Quebec clinics authorized to give immigrants medical exams are overflowing these days. Many future permanent residents have learned this the hard way, some of them being forced to travel to another Canadian province to have an appointment within the prescribed 30-day period.
“A few weeks ago, we received an email from IRCC [Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada] inviting us to go for the medical visit and we called all the clinics [accréditées] from Montreal. None had room within the required time frame, that is to say a month,” says Cindy, who withholds her last name for fear of harming her immigration file. “We inquired in Facebook groups and we saw that everyone was struggling to find. So we had to leave for Ottawa. »
This French-born, however, considers herself lucky that she and her boyfriend were able to easily take time off from their jobs. “I can’t imagine what it’s like for some people who don’t have permission to be absent from work,” she says. But having no vehicle, they still had to manage to find transport. “We had to pay a super expensive bus to get to Ottawa. It had to be done in a day. It was very rush. »
Ludivine Ghelein ran into the same problem. This Frenchwoman recently received an invitation to do her medical examination, one of the last steps before permanent residence, but also could not find an appointment in a Montreal clinic. “I called the clinics where my friends had gone and they told me that it was not before the end of September,” said the young woman, adding that it was too late and that it did not allow her fail to meet the 30-day deadline. At the suggestion of those around her, she also turned to a medical clinic in Ontario.
“I have the impression that there are a lot of people who receive their [invitation] right now, so everyone is asking for medical visits at the same time. That’s why there is no more room, ”says Ludivine Ghelein. “It’s good because we have progress in our files, but we can’t meet the deadline. A very real concern on several Facebook groups of future permanent residents consulted by The duty.
no availability
According to IRCC, there are 43 accredited doctors in Quebec. By consulting the list available on the site, The duty noted that these physicians are, however, grouped together in eight clinics, in Montreal and Quebec. All contacted anonymously, none of these establishments — except for two that had full voicemails — were able to offer a medical appointment within 30 days. Only one offered appointments within 3 or 4 weeks, a tight deadline all the same. Acknowledging the problem, the receptionists were kindly inviting people to call back in case there were any cancellations.
Asked if it was aware of the problem and if it agreed to any relaxations, IRCC replied that it “continually monitors the capacity of the DMP network” and that it works “closely with the designated physicians in order to address situations where the delays for obtaining a medical examination are more than 30 days in certain regions of Québec. »
However, the department did not specify what solutions were put forward. Instead, he invited people who are unable to find an appointment to make a “request for extension” of the requested time.
Cindy clearly preferred to manage to find an appointment, even if it meant having to travel hundreds of miles to be examined by a doctor. “We did not ask for an extension. To be honest, the deadlines are already very, very long and we didn’t want to tempt fate and have to start all over again,” she says. “Anyway, it is very difficult to contact IRCC. We no longer want to take risks. »