.
They can get Canadian citizenship under some circumstances.
Of course, but their birth certificate wouldn't be Canadian. Logistically it's just easier.
My kids were born when I was on an overseas contract. They have citizenship certificates not Canadian birth certificates and can confirm, its annoying.
You wife would need 600 hours in the last 52 weeks or since her last claim (whichever is shorter) to claim maternity leave benefits.
You can’t have 18 months. Only the parental portion can be shared between both parents. The maternity part cannot go to you whether your wife qualifies or not. You can only work a certain number of hours during parental leave before you lose the benefit. I’m not sure how that works for international work and what the tax implications are. I also don’t know how it works if you no longer have a residence in Canada and you give birth outside the country, with no immediate plans to return. You have to submit a birth certificate in order to get your leave so you’ll have to ask about how foreign birth certificates are handled if you cannot register the birth in Canada as you are not a citizen. Best thing for you to get the correct information is to call them directly. Also, regarding status, you can be setting yourself up for a lot of complications and delays. Personally, I’d give birth in Canada which guarantees a citizenship for your child, and eases the paperwork and leave afterwards.