Before you start

Permanent resident, work permit or study permit status of sufficient duration
Proof of Ontario residency — three separate documents are required
Identity documents for every family member
An Ontario address

Step-by-step

1
Gather the three documents OHIP requires before you go
Ontario asks for proof of citizenship or immigration status, proof of residency in Ontario, and proof of identity — three separate documents from prescribed lists. Turning up at a ServiceOntario centre with two of the three is the most common reason people make the trip twice.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
2
Register in person at a ServiceOntario centre
OHIP registration is done in person. Bring everyone in the household and their documents. The card follows by post; a temporary document covers you in the interim.
In personWho: You
3
Register with Health Care Connect for a family doctor
Ontario's provincial service matches unattached patients to family doctors and nurse practitioners. Waits are long. Register on arrival — your position depends on when you joined, not when you fall ill.
OnlineWho: You
4
Learn where the walk-in clinics and urgent care centres are
Until you have a family doctor, walk-in clinics handle routine problems and fill their capacity early. Ontario also runs virtual urgent care options. Emergency departments are for emergencies and the waits reflect that.
In personWho: You
5
Sort out prescription and dental cover, which OHIP does not include
Prescriptions outside hospital are not covered for most working-age adults, and dental and vision are not covered at all. Most employers provide a supplementary plan. The Canadian Dental Care Plan covers some households by income and is worth checking.
Via employerWho: You
6
If you live in Gatineau, register with RAMQ instead — and note the wait
Quebec's scheme has a waiting period of roughly three months unless a social security agreement covers your nationality, and it requires everyone to hold prescription drug insurance. Crossing the river for cheaper rent means changing health systems entirely.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Proof of citizenship or immigration status
Proof of Ontario residency
Proof of identity
OHIP card, once issued
Records of prescriptions and conditions from your previous country

Things most newcomers don’t know

OHIP wants three separate documents, and arriving with two is the classic wasted trip.

Ontario requires proof of status, proof of Ontario residency and proof of identity, each from a prescribed list, and one document generally cannot serve two purposes. A lease and a passport are not enough. Newcomers regularly make the ServiceOntario trip twice — once to be told what is missing and once to register. Read the three lists before going and take more than you think you need.

Source: Ontario Ministry of Health

Ontario's family doctor shortage is severe, and the queue starts when you register.

Millions of Ontarians have no family physician and the wait through Health Care Connect can run for years in some areas. Your place depends on the date you registered rather than on any medical need arising later. Registering in your first week, when you are perfectly healthy, is the single highest-value ten minutes of healthcare admin available to a newcomer here — and almost nobody does it.

Source: Ontario Ministry of Health

Living in Gatineau means changing health systems, not just addresses.

Quebec's RAMQ has a waiting period of roughly three months where OHIP has none, and it requires every resident to hold prescription drug insurance through an employer plan or the public one. People move across the river for rent that is several hundred dollars cheaper and discover the health scheme, the two tax returns and the winter tyre law afterwards. None of it is bad — but it should be a decision rather than a surprise.

Source: RAMQ

Public health cover here does not mean free at the point of use for everything.

OHIP covers physicians and hospitals. It does not cover prescriptions taken at home for most working-age adults, dental care, eye tests, physiotherapy, or the ambulance co-payment — all of which people arriving from the UK or much of Europe reasonably assume are included. Dental in particular is a significant uninsured cost without an employer plan.

Source: Ontario Ministry of Health

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving at ServiceOntario without all three required document types.
Waiting until you need a doctor to join the Health Care Connect queue.
Assuming prescriptions, dental and ambulance are covered — none of them fully are.
Moving to Gatineau without realising it means RAMQ and a three-month wait.
Losing eligibility through extended absences from the province.

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