Medical Insurance

Students from outside British Columbia are responsible for ensuring that they have basic medical insurance as a condition of their acceptance to UBC.

Anyone residing in BC for longer than six months is required by law to enrol in BC Medical Services Plan (MSP) and pay premiums directly to the plan. However, there is a waiting period of three months before any newcomer to BC is eligible to enrol in MSP. For more information and to download an application, visit BC MSP.

International students, refer to iMED.

Canadians or permanent residents, visit BC MSP or contact the Health & Wellness Centre.

Extended Health and Dental Plan

All students at the UBC Okanagan campus are also members of the Students' Union Okanagan of UBC (SUO of UBC)and are covered by the SUO Extended Health and Dental Plan. The extended health and dental plan provides coverage for expenses not covered by MSP such as prescription drugs, travel health insurance, paramedical services, and dental care.

Opting Out
Students can opt out during Change of Coverage periods only. The opt out and enrolment deadlines are as follows:

• For students starting in September: September 15, 2025
• For students starting in January: January 16, 2026

Opt outs and enrolments can only be processed during the Change of Coverage period or within 30 days of their registration period, whichever is later. For information on enrolling or opting out, go to Studentcare.

iMED (for International Students)

There are two basic insurance plans (iMED and MSP) and one extended plan (UBCSUO Health and Dental) for international students at UBC. Descriptions of all three plans are provided here.

UBC provides a mandatory basic health insurance program (iMED) for all new international students as a condition of registering as a student (Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada are excluded). iMED covers emergency hospitalization and medical services (including doctor's visits) for sickness or injury.

All new international students who pay international tuition fees, as well as international exchange students and students in the Tec de Monterrey and Ritsumeikan University UBC Joint Academic programs, are automatically assessed the following fees (subject to change):

Coverage period: New international students are automatically covered for the three-month waiting period before they become eligible for BC's Medical Services Plan (MSP), with the exception of one-term exchange students, who are covered by iMED for the duration of their exchange because they are not eligible for MSP.

The iMED fee will be assessed before the start of classes and will be listed online as a student fee.

One-term exchange students cannot change their dates; they can purchase additional days of coverage directly from GuardMe@UBC if they arrive in BC before, or leave after, the dates indicated above.

For visiting international research students: A monthly rate is only available for international students conducting research full-time at the University under the supervision of a UBC faculty member. The student can be either enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate, or graduate-equivalent program at another university or can be a participant in a UBC-recognized “bridging” program through Go Global. A fraction of a month will be considered a full month. A default coverage start date is set for visiting international research students, and student can request a date change as needed.

For all other international students: iMED covers the three-month waiting period before eligibility for MSP, from the time a student leaves home (up to ten days prior to arrival, provided the arrival date is within the iMED coverage dates) until the student's MSP eligibility date. iMED coverage will begin upon arrival in Canada, with the earliest arrival date being August 10 (Term 1), December 10 (Term 2), April 10 (Summer Term 1), or June 10 (Summer Term 2). The iMED fee for the three-month period will be assessed when a student registers and will be listed online as a student fee.

For students arriving in BC up to one month before iMED coverage is due to start, please contact GuardMe@UBC to purchase Early Arrival coverage.

If you plan to arrive at UBC after your insurance coverage start date, you must submit a Date Change Request to update your coverage to match your arrival date. To request a date change, visit GuardMe@UBC and select the Date Change request tab. If you are an International Degree Seeking Student please use the corresponding tab to complete the form by the deadlines below.
 

If you are a Go Global or VIRS student, please use the corresponding tab on the www.guardme/ubc site to complete the form 3 weeks before your arrival.

Fee-freezing: Any iMED fee assessed to a student's account will be "frozen" on the last day to withdraw from classes without a "W" standing. If a student withdraws from classes after the fee-freeze date and was not in Canada at any time during the coverage period, they may contact International Student Advising to request the removal of the iMED fee from their UBC student account. Incoming Exchange, VIRS, and UBC-Tec de Monterrey Joint Academic Program students need to contact the GO Global office to request the removal of the iMED fee. Those who fail to do so will be required to pay the iMED fee. The request for removing the iMED fee must be received before the expiry date of the insurance policy.

Adding family members: Students may add dependents to their iMED plan. For more information and application forms, visit GuardMe@UBC.

Opting out: Students who are covered by MSP or an equivalent health plan approved by GuardMe may be eligible to opt out of the GuardMe Enhanced@UBC iMED plan. To opt out, students must complete the online opt-out application and provide proof of equivalent coverage. For the current list of approved equivalent health plans and instructions on how to submit an opt-out request, please visit the GuardMe Opt-Out page.