Reviewed July 6, 2026 · Health and dental plans for Canadians outside Quebec.
If you are visiting Canada, or hosting parents or grandparents who are, there is one fact that matters more than any other: visitors are not covered by Canadian public health care. Without insurance, a single accident or illness is paid entirely out of pocket — and Canadian medical bills are steep for someone paying themselves. Here is what visitors-to-Canada insurance covers, who genuinely needs it, and how it differs from a resident health plan.
Is this you?
- You are coming to Canada as a tourist or on a visitor visa and want to be covered if something goes wrong.
- You are inviting a parent or grandparent on a super visa and need to meet the insurance requirement.
- You are between statuses — your provincial coverage has ended or not yet started — and need emergency protection.
- You are not sure whether you need visitor insurance or a resident health and dental plan.
If any of those fit, read on.
Why visitors need their own coverage
Provincial health plans cover eligible residents. A visitor is, by definition, not a resident of a province and not enrolled in its plan. That means every medically necessary service a visitor uses — an emergency room visit, an ambulance, surgery, a hospital stay — is billed directly to the visitor. Those bills can climb into the tens of thousands of dollars quickly. Visitors-to-Canada insurance exists precisely so a bad day does not become a financial catastrophe.
What it covers
Visitor insurance is emergency medical coverage. A typical policy pays for:
- Emergency hospitalization and inpatient care.
- Emergency physician and treatment costs.
- Ambulance transport.
- Repatriation — the cost of getting the insured person home if it is medically necessary, or in the event of death.
- Limited emergency dental for acute pain, on many plans.
Just as important is what it is not: it is not routine health care. It does not cover regular check-ups, ongoing prescription refills, dental cleanings, vision care, or anything you could reasonably schedule in advance. It is there for the unexpected, not the everyday.
The super visa requirement
If you are bringing a parent or grandparent to Canada on the super visa, medical insurance is not optional — it is part of the application. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada requires proof of Canadian medical insurance that provides at least CAD $100,000 in emergency medical coverage, valid for a minimum of one year from the date of entry, and covering health care, hospitalization, and repatriation. IRCC has also permitted policies from certain insurers authorized to operate outside Canada.
Because government requirements change, confirm the current rule on the official IRCC pages before purchasing, and make sure the policy document shows the applicant's name, the coverage amount, the coverage dates, and the required benefits.
How pre-existing conditions are handled
This is where visitor claims most often run into trouble. Most visitor policies apply a stability requirement to pre-existing conditions: the condition must have been stable — no new symptoms, no change in medication or dosage, no recent hospital visits — for a defined window before arrival. Some plans exclude pre-existing conditions unless you add a rider. Before buying, read exactly how your policy defines stability and what window it uses, especially for an older traveller with managed conditions.
Visitor insurance vs. a resident health and dental plan
Here is the distinction that saves people from buying the wrong thing:
- Visitor insurance is for people without provincial health coverage. It is emergency medical protection that stands in for the public plan a visitor cannot access.
- A resident health and dental plan is for people with provincial coverage. It assumes the public plan is handling your doctor-and-hospital care and fills the extras it skips — prescription drugs, dental, vision, paramedical care.
They are almost mirror images. A visitor generally needs visitor insurance, not a resident health and dental plan. Once someone becomes a resident with an active provincial card, the resident plan becomes the right tool.
The honest bottom line
If you or your guests do not yet have provincial health coverage, the priority is emergency medical protection through a visitor-to-Canada or similar product — and, for a super visa, one that meets the government minimums. A resident health and dental plan comes later, once provincial coverage is active.
When you are a resident with provincial coverage and ready to look at drugs, dental, and the everyday gaps, you can compare plans side by side for your age and province in about two minutes, with no contact information needed to see prices.
Get Health Coverage is an independent comparison platform. We don't sell insurance and take no commission — plans are ranked by price. Availability and rates are set by each carrier and confirmed at application. Coverage is available in every province and territory except Quebec.
Frequently asked questions
Who needs visitors-to-Canada insurance?
Anyone in Canada who is not eligible for a provincial health plan should consider it: tourists, parents and grandparents visiting on a super visa or visitor visa, and people whose provincial coverage has not started yet. Visitors are not covered by Canadian public health care, so any medical emergency is paid out of pocket without insurance — and Canadian hospital and physician costs can be very high for someone paying themselves.
What does visitors-to-Canada insurance cover?
It is emergency medical coverage. Typical policies pay for emergency hospitalization, emergency physician and treatment costs, ambulance, and repatriation (the cost of returning home if medically necessary). Many also include limited emergency dental for acute pain. It is not designed to cover routine check-ups, ongoing prescriptions, dental cleanings, or planned procedures — those are outside its purpose.
What insurance does a super visa require?
For the parent and grandparent super visa, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada requires proof of Canadian medical insurance providing at least CAD $100,000 in emergency medical coverage, valid for a minimum of one year from entry, covering health care, hospitalization, and repatriation. IRCC has also allowed policies from certain authorized insurers outside Canada. Because government requirements can change, verify the current rule on the official IRCC pages before you buy.
Is visitor insurance the same as a resident health and dental plan?
No, and this is the key distinction. Visitor insurance is emergency medical coverage for people who do not have provincial health care. A resident health and dental plan is the opposite — it assumes you already have provincial coverage and fills the extras it skips, like prescription drugs, dental, and vision. A visitor generally needs visitor insurance, not a resident health and dental plan.
How are pre-existing conditions handled on visitor insurance?
Most visitor policies address pre-existing conditions through a stability requirement — the condition must have been stable, with no changes in medication or treatment, for a defined period before arrival. Some plans exclude pre-existing conditions unless you buy a rider. Read the stability window and definitions carefully, because this is the most common reason a visitor claim is denied.