Health Insurance and Maintained Status in Canada

In Alberta, both work permit and study permit holders are eligible for the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP), provided they meet certain conditions. If a temporary resident’s immigration status is expiring soon or has expired and they have applied to extend that status, they may be provided with an extension of their (AHCIP) coverage while waiting for a new document from IRCC. However, to be eligible, the person must:

• be currently living in Alberta
• be recently enrolled in AHCIP coverage
• have not received a denial from IRCC regarding the application to extend
• be able to provide the date of application and the application number from IRCC that confirms they applied to extend their work or study permit or visitor record before the expiration date

If a person meets the above criteria, they must contact AHCIP. The first extension is up to 90 days. For more information and contact details, please refer to this resource from the Government of Alberta..

In British Columbia, both work permit and study permit holders are eligible for BC’s Medical Services Plan (MSP), provided they meet certain conditions. Individuals with maintained status who are awaiting a new work permit or study permit may be eligible for an initial six months of temporary coverage through MSP. If needed, additional temporary coverage may also be provided.

Temporary MSP coverage will be provided to maintained status holders who:

• Remain in BC on maintained status while waiting for a subsequent work or study permit
• Were previously enrolled with MSP
• Individuals must demonstrate they hold maintained status by providing IRCC receipts showing they applied for their new permit before the expiration of their original permit
• If the temporary coverage is requested four weeks or longer after the expiration of their original permit, the individual will also need to provide documentation from IRCC demonstrating their application is still active.

To request temporary MSP coverage, individuals must provide the requested documentation by following the instructions on this webpage.

In Manitoba, work permit holders who have applied for a new work permit and/or for permanent residence may be eligible to extend their Manitoba Health coverage while awaiting a decision on their application. To extend their coverage, applicants must submit the form and required documents outlined on this webpage.

Most international students in Manitoba are not eligible for Manitoba Health coverage and therefore cannot obtain coverage while on maintained status. However, those looking for clarification may wish to contact Manitoba Health directly.

Many international students and work permit holders are eligible for Newfoundland & Labrador’s Medical Care Plan (MCP). When on maintained status, work permit & study permit holders may be eligible for interim MCP coverage while awaiting a decision on their immigration application. To apply for interim coverage, individuals must submit the following documents and information:

• MCP Card Replacement/Information Update form
• official receipt from IRCC of payment of the application fee for the permit to extend stay in Canada, which includes the date the extension was applied for and the amount of fees paid
• confirmation letter from IRCC stating it has received the application, which must indicate the date the application was received by IRCC
• identification page(s) from the applicant’s unexpired foreign passport

For full details, please refer to the information on this webpage.

In New Brunswick, both work permit holders and study permits are eligible for New Brunswick Medicare coverage, provided they meet certain conditions—see here. However, only work permit holders are eligible for an extension of coverage during maintained status.

Work permit holders on maintained status with expired Medicare coverage must provide a copy of their Acknowledgement of Receipt letter from IRCC showing their name, the date their application was received and the date until which they are authorized to continue working to [email protected]. If found eligible, the individual’s coverage may be extended by six months retroactively to the date their previous IRCC document(s) expired.

For study permit holders, coverage for the student ceases on the date of the expiry of their study document.

For more information, please contact New Brunswick Medicare.

If you are residing in the Northwest Territories, please contact the NWT Health Care Plan directly to confirm eligibility for healthcare coverage.

Nova Scotia’s Medical Services Insurance (MSI) program may be available for work permit and study permit holders. However, to assess eligibility, Nova Scotia requires work permit and study permit holders to call MSI Resident Services directly to apply for a health card.

For work permit and study permit holders in Nova Scotia, we advise contacting MSI before beginning maintained status in order to determine your eligibility for an extension of MSI coverage.

If you are residing in Nunavut, please contact the Nunavut Health Care Plan directly to confirm eligibility for healthcare coverage.

In Ontario, certain work permit holders are eligible for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). International students are not eligible for OHIP and must enrol in a private health insurance plan.

Work permit holders on OHIP may be eligible to extend their OHIP coverage while on maintained status. The OHIP website does not provide explicit requirements for OHIP extensions on maintained status. Instead, they recommend that those on maintained status contact ServiceOntario to determine their eligibility.

Work permit and study permit holders are eligible for a PEI Health Card as long as they meet certain conditions. However, the PEI website does not mention that these temporary residents are eligible to extend health insurance coverage during periods of maintained status. Rather, the website states that the PEI Health Card is valid only until the expiry date of the permit.

For questions about PEI Health Card eligibility for work permit and study permit holders, please contact Health PEI.

In Quebec, work permit and study permit holders are eligible for the Quebec Health Insurance Plan (RAMQ), if they meet certain conditions*. It may be possible to extend RAMQ coverage while on maintained status, however this service is not offered online. To verify eligibility, individuals must contact RAMQ offices by phone:

• Québec area: 418 781-2520
• Montréal area: 514 687-4571
• Throughout Québec: 1 833 203-5524
• Outside Québec: 1 514 687-4571

For more information about general eligibility for RAMQ, check out the RAMQ website. For details on renewing or extending coverage, refer here.

*To maintain eligibility for RAMQ, work permit and study permit holders must comply to the Presence in Quebec rule which means that they cannot leave Quebec for more than 21 consecutive days. Absences of fewer than 21 days do not impact RAMQ eligibility.

Work permit and study permit holders are eligible for a Saskatchewan Health Card as long as they meet certain conditions. However, the Saskatchewan does not explicitly mention eligibility for healthcare coverage on maintained status. To confirm eligibility, contact eHealth Saskatchewan directly.

If you are residing in the Yukon, please contact the Yukon Health Insurance Plan directly to confirm eligibility for healthcare coverage.