How to get health insurance as an immigrant in Canada for international students

Being an international Student in Canada is a whole lot of stressing and also it is not always worth the less hype it is getting and this is why we are talking about how to migrate to Canada and everything else in between.

Now today we want to talk about How to get health insurance as an immigrant in Canada for international students because this is yet another very important topic that must be talked about whenever we are faced with talking about international students and how it impacts travelling to Canada and many other countries too.

There are many perks to be enjoyed while in Canada as a student or a Citizen such as free healthcare, but while Canada is famous for its free Canadian health care, the majority of these services are only available to Canadian citizens and permanent residents and this means it might not extend to you as an international student and as such you will definitely need your health insurance.

For this reason, all international students attending school in Canada must arrange for health insurance for the duration of their study program.

Now, if you are trying to relocate to Canada as a student there are couple of things you need to know and that is how the Canadian heal care system works which in reality varies from province to province.

SO lets talk about the variations now…

As stated earlier, Canada’s health care system varies from province to province. This in turn means that Foreign nationals planning to study in the country should familiarize themselves with the Canadian health care offered by their province of study which is of course not the same with what the other province offers.

It is worthy to note that some provinces do cover international students under provincial health insurance plans, but the majority of provinces require students to register for private health insurance plans.

In many provinces requiring international students to obtain private health insurance, the educational institutions themselves offer health insurance packages to international students.

In some cases, schools will require students to register for their health insurance packages, while other schools will allow students to opt out of their student health insurance packages provided that the student can prove they are receiving private health insurance from another source.

No matter the situation, all educational institutions will be familiar with the health insurance requirements for international students.

Noe lets talk about the Canadian Healthcare in itself

The Canadian Healthcare System.

All Canadian citizens and permanent residents have reasonable access to medically necessary hospital services without needing to pay out-of-pocket.

While the universal healthcare is mandated at the federal level, healthcare programs are operated by the individual provinces and territories, so exact details of coverage vary depending on where a person is living.

The universal Canadian health care provided to all Canadians only covers medically necessary services, this is considered basic health care coverage.

Those in Canada without permanent resident or citizen status should expect to pay out-of-pocket for medical services unless they have private health insurance.

In fact, many immigration programs require temporary residents to secure private health insurance for the duration of their stay in Canada. Temporary residents have a number of options for this:

• They can purchase private insurance from an insurance company.
• If they are working in Canada, they may receive health insurance from their employer.
• If they are studying in Canada, they may register for insurance through their school.
• In the event of an emergency, all provinces and territories will provide free services, even if a patient does not possess a government health card.
• However, there may be significant restrictions on the services that can be provided depending on a person’s immigration status.

You can have a look at all the Canadian Province and their healthcare Systems here

There is also Out of Province Medical insurance and now lets talk about it.

Out-of-Province Medical Insurance

Provincial health care coverage, whether provided through a free government program or purchased through a private plan, may only cover health care related expenses which occur within that specific province.

International students wishing to travel outside of their province of study, either to another province within Canada or to a country outside of Canada, should consult with their health insurance provider to determine if they will be covered during their travels.

If an international student’s health insurance does not extend to periods of travel, they may purchase private health insurance in order to cover medical expenses incurred during travel.