Insuring the spouse and children of an international student

A student’s spouse and children are insured on their own immigration status, and since 21 January 2025 fewer spouses get an open work permit. IRCC’s spouse page, modified 3 February 2026, limits it to spouses of students in master’s programs of 16 months or longer, doctoral programs, listed professional degrees and specific eligible programs. In Ontario, dependants join UHIP at $1,896 or $2,844 a year. The steps below cover permits, provincial plans and the gap.

Before you start

Gather the student’s study permit, letter of acceptance or proof of enrolment showing the program and its length, and each family member’s passport and relationship proof. Note the study permit expiry, because the spouse’s permit will usually match it. Time needed: an hour to map eligibility, then the permit applications online with a fee per person, the university’s dependant enrolment and a private quote.

Steps

1. Confirm the program qualifies for a spousal open work permit. Eligible: master’s of 16 months or more, any doctoral program, and the professional degrees IRCC lists: DDS and DMD, LLB, JD and BCL, MD, OD, PharmD, BS, BSc and BPharm, DVM, BScN, BSN, BNSc and BN, BEd, and BEng, BE and BASc. Plus listed pilots such as the Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot. College diplomas and most bachelor’s programs do not qualify, per Littler’s summary of the January 2025 change.
2. Apply for the spouse’s open work permit with proof of enrolment, program participation where relevant, and relationship proof. Expect validity “for the same period of time” as the study permit.
3. Decide each child’s document. A minor coming with a study-permit parent needs a study permit, per IRCC’s minor children page. A child already in Canada with that parent does not, but IRCC recommends one, and it can unlock social services in some provinces.
4. Map each family member against the province’s rule in the table below.
5. Buy a private visitors-to-Canada plan before the flight for every family member, running from landing to the first day of UHIP, the school plan or the provincial plan plus a few days. GMS and TuGo waive the illness waiting period only when the policy is bought before arrival.
6. In Ontario, add dependants to UHIP through the university’s international office in the first week. UHIP starts on the later of arrival or the 10th of the month before term; see the study permit page.
7. Where a spouse has a qualifying job, apply to the provincial plan in their own right. In Ontario that is a full-time job with an Ontario employer for at least six months, per the OHIP page, with no waiting period.
8. Diarize the study permit expiry. The spouse’s work permit and any dependant coverage end with it, and renewal needs the student still enrolled full-time and not in the final term.

UHIP family tiers in Ontario

Source: Moving2Canada, reporting the 20% increase. UHIP covers hospital and physician services; drugs, dental and vision come from student union extended plans. Ontario colleges run separate plans with their own family rates.

How each province treats a student’s family

The gap case is a spouse whose program no longer supports an open work permit. That spouse arrives on a visitor record, is excluded from most provincial plans, and in Ontario depends on being added to UHIP. If the university’s plan does not take a visitor-record spouse, or the student is at a college with a different plan, the spouse needs private cover for the whole stay.

Parents of a student

No student plan, UHIP tier or provincial plan covers a visiting parent. A parent on a visitor visa needs a visitor plan for the stay, bought before the flight. A super visa needs a host who is a citizen or permanent resident with income at or above LICO, so a student on a study permit cannot host one; see insurance for parents visiting Canada.

If something goes wrong

The spouse’s work permit is refused: they can often enter as a visitor, but lose eligibility for most provincial plans; insure privately and ask the university whether a visitor-record spouse can join the student plan. UHIP enrolment for dependants is missed: coverage for them does not backdate; a private plan covers the weeks until the next enrolment date. The student drops to part-time: the spouse’s permit cannot be extended, and the family’s coverage ends with the study permit; buy private cover before that date.

SuperVisaDirect is operated by Super Visa Direct Insurance Services, an independent Ontario life and accident-and-sickness insurance agency licensed by FSRA (licence [FSRA-LICENCE]), serving Ontario residents. Get a quote with each family member’s status, arrival date and the first day of school coverage. The pre-arrival checklist sets out the order of steps.