Medical Insurance Self-Assessment

You may submit proof of MSP enrolment or another kind of basic medical insurance by email to isep.support@bcit.ca. If you successfully meet BCIT’s medical insurance requirement, a $180 credit (from your ISEP-TAE first term prepaid fees) will remain on your student account and can be used towards future tuition.

When to submit your copy of medical insurance

If you are currently outside of Canada: as soon as you have a confirmed travel plan to Canada.

If you are currently inside Canada: immediately after receiving your Letter of Acceptance.

Submit your proof of medical insurance immediately after receiving acceptance to your program in order to satisfy BCIT’s medical insurance requirement and avoid being charged a fee by BCIT for private medical insurance. Typically the deadline to “opt out” by providing your own insurance is 90 days before your program starts.

If you are already enrolled in BC Medical Services Plan (MSP), you may submit your proof of MSP enrolment.

If you have another kind of basic medical insurance to cover your first months in Canada, you may submit a copy by email to international.medical@bcit.ca for approval. Note that even if you have your own private medical insurance, you will still need to apply for MSP once you arrive in BC and submit proof of MSP enrolment to BCIT.

Contact us at international.medical@bcit.ca as early as possible if you or your home institute plan to provide medical insurance to cover your time here at BCIT.

In your email to us, include:

1. your student number
2. a statement explaining that you will be a visiting 1-term Exchange or 1-term Study Abroad student
3. a copy of your medical insurance information, OR a statement declaring that your home institute will be arranging medical insurance for you.*

*If you do not yet have a copy of your medical insurance information to provide, you can send it at a later date. By notifying us that your home institute will be arranging your medical insurance, it lets us know NOT to have BCIT charge you for medical insurance in Canada.

If you have any questions or concerns about medical insurance, you may contact us at international.medical@bcit.ca.

In order to satisfy BCIT’s medical insurance requirement, submit proof of medical insurance coverage to international_flex@bcit.ca when applying/declaring a Flexible Learning program or before self registering for first term courses by the medical insurance enrolment opt-out deadline.

If you are already enrolled in BC Medical Services Plan (MSP), you may submit your proof of MSP enrolment.

If you have another kind of basic medical insurance to cover your first months in Canada, you may submit a copy by email to international_flex@bcit.ca for approval. Note that even if you have your own private medical insurance, you will still need to apply for MSP once you arrive in BC and submit proof of MSP enrolment to BCIT.

Since you don’t have any basic medical insurance to cover you in Canada, BCIT will plan to enrol you in Guard.me temporary private medical insurance for your arrival here. A non-refundable $180 International Health Insurance Fee will be charged to your student account. You should pay for this along with your tuition fees. See Payment Options at BCIT for instructions. If paying through FlyWire, select the Tuition/Commitment Fee option.

You should receive a confirmation email directly from Guard.me in your @my.bcit.ca inbox before your program start date. This email will provide instruction for how to create your online Guard.me account, where you can access your insurance card and policy information, find a clinic in Canada, or submit a claim. Please contact us at isep.support@bcit.ca if you do not receive this at least 1 week before you travel to Canada.

Once you arrive in BC, you will need to apply for BC Medical Services Plan (MSP) and eventually submit proof of MSP enrolment to BCIT. Note that there is a coverage wait period for MSP of 3 calendar months during which time you cannot be covered for health care through MSP. This is the reason why the Guard.me temporary insurance described above is necessary.

See Private Medical Insurance: ISEP for more details.

Since you don’t have any basic medical insurance to cover you in Canada, BCIT will plan to enrol you in Guard.me temporary private medical insurance for your arrival here. A non-refundable $180 International Health Insurance Fee will be charged to your student account. You should pay for this along with your tuition fees. See Payment Options at BCIT for instructions. If paying through FlyWire, select the Tuition/Commitment Fee option.

The Guard.me coverage period is for 3 calendar months determined by your program start date. However, you may be able to request to change your Guard.me coverage months if you plan to arrive during a different month than the default coverage period. If family members will be joining, you may add dependents to your Guard.me policy.

You should receive a confirmation email directly from Guard.me in your @my.bcit.ca inbox before your program start date. This email will provide instruction for how to create your online Guard.me account, where you can access your insurance card and policy information, find a clinic in Canada, or submit a claim. Please contact us at international.medical@bcit.ca if you do not receive this by 1 week before your program start.

Once you arrive in BC, you will need to apply for BC Medical Services Plan (MSP) and eventually submit proof of MSP enrolment to BCIT. Note that there is a coverage wait period for MSP of 3 calendar months during which time you cannot be covered for health care through MSP. This is the reason why the Guard.me temporary insurance described above is necessary.

For more details see Private Medical Insurance: Full-time Programs.

Study Abroad and Exchange students who will study at BCIT for only 1 term and who do not provide their own medical insurance will be charged $300 for approximately five months of medical coverage with Guard.me International Insurance. You should pay this fee no later than 45 days before your program starts. Failure to pay this fee could result in you being withdrawn from your program. See Payment Options at BCIT for instructions. If paying through FlyWire, select the Tuition/Commitment Fee option.

You should receive a confirmation email directly from Guard.me in your @my.bcit.ca inbox before your program start date. This email will provide instruction for how to create your online Guard.me account, where you can access your insurance card and policy information, find a clinic in Canada, or submit a claim. Please contact us at international.medical@bcit.ca if you do not receive this by 1 week before your program start.

For details including the medical insurance coverage dates set for each term, see Private Medical Insurance: Exchange & Study Abroad Students.

For the purposes of medical insurance, Exchange or Study Abroad students planning to study at BCIT for 2 terms are treated the same as other students beginning a new full-time program.

Since you do not already have basic medical insurance to cover you in Canada, it is important to ensure that you order and obtain sufficient medical insurance coverage. Applicants who have submitted a program declaration and have paid their first term tuition deposit by the medical enrolment deadline for international students, may be charged and enrolled in Guard.me temporary private medical insurance.

International students enrolled in general studies, or applicants who submit a program declaration after the medical enrolment deadline, must obtain adequate medical insurance coverage themselves through Guard.me’s medical insurance portal and provide proof of coverage by the intake start date.

Learn more about initial coverage dates by visiting Private Medical Insurance: Flexible Learning Programs. Please contact international_flex@bcit.ca if you have any questions.

Once you arrive in BC, you will need to apply for BC Medical Services Plan (MSP) and eventually submit proof of MSP enrolment to BCIT.