Students

Health insurance for international students in Canada

Some international students in Canada are covered by their province from the day they arrive. Some are covered by a mandatory school plan. And a good many are covered by neither — during the gap before enrolment, over the summer, or after graduation. This page is about working out which group you are in.

Your price in about a minute

Your age, arrival date, and how long you need cover for. Nothing to pay until you choose a plan.

Who Needs It

Four situations that need private cover

Before the plan starts

Provincial and school plans rarely begin on your landing date. The gap is yours.

Provinces that exclude you

Ontario and Quebec generally do not cover international students at all.

Family joining you

School plans often cover only the student. A spouse or child needs their own.

After you graduate

Student cover ends with your studies. A work permit may not restore it at once.

Province by Province

Who covers international students

There is no national answer to this, because health coverage in Canada is set by each province. Broadly, the western provinces enrol international students in the public plan if the study permit is long enough, while Ontario and Quebec leave it to the institution.

Province	Public plan covers students?	What most students do
British Columbia	Generally yes, on a study permit of six months or more	Enrol in MSP on arrival and cover the waiting period privately
Alberta	Generally yes, on a study permit of twelve months or more	Enrol in AHCIP; private cover for any gap before it starts
Saskatchewan	Generally yes	Register on arrival; short private policy for the gap
Manitoba	Generally yes	Register on arrival; short private policy for the gap
Ontario	No — OHIP does not cover international students	The institution's plan, usually UHIP and usually mandatory
Quebec	Only for students from countries with a social security agreement	Everyone else takes the institution's plan
Atlantic provinces	Varies by province and permit length	Check with the school before assuming either way

Treat that table as a starting point, not an authority. Provincial rules change, permit lengths and start dates shift the answer, and some institutions run their own arrangements regardless of what the province does. Your school’s international student office is the one that knows your case — ask them, then insure whatever they leave uncovered.

The Cover

What a student plan pays for

Emergency hospital and ward accommodation
Physician and walk-in clinic visits for a new illness or injury
Diagnostics — X-rays, scans and lab work
Prescription drugs dispensed during or immediately after treatment
Ambulance, including air ambulance where it is needed
Emergency dental for accidental injury to natural teeth
Repatriation, and return of remains

Covering the gap, not the year

If your province or school will cover you eventually, buy for the gap and no longer. A policy running from your landing date to the day the school plan begins is usually a matter of weeks, and it costs accordingly. Should the enrolment come through earlier than expected, most insurers refund the unused days pro-rata less a small fee, as long as no claim has been made.

The other gaps worth remembering are the ones at the edges of the academic year: a summer between programs when a school plan may lapse, and the stretch after graduation before a post-graduation work permit brings provincial coverage back.

Family coming with you

School plans commonly cover the student and nobody else. A spouse or a child arriving on their own permit needs cover in their own right, and that is ordinary visitors to Canada insurance — the same product, quoted the same way. Putting the family on one policy is usually cheaper than insuring each person separately.

If parents are coming out to visit during your studies, that is a different case again: a short trip is visitor cover, and a long stay is Super Visa insurance, which carries its own $100,000 and 365-day rules.

Whatever you buy, keep the assistance number on your phone. If something happens, that number gets called before the bill is run up — most insurers want to authorise treatment and will often pay the hospital directly. Start at how to make a claim.

Not sure if you are covered

Tell us your school and permit.

Give a licensed agent your province, your institution and how long your study permit runs, and you will get a straight answer on whether you are already covered, where the gap is, and what closing it costs. If you do not need us, we will say so.

Talk to an agent

Student insurance questions

It depends entirely on where you are studying. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia generally cover international students on a long enough study permit. Ontario and Quebec generally do not, and students there use a school plan instead. Your institution’s international student office will confirm your own case.

Usually not for the same period — you would be paying twice. Private cover earns its place in the gap: before the school plan starts, over a summer break when it may not run, or after you graduate and before a work permit begins.

On the date you choose, not the date you pay. Set it to your landing date and buy before you fly. A policy bought after you arrive usually carries a waiting period of a few days, and anything that has already happened counts as pre-existing.

Yes. Family joining you on a study or visitor permit can go on the same policy or their own. School plans often cover only the student, so dependants are one of the commonest reasons students buy private cover alongside.

Often, if it has been stable for the insurer’s stability period — commonly 90 or 180 days with no change of medication or dose. See pre-existing conditions for what stable means in practice.

Get covered before you land

Compare student plans in about a minute, or talk it through with a licensed agent first. Mon–Sat, 9am–8pm ET. No obligation, and nobody will push you to buy on the call.

Get a Quote

Call 437-428-2828