Posted on Monday, August 29th, 2011 at 12:19 pm

Like many provinces in Canada, British Columbia offers its citizens national health care. Known as the Medical Service Plan (MSP) in British Columbia, the national health care lawfully requires residence of British Columbia to enroll in this health care system. You may wonder, does the MSP also apply to international students, including those from China?

For foreign students in British Columbia who plan to stay in Canada for 6 months or longer, study permits are issued under the federal Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Under this status, British Columbia recognizes international students as residents and thus are eligible and required to enroll in the Medical Service Plan.

To apply for this coverage, international students must apply with a passport and Study Permit upon arrival in British Columbia. Once students have submitted their application, there is a 3 month waiting period before any benefits are paid. Because of this, many Chinese students purchase a private health insurance plan so that the plan will cover your medical expenses instead of having to pay out of pocket for this period.

Once the 3 month waiting period is over, you will receive your Care Card in the mail which will typically have the same expiration date as your Study Permit. If you will be studying in British Columbia for less than 6 months, you will need to secure your own private insurance plan for Canada to cover you in case of illness or injury.

Posted by Jennifer Frankel

Jennifer is the International Director at International Student Insurance. Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Florida where she holds a Masters in International Business and a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration. She has lived and worked abroad in Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica and England, and traveled extensively in South America, Europe and Asia.