As an expat, should I register with the Canadian govt?

March 12, 2009 3:52 PM

I'm a Canadian (Ontario) citizen, currently living in Eastern Europe. I usually "register" with the Canadian govt. each time I live abroad, just because, well, you never know what might happen. But this time, I have a couple questions:

1. I do not have a work permit for the country I am living in. I do visaruns every time my tourist visa expires. Will the Canadian govt. share my regstration info with my host country? (I've read the privacy policy, and they *can*, in case of criminal/terrorist activities, or if I was kidnapped, etc.. but I specifically mean, do they hand over a list and say "Hey [country], these Canadians say they're in your country for the next year")

2. Will they send a call over to the OHIP offices? OHIP gets temp. canceled once you've been out of the country for more than 152 days or so, and it takes 3 months upon your return to get it reinstated. I just want to know if the folks at OHIP will know I'm gone, because of registering.

I'm just trying to weight the consequences of the decision, either way. Any advice or knowledge would be awesome. Thanks, mefites!

BTW, here's the link to the "Registration of citizen's traveling abroad" that I'm talking about.

posted by anonymous to Travel & Transportation (3 answers total)

Most Eastern European countries, in the past two years, have cancelled those 'visa runs' (I assume you mean you leave one country for a day to "renew" your automatic 90-day stay allowance.) Now, in most countries, you're only supposed to stay 90 days every six months. I would have worried too much about this, until I saw last summer, for the first time, immigration agents on a train with "scanners" that automatically link to a computer. They used these to check the eligibility of three Americans who were coming from Slovakia, where they went for a weekend so they could get another 90 days in Hungary, where they were staying. Guess what? Entry denied. Much crying and hysteria. How will we get our stuff? What about my boyfriend? (Etc) Heard a similar story (secondhand) about some Americans who'd done the same thing, but went to Romania instead of Slovakia. So at least as it pertains to Hungary, this loophole seems closed - and Hungary's the one place that really *needs* foreigners spending money right now. I would imagine that it's a matter of luck, too. But countries that didn't use to care are now clamping down. So be careful!

But to answer your question, I doubt Canada shares that info, and I can't imagine it being handled so well that it would come back to bite you. On the other hand, I wouldn't register with the Canadian (or any other) government anyway . . . just tell a parent or friend the details and let them contact the government if need be.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 4:21 PM on March 12, 2009

Yes, I second what Dee is saying about visa runs becoming less and less possible in Eastern Europe.

As to your specific question, I would avoid the registration thing. There is not going to be a bloody revolution where you need the Canadian government to fly you out in a helicopter, and I think just as well they don't keep tabs on you. Especially if you are worried about health insurance status.

Even if they aren't linked up and sharing this information right now, I assure you it is only a question of when.
posted by Meatbomb at 4:59 PM on March 12, 2009

Unless you're working in a dangerous part of Kosovo, I can't imagine the benefits of registering would outweigh the risks. And you're right - you do not want to go through the hassle of re-registering for an OHIP card. As Dee Xtrovert pointed out, family can pass on your details to the Cdn gvmt in the case of emergency.
posted by meerkatty at 5:04 PM on March 12, 2009