Before you start

OHIP-eligible immigration status
Ontario as your primary place of residence
Intention to be physically present in Ontario for at least 153 of your first 183 days
Original supporting documents — one from each of the three categories

Step-by-step

1
Assemble one document from each of the three required categories
You need proof of citizenship or OHIP-eligible immigration status, proof of Ontario residency, and proof of identity. The accepted-documents list is specific, and being one document short is the most common reason a trip to ServiceOntario is wasted.
OnlineWho: You
2
Apply in person at a ServiceOntario centre
Applicants over 16 generally must apply in person; this is not an online transaction. London has several centres and the suburban ones are usually quicker than the central office, particularly in September when the student intake lands.
In personWho: YouWeek 1–2
3
Take the coverage immediately — do not buy three months of private insurance
Eligible applicants are covered from enrolment. The three-month wait was abolished in 2020 and a great deal of published advice, and word of mouth, never caught up. The photo card arrives by post afterwards; the coverage does not wait for it.
In personWho: You
4
Register to be matched with a family doctor on day one
Ontario runs a provincial service matching people without a family physician to one taking patients. Register when you arrive rather than when you first need care — your position depends on when you joined, and the shortage runs across the province and is worse in the counties around London than in the city itself.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
5
Learn which hospital does what, because they are not interchangeable
Victoria Hospital holds the adult emergency department, trauma and the Children's Hospital; University Hospital covers neurosciences, cardiac and transplant; St. Joseph's is a separate corporation running an urgent care centre, mental health services and much of the ambulatory care. The nearest building is not always the right one, and St. Joseph's does not run a full emergency department.
OnlineWho: You
6
Know that public health here is a county-wide board, not a City department
The Middlesex-London Health Unit delivers immunisation, sexual health, infant and child services, food-premises inspection and outbreak response for both the City of London and Middlesex County. If you are looking for vaccination records, travel shots or a public health nurse, it is the health unit you want, not london.ca.
OnlineWho: You
7
Arrange cover for what OHIP excludes
Prescription drugs for working-age adults, dental, vision and physiotherapy sit largely outside OHIP. Employer benefit plans normally fill these, which makes the benefits package a real part of a job offer — and in a hospital- and university-dominated job market those plans are generally good.
Via employerWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Proof of Canadian citizenship or OHIP-eligible immigration status (PR card, COPR, work permit)
Proof of Ontario residency (lease, utility bill, employer letter)
Proof of identity (passport, driver's licence)
Prescription and medical records from your previous country
Immunisation records, which the health unit requires for school-age children

Things most newcomers don’t know

There is no three-month wait, and newcomers still pay for private cover they do not need.

The waiting period was removed from the regulations in March 2020 and eligible residents are covered from enrolment. It is one of the most persistently mis-reported facts about moving to Ontario — older guides, relocation agents and friends who arrived before 2020 all describe the old rule. Three months of unnecessary travel insurance is a several-hundred-dollar mistake made on stale advice.

Source: Ontario — OHIP coverage regulations and 2020 bulletins

Living in a tertiary referral city does not shorten the queue for a family doctor.

London has an extraordinary concentration of specialist medicine because it is where the whole of southwestern Ontario is referred — nearly 15,000 LHSC staff and more than a million patients a year, for a city of 422,000. Newcomers reasonably assume that translates into easy primary care. It does not: hospitals and family practice are different systems with different funding, and the Ontario shortage applies here as everywhere. Register for a match on arrival and use walk-in clinics and Health811 meanwhile.

Source: Ontario — find a family doctor or nurse practitioner

St. Joseph's does not have an emergency department, and people find that out at the worst moment.

St. Joseph's Health Care London is a separate hospital corporation from LHSC and runs an urgent care centre rather than a full emergency department; the adult emergency is at Victoria Hospital and the paediatric one at Children's. Two corporations, several campuses, split by specialty rather than geography — and a referral to a specialist at one does not create a record at the other. Ask which corporation and which site, and keep your own copies of results.

Source: community-reported, consistently corroborated

There is a physical-presence test, and a long trip home in your first six months can cost you.

You are generally expected to be in Ontario for at least 153 of your first 183 days. Newcomers who go back to settle affairs, or take an extended visit after arriving, can put eligibility in question at exactly the point they are relying on it. If a long absence is unavoidable, understand the rule before you book.

Source: Ontario — registration for Ontario health insurance coverage

Common mistakes to avoid

Buying three months of private cover on the basis of the abolished waiting period.
Turning up at ServiceOntario without one document from each of the three required categories.
Waiting until you are ill to register for a family doctor.
Driving to St. Joseph's for an emergency — the adult emergency department is at Victoria Hospital.
Looking for immunisation and public health services on the City website rather than the health unit's.
Assuming prescriptions, dental and vision are covered — for working-age adults they largely are not.
Travelling extensively in your first six months and breaching the physical-presence expectation.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.