Posted on Monday, September 5th, 2011 at 12:27 pm

Like many provinces in Canada, Saskatchewan offers national health care under the Saskatchewan Health program to all residence in the province. International students studying in Saskatchewan for a minimum of one year are eligible for national health benefits if they have full-time attendance at an accredited educational institution, have submitted the Student Certification, and have a valid Study Permit from the Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Once you have applied with Health Registration, you will receive a Health Services Card that can be renewed on an annual basis. If you will be studying in Saskatchewan for less than one year, you may not get a Study Permit and thus may not be eligible for Saskatchewan Health. Instead you will need to purchase a private student health insurance from either your school or independently.

It is important to note, however, that if you have traveled to another province longer than 90 days before you arrive in Saskatchewan, you will have a 3 month waiting period applied to your Saskatchewan Health plan. If this is the case, you will want to purchase a private health insurance plan to cover you for this waiting period. Some foreign students from China even purchase a supplementary insurance plan to provide additional coverage to the free benefits provided under the Saskatchewan Health.

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.