I have been accepted into the holiday working visa, I currently live in Scotland/United Kingdom where our health care is taken care of through the taxes we pay each month. I was wondering if I need to sort out some sort of insurance before I arrive in Canada? I'm going to Alberta.
Health Insurance - Holiday Working Visa.
- Thread starter Donaghy
- Start date
Yes - before you arrive in Canada.
QUOTE:
To be eligible for the Working Holiday category you must:
- be between the ages of 18 and 30 inclusive at the time your application is received;
- be a citizen of the United Kingdom;
- hold a UK passport with British citizenship that remains valid throughout the period of stay in Canada. When the work permit is issued in Canada, it will not be longer than the validity of the passport. Holders of a ‘Channel Islands' (Jersey, Guernsey) passport are eligible to apply;
- be in possession of a departure ticket leaving Canada at the end of your authorized period of stay or sufficient financial resources to purchase such a ticket;
- have the equivalent of C$2,500. to help cover expenses at the beginning of your stay, for the first 3 months of the stay;
- accept to purchase, prior to entering Canada, insurance for medical and health-care, including hospitalization and repatriation, for the duration of your stay – you may have to present evidence of this insurance when you enter Canada;
http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/experience_canada_experience/working_holiday-vacances_travail.aspx
QUOTE:
To be eligible for the Working Holiday category you must:
- be between the ages of 18 and 30 inclusive at the time your application is received;
- be a citizen of the United Kingdom;
- hold a UK passport with British citizenship that remains valid throughout the period of stay in Canada. When the work permit is issued in Canada, it will not be longer than the validity of the passport. Holders of a ‘Channel Islands' (Jersey, Guernsey) passport are eligible to apply;
- be in possession of a departure ticket leaving Canada at the end of your authorized period of stay or sufficient financial resources to purchase such a ticket;
- have the equivalent of C$2,500. to help cover expenses at the beginning of your stay, for the first 3 months of the stay;
- accept to purchase, prior to entering Canada, insurance for medical and health-care, including hospitalization and repatriation, for the duration of your stay – you may have to present evidence of this insurance when you enter Canada;
http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/experience_canada_experience/working_holiday-vacances_travail.aspx
It is better to compare quotes from different companies to make sure you get the best price for the coverage that suits you. You can compare the quotes from different companies here:Donaghy said:
http://arbetovinsurance.com/visitorstocanada/
TIC would be the best in terms of benefits but of course there are more affordable options. Travel Underwriters is coming up with a new plan that offer superior coverage but it will be a few months till its on the market.
The longest you can get a policy for is 18 months from Travelance:
http://arbetovinsurance.com/travelance-visitors-insurance/
I've heard stories of people becoming eligible for the Alberta health care through their employment but those are rare. You'd have to satisfy a few requirements i.e the amount of hours worked, the length of employment, the type of job. Even if you are lucky and able to go on the provincial system you will need to be covered for repatriation which is one of the IEC requirements.Donaghy said:
As for the private insurers, the best in terms of coverage would be the ones that have special features such as coverage for routine check ups, eye exams, vaccinations, and maternity benefits.
You can find more useful information in <a href=http://arbetovinsurance.com/iec-travel-insurance/>IEC/Working Holiday Program</a>
Yes, as stated above, you will need to show proof of insurance in order for the CBSA to stamp your passport with a (IEC) work visa. If you don't have the insurance and they ask for it, you'll be let in (being from the UK), but only with a regular visitor visa - you'll then have to make a dash across the USA border to re-enter once you have the proper insurance.
Irish and Australian nationals can get an IEC work visa for up to 2 years, all other countries are limited to one year (some of which are renewable for another year). The trick for the Irish and Australians is buying a policy for the full two years. If you only have one year of insurance, they'll only issue the IEC work visa for that length of time. So, the travelance policy above is good in that they can issue for 18 months, but if you want two years worth, you'll need to look elsewhere.
BestQuote Travel Insurance has the widest selection of Canadian insurance companies to choose from, including policies for up to 2 years (there aren't alot of options for 2 years worth of insurance as the Canadian insurance companies haven't chased after the IEC work permit market (yet) - perhaps as more countries start to allow 2 year visas the insurance companies will get on board.
Most IEC visa holders end up finding employment that allows them to qualify for provincial health care. In Alberta, you can go on provincial health care (you become eligible for the benefits) as soon as you are eligible and apply (there's no three month waiting period for benefits to kick in, like there is in BC, ON, QC, or NB). So if you are buying a policy that allows you to get a pro-rated refund once you go on provincial health care - then you can cancel the policy after only a short time has passed. Technically, this is breaking the rules of the IEC program - because provincial health care doesn't provide repatriation benefits. But provincial health care in Canada is all incompassing, unlike visitors to canada insurance (travel health insurance) which has a lot of restrictions and limitations.
Lots of IEC visa holders tend to break this rule (and save themselves a few $100), once they have a provincial healthcare card to show the insurance company. Until the insurance companies put in any measures to stop this (change the wording of their refund policy), it will continue.
A word of caution: some companies won't let you cancel a policy when you go on provincial health care. So if this is something you may plan on doing, read the policy you are buying first.
You can also find useful info at:
https://www.bestquotetravelinsurance.ca/International-Experience-Canada-%28IEC%29-Insurance
Irish and Australian nationals can get an IEC work visa for up to 2 years, all other countries are limited to one year (some of which are renewable for another year). The trick for the Irish and Australians is buying a policy for the full two years. If you only have one year of insurance, they'll only issue the IEC work visa for that length of time. So, the travelance policy above is good in that they can issue for 18 months, but if you want two years worth, you'll need to look elsewhere.
BestQuote Travel Insurance has the widest selection of Canadian insurance companies to choose from, including policies for up to 2 years (there aren't alot of options for 2 years worth of insurance as the Canadian insurance companies haven't chased after the IEC work permit market (yet) - perhaps as more countries start to allow 2 year visas the insurance companies will get on board.
Most IEC visa holders end up finding employment that allows them to qualify for provincial health care. In Alberta, you can go on provincial health care (you become eligible for the benefits) as soon as you are eligible and apply (there's no three month waiting period for benefits to kick in, like there is in BC, ON, QC, or NB). So if you are buying a policy that allows you to get a pro-rated refund once you go on provincial health care - then you can cancel the policy after only a short time has passed. Technically, this is breaking the rules of the IEC program - because provincial health care doesn't provide repatriation benefits. But provincial health care in Canada is all incompassing, unlike visitors to canada insurance (travel health insurance) which has a lot of restrictions and limitations.
Lots of IEC visa holders tend to break this rule (and save themselves a few $100), once they have a provincial healthcare card to show the insurance company. Until the insurance companies put in any measures to stop this (change the wording of their refund policy), it will continue.
A word of caution: some companies won't let you cancel a policy when you go on provincial health care. So if this is something you may plan on doing, read the policy you are buying first.
You can also find useful info at:
https://www.bestquotetravelinsurance.ca/International-Experience-Canada-%28IEC%29-Insurance
Hi I thought when you arrive in Alberta the health coverage kicks in automatically, that's the beauty of this province... Though I might be mistaken can anyone confirm?
It would depend on the kind of job you get -some qualify you provincial coverage and some not- best way to go about it is to call the provincial health care directly and ask about your eligibility.