Getting the Canada Child Benefit

If you are from abroad as I was to Canada, you may hear about the myth that Canada pays you for having children. This is half true, because Canada does not pay for having children (it is a benefit), and it does not pay to everyone; only Canadians, permanent residents and temporal foreign works with 18 or more months living in the country can have this benefit, and of course, being a taxpayer.

I will write how I did to apply for this benefit.

Applying for the Child Benefit

You need to fill the form RC66, there is no much to say about filling the form. It will ask information about:

• when you landed,
• when you became a permanent resident or citizen and
• about your family with the focus on the child or children.

You will need to back up every claim you do in the form.

For the proof of residence, it is easy, sending services bills such as electricity, gas, water or lease contract will work. The tricky part is the documentation to back up that the claiming kids are under your custody. For this, you must get reference letters from authority figures such as the family doctor, dentist, school, the landlord. In my case, I sent letters from the school board, the landlord and a migration consultant I have hired before for some processes. The letter is simple, it must state that he/she knows you since X year and he/she can confirm that your kids are under your care. If you send any other documentation, the CRA will not accept it, they must be reference letters.

The process is slow, it took me about three months and communication is very slow, by mail. You may speed up the process if you apply through my CRA portal. But it is quite straightforward, you should have no issues if you send the correct documentation.

Let the wife be the main application. The CRA will not ask too much question and it will not require extra documentation to back up a male is the main responsible of the kids.

Good luck!