How does ODSP determine your spouse's support?

General Citizenship Questions
1

Hi there I am in need of some information. I am on ODSP and I want to marry someone outside of Canada it might be a process till they are able to be full Citizens of Canada. So they can stay in Canada live and work but in the meantime will marrying them mes up my income with ODSP because technically we don’t live with me and aren’t in the country yet. Would ODSP still count that as 2 incomes. I might think of leaving ODSP but in the meantime I am not able till I can manage if my partner/ Husband can live with me to help support me. What should I do once I’m married let my worker know immediately I’m now married or let them figure that out once he’s a full citizen of Canada.

2

Hi there,

Thank you for sharing your question and situation with us, we appreciate your interest in this information.

According to the Community Legal Education of Ontario’s guide on social assistance rules about couples:

If Ontario Works (OW) or the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) thinks that you live with a spouse, they will:

  • look at the income and assets that both of you have, and
  • decide if you will get assistance as a couple.

The amount of assistance you get as a couple is less than what you would get as two single people.

Rules about who is a spouse

OW or ODSP will decide that you are spouses if any of the following are true:

  • You tell them that you are spouses.
  • You are married to each other.
  • The law says that one of you must support the other person or their child.

If you live together, OW or ODSP will also decide you are spouses if all of the following are true:

  1. You have been living together for at least 3 months.
  2. One of you supports the other or the two of you are “financially interdependent”.
  3. You are “living together as a couple”, not as two single people.

There is more information in the article about determining if you are considered financially interdependent, living together as a couple, and other scenarios. If someone moves in with you while you are on social assistance, you must tell OW or ODSP right away.

StepstoJustice.ca also has a number of articles on living with another adult while on ODSP. You may find the article, I live with another adult. Can this affect my ODSP? to be helpful.

In addition to connecting with your case worker, you may want to connect with a community legal clinic for further advice, here is a list of free to low-cost legal services in Ontario that can help advise you with this process.

We hope this information is helpful. Please follow up with us if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Your Settlement.Org Team