Visitors to Canada Insurance

For regular visitor visas and eTA travellers it is not legally required, but it is strongly recommended because provincial health plans don't cover visitors. It is mandatory for Super Visa applicants — see our Super Visa insurance page.

Visitors and tourists, parents and relatives on a regular visitor visa, new immigrants and returning Canadians waiting for provincial health coverage, foreign workers awaiting coverage, and international students without a school plan.

Plans are available across a wide range of sums insured. For older visitors or longer stays, higher limits are wise — a few days in a Canadian hospital can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Yes, but most insurers apply a waiting period for illness (and sometimes accidents) when coverage starts after arrival. Buying before departure avoids this.

Usually, as long as you request the extension before the policy expires and there has been no claim or change in health. Conditions vary by insurer.

Most current plans treat COVID-19 like any other sickness, subject to the policy's normal terms, pre-existing condition rules and any travel-advisory clauses. Check the wording of the specific plan.