Another EI Question?

[hungry]

So I have been on EI since Arpil. I figure this would be a good time to do some travelling. I have over 200K Aeroplan miles, and a 100K cash in the bank outside my RSP's and no debt, except rent. I was thinking of taking my son, who is 20, to some place cool, maybe Thailand, Australia, or both, or where ever. I have wanted to do this for awhile, but I have never had the time. Going to places like this for a few weeks doesn't really appeal to me. I was thinking of going for at least 2 months. Now that I am on EI, this seems like the best time. I would like to go in Dec., or Jan. If I get a new job, there is no way that I could get that kind of time off and I have to use my Aeroplan miles in the next few years or lose them.

My question is, can I do this and continue to have my EI direct deposited and report from abroad on their website like I do now, or can I contact them, and ask them to delay my deposits till I return and continue on EI without forfeiting any weeks, or do I have to tell them and not receive any money while I am gone and start collecting again when I return?

I would ask them myself, but you can't get a hold of anyone without spending 4 hours on the phone and I want to stay low on their radar until I decide what I am going to do. I do not want to do anything illegal either.

If anyone has any infomation, it would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[jerk chicken]

i think as long as you do the reporting every 2 weeks on their website you are fine no? i am thinking of the same thing actually...

 

[spacyfoil]

Regular benefits while temporarily absent from Canada

EI is meant to help people stay afloat while they actively search for their next job. EI also will help you upgrade your skills if need be.

Following is cut and paste from this site:

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/types/regular.shtml#eligible


Under most circumstances you are not allowed to receive regular benefits for any period in which you are not in Canada. However, you can receive regular benefits provided that you are available for work in Canada and that you inform your Service Canada Centre of your temporary absence in the following situations :

for a period of not more than 7 consecutive days to attend a funeral of a member of your immediate family or a close relative;
for a period of not more than 7 consecutive days to accompany a member of your immediate family who is ill to a medical facility, provided the treatment is not readily available in your family member's area of residence;
for a period of not more than 7 consecutive days to visit a member of your immediate family who is seriously ill or injured;
for a period of not more than 7 consecutive days to attend a real job interview;
for a period of not more than 14 consecutive days to conduct a real job search;
to attend an approved training program.


In other words, leaving Canada for pleasure vacation is not considered a valid option while on EI.

On a personal note to Hungry, I am sorry about your job loss. And I know exactly what you mean by always working, never getting a break to do anything. I am sorry to give you the bad news about not being able to travel.

Have you travelled all of Canada? Maybe this would an option.

 

[5hummer]

If you decide to leave the country, you won't be covered - since, you are not actively looking for a job.

 

[Keebler Elf]

Mind boggling.

 

[john frankly]

If you are going to leave the country and are on EI

1: You tell them you are going outside the country.

A: They turn off your EI and it takes up to 8 weeks to get back on it. You collect when you return.


2: You do not tell them and collected it abroad?

A: This is illegal.

If you get caught must pay back the outstanding amount incurred, possibly face fraud charges, and are penalized for going on holiday, as well as have hours reduced in your claim. O did I forget to mention your case will be labeled as a watch case from now on….


The term and condition in order to be in receipt of EI you have to be willing and able to be seeking employment 5 a days a week, 8 hrs per day.

If you follow EI rules during the time you are on EI and you even got sick. You would need to produce a doctor’s letter for those days of sickness.

No one ever say yes to the, I am sick part. LOL

I wonder how many people call them and say: Hey buddy I am leaving the country for 6-8 weeks. Do you mind cutting off my EI well I am out of the country?

O yea the honest abiding citizens aren’t they the ones that pay there taxes each year, get told they earn to much, and must pay more back, Pay into the CPP, EI system over long periods of time…Some like 20 or more years and then when they loss there jobs are forced to use up their severance or release pay out…before they can even become eligible there first payment.

Well since I am not an advocate in defense of this archaic and out date federal part of the Federal Government and think it too should be reformed, overhauled and implementation of changes must be added that meet the current employment/ unemployment environment…


I say fuck um! What they do not know will not hurt them as the old man once said.

However, in the end the decision will be yours LOL Mines only a dramatic opinion LOL

The below is correct as well

Regular benefits while temporarily absent from Canada
EI is meant to help people stay afloat while they actively search for their next job. EI also will help you upgrade your skills if need be.

Following is cut and paste from this site:

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/e...shtml#eligible


Under most circumstances you are not allowed to receive regular benefits for any period in which you are not in Canada. However, you can receive regular benefits provided that you are available for work in Canada and that you inform your Service Canada Centre of your temporary absence in the following situations :

for a period of not more than 7 consecutive days to attend a funeral of a member of your immediate family or a close relative;
for a period of not more than 7 consecutive days to accompany a member of your immediate family who is ill to a medical facility, provided the treatment is not readily available in your family member's area of residence;
for a period of not more than 7 consecutive days to visit a member of your immediate family who is seriously ill or injured;
for a period of not more than 7 consecutive days to attend a real job interview;
for a period of not more than 14 consecutive days to conduct a real job search;
to attend an approved training program.


In other words NO you should not go outside Canada just for Vacation.

On a personal note to Hungry, I am sorry about your job loss. And I know exactly what you mean by always working, never getting a break to do anything. I am sorry to give you the bad news about not being able to travel.

Have you travelled all of Canada? Maybe this would an option.

 

[john frankly]

Not only must you be looking for a job while in Canada, you must be ready and willing to work if a job becomes available which isn't the case if you're sipping Margheritas in Cuba.

NOOO SHIT! lol

 

[hungry]

Thanks for the tips guys, I did't think I could collect while away. I am sure, I could report from abroad but they probably have something set up on their site to find an out of country isp. Anyway, like I said, I don't want to do anything illegal, so that is not an option. So it looks like if I go I will have to tell them, and see what happens. If I lose it, I lose it. As far as decent job prospects around here it doesn't look good. I might have to move back to Alberta.

 

[masterchief]

A: This is illegal.
If you get caught must pay back the outstanding amount incurred, possibly face fraud charges, and are penalized for going on holiday, as well as have hours reduced in your claim. O did I forget to mention your case will be labeled as a watch case from now on….

It's prety bad if you get caught filing a fraudulent claim. The mildest punishment is having to repay the money, it then can go as bad as being fined double what the amount it for the time they decide. After that it's fraud charges.

Also not only will they reduce your claim, or just end it right there; hey'll increase the amount of eligible hours you'll need to work before being able to reactivate your claim.

Remember that Ei is part of Service Canada now, and direcly interface on a constant basis with CRA who will know if you've left the country for an extended time.

 

[john frankly]

It's prety bad if you get caught filing a fraudulent claim. The mildest punishment is having to repay the money, it then can go as bad as being fined double what the amount it for the time they decide. After that it's fraud charges.

Also not only will they reduce your claim, or just end it right there; hey'll increase the amount of eligible hours you'll need to work before being able to reactivate your claim.

Remember that Ei is part of Service Canada now, and direcly interface on a constant basis with CRA who will know if you've left the country for an extended time.

So if you have a problem with it.....write a letter of complaint to the people who are incharge of this....and ask them why, it is so easy LOL.

It there rules not ours LOL

Damn prozack is beginning to get high in demand LOL

 

[Malibook]

Just keep on filing your report every 2 weeks and indicate on these reports the dates that you are not available for work.
You will not be paid for this time.
Just keep on filing and when you get back indicate that you are available to work and your benefits will continue.
This will not reduce the total number of weeks you can collect but the total must be used within 1 year so it's possible that your benefits won't be used up within a year if you take a long break.

 

[john frankly]

Just keep on filing your report every 2 weeks and indicate on these reports the dates that you are not available for work.
You will not be paid for this time.
Just keep on filing and when you get back indicate that you are available to work and your benefits will continue.
This will not reduce the total number of weeks you can collect but the total must be used within 1 year so it's possible that your benefits won't be used up within a year if you take a long break.

perfect answer

 

[WhaWhaWha]

Any border crossing or travel outside Canada, even an unplanned 2-hour excursion to Buffalo, is reported to Service Canada automatically when you present your passport at the border. Failure to report any border crossing before crossing can result in loss of benefits. They are clamping down and looking for any excuse.

 

[john frankly]

“Thanks for the tips guys, I did't think I could collect while away. I am sure, I could report from abroad but they probably have something set up on their site to find an out of country isp. Anyway, like I said, I don't want to do anything illegal, so that is not an option. So it looks like if I go I will have to tell them, and see what happens. If I lose it, I lose it. As far as decent job prospects around here it doesn't look good. I might have to move back to Alberta.”

This is the situation all over my friend descent jobs are scarcest for everyone. Times are tuff. The economies in chaos on a global level, the older you get the harder it is to find stable employment. Most job opportunities at present are turning to contractual work, and more service oriented in nature are the ones experiencing increasing growth.

Manufacturing and warehousing is slowly becoming more robotic using less people labor, as well as moving out of North American to cheaper countries, and have little or no pay with descent wages nor have longevity, or do they pay benefits.

This is why, so many people are now moving into self employed job opportunities, because they give them the better value in the deal as well as can charge a fair price based on this skill level, actual knowledge, education and experience.

However, even these markets are subjected to increased competition because so many people are seeking employment and when the RRSP’S, GIC and other investments start to run out. They begin to get nervous and edgy. Creating an influx of desperate, dishonest people into a market place only to pull down the quality of services for those who are trying to operate in a honest reliable and genuinely sincere manner.

I am sure there are others here and abroad who understand your situation and are in the same boat with very little big job opportunity being presented to them. Just not something most people want to admit, nor discuss openly. Since it stigmatizing to admit that every time you go for a job interview you are more qualified then the person interviewing you.

As a result making your best advantage and only directional recourse to be; taking all your experience, training in employment, in the educational arena, the job market, life skill and asking yourself what can I do to provide people with something that is, marketable? What services? What skill or skills? What knowledge and abilities do I have that may benefit others in a competitive market place that is overly saturated by competition?

Find you skills, knowledge, and experience and marketed yourself better than your competitors, while maintaining, quality, integrity, commitment, reliability, sincerity, and provide them with high customer service at a fair price.

As for this below! Yea big brothers always watching: They sure love to take but hate to give it back.

“Any border crossing or travel outside Canada, even an unplanned 2-hour excursion to Buffalo, is reported to Service Canada automatically when you present your passport at the border. Failure to report any border crossing before crossing can result in loss of benefits. They are clamping down and looking for any excuse.”

 

[oldjones]

My sweetie was on medical EI, which still required her to report every fortnight although she didn't have to look for work, due to her medical condition. After we returned from her mother's funeral and closing up the house in Detroit, she got a rather peremptory letter requiring that she immediately explain her absence from the country and why her EI should not be terminated since she couldn't have been looking for work.

Besides being the action of a low-life cheating weasel, filing EI reports while vacationing abroad would be unwise. They're smarter than that, and they check.

 

[Malibook]

EI is meant to help people stay afloat while they actively search for their next job. EI also will help you upgrade your skills if need be.

Following is cut and paste from this site:

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/types/regular.shtml#eligible


Under most circumstances you are not allowed to receive regular benefits for any period in which you are not in Canada. However, you can receive regular benefits provided that you are available for work in Canada and that you inform your Service Canada Centre of your temporary absence in the following situations :

for a period of not more than 7 consecutive days to attend a funeral of a member of your immediate family or a close relative;
for a period of not more than 7 consecutive days to accompany a member of your immediate family who is ill to a medical facility, provided the treatment is not readily available in your family member's area of residence;
for a period of not more than 7 consecutive days to visit a member of your immediate family who is seriously ill or injured;
for a period of not more than 7 consecutive days to attend a real job interview;
for a period of not more than 14 consecutive days to conduct a real job search;
to attend an approved training program.


In other words, leaving Canada for pleasure vacation is not considered a valid option while on EI.

On a personal note to Hungry, I am sorry about your job loss. And I know exactly what you mean by always working, never getting a break to do anything. I am sorry to give you the bad news about not being able to travel.

Have you travelled all of Canada? Maybe this would an option.

This doesn't mean that these are reasons that you can leave the country without being cut off of EI.
It means that these are legitimate reasons to still collect benefits while you are away.

Filing from another part of Canada and claiming that you are available may be more difficult to detect but it is just as illegal as being in another country.

 

[Malibook]

Besides being the action of a low-life cheating weasel, filing EI reports while vacationing abroad would be unwise. They're smarter than that, and they check.

He asked if he could still collect while away.
He didn't ask how he can cheat the system.
He has been clear that he has no intention of claiming to be available when he is not.

He seems quite honest to me and you seem like a delusional judgmental idiot.

 

[john frankly]

He asked if he could still collect while away.
He didn't ask how he can cheat the system.
He has been clear that he has no intention of claiming to be available when he is not.

He seems quite honest to me and you seem like a delusional judgmental idiot.

So true lolimfao

 

[dirkd101]

You're joking, right?

 

[hungry]

Again, thanks for all the tips. I definately, will be honest and I have no intention of cheating the system as I stated previously. I just wanted to know my options. I believe Malibook's suggestion about when I report to just say I am not avaiable to work and not get paid is the easiest route to take. Thanks for your support John Frankly, as usual, you Terbites have been great.