Hello. I recently moved to Mexico from Canada. I was born and raised in Canada though. A major part of my move was based on health. I have Myalgic Ensephalomyelitis (M.E.) as well as a combination of autoimmune diseases. I had to stop working my regular job back in 2012 because the M.E. makes it impossible to maintain any semblance of a schedule. I started my own company and worked from home doing graphic design until February 2020. I have paid double CPP during those years. Paying both the employer and employee contributions.
A couple of reasons why I had to move out of country:
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My husband, who was my carer, died suddenly in 2017. My condition is extremely aggravated by cold weather and changing barometric pressure levels. I lived in Calgary at that time and stayed through the winter without my husband. It was incredibly difficult because I can’t take care of myself well when the condition flares up and it flares a lot during winter. I couldn’t afford to hire a caregiver so I moved from Calgary to Vancouver Island in the spring of 2018 to try and mitigate the flare ups due to weather.
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Living on Vancouver Island worked a bit better than Calgary. I continued with my contract work until February of 2020. The contract, with a non-profit group, ended. I know I can’t find other contract work enough to support myself. There isn’t much work out there and it’s impossible for me to commit to specific schedules due to health. I don’t know until I wake up in the morning if I’ll be okay that day or just in a ton of pain and fatigue. The pain and fatigue are made worse by physical activity as well as social interactions. After losing my contract my only income is $550 per month in a survivor benefit from my husband’s CPP.
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I moved to Mexico because the climate is far more lenient to my health condition. Also, I hoped I could afford to hire help with cooking/cleaning. My health is more manageable here. I am still very limited on how much I can do but the pain I feel daily is significantly reduced in this climate.
I had considered applying for CPP-D before leaving Canada. I was put off by finding out how difficult it is to get accepted. But now that I think about it more I am.a bit angry because I’ve paid into that system my while adult life so I should be able to access the disability insurance. So now I want to apply but don’t know if there are ramifications due to living in Mexico now. I’ve only been here 2 months so far (as of March 1st 2020).
I have got the Disability Tax Credit since 2012 so the government dis recognize that I’m disabled. Please advise.