Digest of Benefit Entitlement Principles - Chapter 23
- 23.8 Outside canada
- 23.8.1 Gravely Ill Family Member resides outside Canada
- 23.8.2 Other Out of Canada Situations and Compassionate Care Benefits
23.8 Outside canada
A claimant who is outside Canada temporarily or permanently are eligible to compassionate care benefits for the purpose of providing care or support to a gravely ill family member with a significant risk of death within 26 weeks. A claimant in receipt of compassionate care benefits is not required to prove availability and will not be disentitled solely for being out of the country1.
23.8.1 Gravely Ill Family Member Resides Outside Canada
A gravely ill family member will not always reside in Canada and the claimant may be required to leave Canada to provide care or support to this gravely ill family member. It will be necessary for the claimant to submit a medical certificate providing the same information that is required when the gravely ill family member resides in Canada1.
23.8.2 Other Out of Canada Situations and Compassionate Care Benefits
There are other reasons set out in Regulation 55(1) which allow payment of regular EI benefits while outside Canada1. When a claimant is in receipt of compassionate care benefits while outside of Canada, the provisions of compassionate care benefits are adjudicated independently from the reasons set out in Regulation 55(1). While the periods of and reasons for absence within EIR 55(1) cannot be combined, they can nevertheless be applied separately and independently from those of EIR 55(1) 2.
For compassion care benefits only, an exception will be made by policy that one additional week of regular benefits will be paid in situations where the gravely ill family member dies and the claimant must remain or go outside the country to attend the funeral, even if the claimant is on leave of absence of his or her employment and could return to that employment.
[ January 2006 ]