Establishing Ontario Residency

[xtekian]

Hi everyone,

I graduated from Amherst College about three weeks ago, and tomorrow (Mon Jun 9) I'll be starting work as a research assistant at a hospital in Boston. This is a two year commitment, so I will be applying to medical schools next fall.

Here is my dilemma: I am a Canadian citizen. My family won't be able to help me pay for med school, and so I am considering Canadian med schools as an alternative (or even primary) choice. However, my family and I have lived in the US for the past 8 years, and from what I've heard it's extremely hard for Canadians to get into good Canadian med schools from out of province.

Basically, my question is, is there a way to become a resident of Ontario without actually living in Ontario? Can anyone point me to a site for provincial residency requirements?

Finally, if the above were not possible, what are the requirements for establishing residency once I matriculate to a Canadian med school? I saw several threads concerning this for US med schools but not any Canadian med schools.

Thanks a lot!

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[MeowMix]

Different schools determine residency in different ways. Virtually all of them will consider you to be a Canadian resident (and thus pay resident tuition); the difference comes in whether they consider you in the in- or out-of-province applicant pool as far as GPA cutoff, etc. With some it gets down to where you graduated from HS.

I left Canada after undergrad, many years ago. When I applied in 2004, some of the SW Ont schools considered me to be an ON resident; U of Ottawa did not (although I grew up there). You will need to check each school's website to find out their criteria.

 

[xtekian]

Hi Meow,

Thanks for your help. However, I was wondering how I could be viewed as a resident by the Ontario gov, as that would also make me a resident in the eyes of most schools. For example, if I had a valid Ontario address and a driver's license, does that qualify? Do I need to pay property tax also before being considered a resident? Etc.

 

[co2ta12]

the one province that doesn't really favor its own residents is ontario. So you might still have a decent shot at getting in med school in ontario even if you are not a resident of ontario (for some schools IP are favored though : NOSM (if you are from northern ontario), ottawa (if you are from the ottawa region, but I think your ECs must have been done mostly in the ottawa region for you to be considered from ottawa), mcmaster (considered IP if you have lived 3 years or more in ontario since the age of 14) )

For western, queens and uoft, it doesn't really matter if you're IP or OOP, I think.

 

[AspireAdmission]

I agree that this information is so important that you should contact each school individually.

For example, below is the determination factor for UBC:

A BC resident, for the MD Undergraduate Admissions purposes, is someone who has met one of the following criteria:

1. Has lived in BC for 24 continuous full months immediately prior to the application deadline; or
2. Has attended secondary school (grades 8 to 12 inclusive) in British Columbia, or attended for a minimum of three (3) years and had a permanent home in BC (secondary school transcripts must be submitted); or
3. Within the last five years has attended a university in BC for at least two years; or
4. Was born in British Columbia and attended a minimum of five years of school in BC. The applicant must also have resided in BC for at least one continuous year in the last ten, unless the applicant has been living and working overseas on a work visa or with the Armed Forces, and has been a resident in BC prior to entering the Armed Forces; or
5. Has attended residential secondary school (grades 8 to 12 inclusive) in BC, even if his/her permanent home is in another province (secondary school transcripts must be submitted); or
6. Has been a resident in BC for five years at any time for any reason and has resided in BC continuously for at least one year in the last ten; or
7. Is a resident-under any of the above terms-of the Yukon, NW Territories, or Nunavut.

NOTE: An applicant is NOT considered a resident of BC, for the MD Undergraduate Admissions purposes, if he or she is over 19 years of age and has never lived in BC, even if his or her parents have moved to BC. Unfortunately, having a BC Care Card and/or filing your income tax in BC does not automatically qualify you to meet our requirement at this time.



Applying to Canadian medical schools as a primary consideration is a very good option. You need to consider your immigration status in the U.S. very carefully. It is relatively easy to get F1 student visa. But once you start working (as a resident v.s. an attending later), your life would be a lot easier if you have a green card or U.S. citizenship. In Canada, you would not have such issue.

 

[eviltwin3029]

I am in a similar position to yourself. I was born in Toronto but moved to the states at age 2 and I am attending college in the US. From what I understand, McGill, UT, and Queen's consider me an Ontario resident.