Temporary stay insurance

Canadian immigration (IRCC) requires health insurance valid for the entire stay, including medical care, hospitalisation and repatriation. It is that duration that matters: if you subscribe for 12 months while your letter of introduction authorises 24, the border officer will only activate your permit for 12 months. Without a paper certificate presented on arrival, entry can be refused. To get the maximum duration, you therefore need to present a certificate covering the whole period you are aiming for, not just the first few months of the stay.

Yes, in practice. Condition 8501 ("maintain adequate health insurance") appears on most 417 working holiday visas granted, and it applies for the whole length of the stay. No particular insurer is required: an international policy covering hospitalisation, routine care and repatriation is enough, and it is generally much cheaper than a local Overseas Visitor Health Cover policy. An important point: France has no reciprocal agreement with Medicare, unlike the United Kingdom or Belgium. Without insurance, a French working holidaymaker pays full price in Australian public hospitals, including for an accident that happens during seasonal work.

Yes, in some cases: several insurers accept applications from abroad, without requiring you to still be in France when you sign. It is rarer than subscribing before you leave, the available benefits are sometimes more limited, and a waiting period can apply to certain items. But it is not a lost cause: if you left without insurance or your previous cover has ended, we check case by case, with Mustapha, which of the the leading insurers we compare will accept your profile and your current country of residence.

Within 24 hours in most cases, once the file is complete and the premium has been paid. This is a decisive timeframe for a working holiday visa or an assignment with a departure date already fixed: the consulate or border officer requires a dated, named document stating the exact duration of the stay covered. We check that the certificate complies with the precise requirements of the country in question before it is issued, to avoid a refusal at the counter or the border for want of a missing detail.

Cover should match the duration of the visa or assignment exactly, no more and no less: our temporary plans run from one to twelve months, with no annual commitment to renew. For a working holiday visa, match the duration to the one stated in your letter of introduction, even if you are considering extending your stay once there. For a three-month freelance assignment, there is no need to pay for a full year: cover starts on the day you leave and stops when you return, or simply extends if your plans change.