Visiting Canada
Health coverage for your time in Canada.
Visitors aren't covered by Canada's provincial health plans, and a single hospital stay can cost thousands. Get emergency medical coverage for a short visit, a working holiday or a Super Visa stay.
Which one are you?
Find your kind of stay.
Your reason for being in Canada changes what your coverage has to do. Start with the one that fits.
Visiting or touring
- A few days to a few months — tourists, family visits and business trips
- Covers emergency medical care while you're in Canada
- The Government of Canada recommends at least $100,000 in coverage
Working holiday, work permit or new to Canada
- IEC permits require coverage for medical care, hospitalization and repatriation
- Insure your whole stay — your permit can be cut short to match your policy
- New to Canada? Stay covered until your provincial plan starts
Parents or grandparents
- At least $100,000 in emergency medical coverage
- Valid for at least one year from the date of entry
- Must cover health care, hospitalization and repatriation
Studying in Canada
- Plans built for international students
- Check whether your school or province already covers you
The reality check
What it costs without coverage.
Visitors pay Canadian hospitals directly, usually up front, at non-resident rates.
Published 2025–2026 non-resident hospital rates. Costs vary by province and facility.
One night in intensive care can top $14,000.
A full year of coverage costs a fraction of that.
What's included
What's covered.
Emergency medical coverage anywhere in Canada, for all ages — and worldwide, as long as most of your trip is in Canada.
- Hospital care and treatment for injuries and illnesses, including COVID-19
- Doctor's services, ambulance, x-rays and lab tests
- Prescription drugs and medical supplies like crutches
- Physio and other professional services for an acute emergency
- Emergency dental
- Maternity care, delivery and complications
- Emergency air transportation, pre-approved and arranged for you
- Airfare home for treatment, and return of companions and children
- Family transportation, meals and accommodation
- Up to 5 follow-up visits within 14 days of your emergency
Worth adding when you quote
Shape your plan around your stay.
TuGo's first screen asks you to pick Visitors to Canada (comprehensive) or Basic Visitors to Canada. Basic is cheaper but doesn't cover pre-existing conditions, side trips outside Canada or add-ons. Then you'll see these choices:
Coverage amount
Choose $10,000 up to $300,000. Super Visa needs at least $100,000; older visitors often choose more.
Sports & Activities
Most activities are already covered. Add this for higher-risk ones like backcountry skiing, heli-skiing or deep diving.
Choose your deductible
Choose from $0 up to $10,000. $0 means nothing out of pocket; a higher deductible lowers your premium.
Pre-existing conditions
Stable conditions can be covered. How long they must be stable depends on your age — check at quote.
Match your full stay
Choose the exact length you'll be here. For IEC and Super Visa, cover the whole permit or year.
Extend while you're here
Staying longer? Extend your coverage through my.tugo.com before your policy ends.
Sports & Activities
Here for the mountains? Cover them.
Most travel plans quietly exclude the big stuff. TuGo's Sports & Activities add-on covers it, up to your full medical limit. Skiing and riding on marked runs are already covered without it.
No separate sports sub-limit.
You pay for the highest-priced activity only. Every activity you add is covered.
Covered while you practise, train or compete.
Runs for your full policy, so buy your whole stay at once.
Backcountry skiing & snowboarding
Unmarked, unpatrolled terrain: side-country, slack-country, off-piste.
Downhill mountain biking
Lift-served trails with jumps, drops and rock gardens.
Freestyle comps
Moguls, half-pipe, slopestyle and terrain-park competitions.
Mountaineering
Ropes, ice axes, crampons and anchors.
Rock climbing
Bouldering, trad, sport and canyoning. Not indoor walls.
Ice climbing
Frozen waterfalls and ice falls.
High-risk snowmobiling
High-marking, racing or unguided backcountry riding.
Skydiving & paragliding
Skydiving, BASE, hang gliding and paragliding.
Buy once, or in pieces?
The sports charge is added to every policy you buy. Move the slider to see what splitting your stay costs.
Based on a real TuGo quote: a 22-year-old with backcountry skiing and downhill mountain biking pays a $270 sports charge per policy. Twelve months in one policy was $1,646; two 6-month policies were about $1,905. Policies bought after you arrive also start with a waiting period.
Get my exact price →Where in Canada?
Heading somewhere specific?
What to know — and which activities to cover — for Canada's most popular spots.
Before you buy
Can you apply?
At the time of application, you're eligible if all of these are true.
- You know of no reason you may need medical attention.
- You're a visitor or foreign worker with valid legal status, an international student, an immigrant waiting for provincial coverage, or a Canadian returning from extended leave who isn't yet covered by a provincial plan.
- You're not travelling against a doctor's advice.
- You haven't been diagnosed with a terminal condition.
- You're not receiving, or recommended for, palliative care.
- You don't have COPD, including emphysema, that requires home oxygen.
- You don't have pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, or any cancer that has spread or requires a bone marrow transplant.
- You don't have kidney disease requiring dialysis.
- You haven't had, and aren't waiting for, an organ transplant.
- You haven't been diagnosed with congestive heart failure.
Your quote, step by step
Every screen you'll see, in order.
Here's exactly what TuGo asks, and what to choose. Real example: a 22-year-old Australian on a one-year IEC permit in BC, $100,000 coverage, $0 deductible.
- 1
Trip details
Country you're coming from, province you're going to, your arrival date, your coverage dates and your birthdate. You'll also be asked if you're a student.
Tip: Buy before you arrive. Buy after arriving and a waiting period applies (48 hours, or 7 days if it's been 61+ days), and you lose the 10-day refund.
- 2
Pick your plan
Visitors to Canada is the comprehensive plan. Basic Visitors to Canada is cheaper but skips pre-existing conditions, side trips and add-ons. Most long-stay visitors choose Visitors to Canada.
- 3
Coverage amount and deductible
Choose $10,000 to $300,000, then a deductible from $0 to $10,000. Our example: $100,000 with a $0 deductible is $1,376 for 12 months.
- 4
Sports & Activities
Type each activity you'll do (for example backcountry skiing, downhill mountain biking), pick it from the list, then tick each traveller doing it. You pay only for the highest-priced activity, once per policy. In our example it adds $270, for $1,646 total.
Tip: Insure the whole season in one policy. Two 6-month policies cost about $1,905 because the sports charge applies to each policy — roughly $260 more.
- 5
Medical questions (age 60+)
Visitors 60 and over answer a short medical questionnaire before a price appears. Answer carefully — an inaccurate answer means a US$15,000 deductible on any claim.
- 6
Extras, review and pay
Optional: trip interruption and AD&D. Check every name, birthdate and date, then pay. Not ready? Your quote is saved for 30 days and can be emailed to you.
What happens after you buy
One email. Everything you need.
Minutes after you pay, TuGo emails your policy with three documents attached — plus a few extras most travellers don't know they get.
Policy Declaration
Your policy number, dates, who's covered, every plan and option you chose, and what you paid. Keep it — it's also your receipt for tax purposes.
Digital Coverage Card
Add it to your phone. One tap dials emergency assistance, and US clinics in the UnitedHealthcare network recognise it.
Policy Wording
The full contract. Read it before you travel — especially the exclusions and the pre-existing condition rules.
Included free
- myTuGo account to change, extend or claim online
- Free 3GB eSIM (MySIM)
- MyFlyt lounge pass or cash for 2+ hour flight delays
- 24/7 emotional support line
10-day full refund. Change your mind? Cancel within 10 days of buying for a full refund, as long as you haven't travelled or claimed.
Save the emergency number now. +1-800-533-8718 for hospitalizations. Call before you're treated whenever you can.
Check every detail. Names, birthdates and dates must be right. Call 1-855-929-8846 if anything needs fixing.
Optional add-on
Cancellation or interruption?
Trip cancellation
Something covered happens before you leave, such as illness, injury or a denied visa, and you can't go. You get back the non-refundable flights, hotels and tours you've paid for.
"I can't go at all."Trip interruption
You're already here and a covered emergency sends you home early. You're paid back for the part you missed, plus the extra cost of getting home.
"I have to go home now."Worth it? Paid for non-refundable flights or tours? Probably. Staying with family for free? You may not need it.
When you need it
How to make a claim.
Call first
Call TuGo's 24/7 assistance line before treatment whenever you can. They'll direct you to care and can pay the hospital directly.
Get pre-approval
Always call before hospital admission, surgery or an air ambulance.
Keep every receipt
Save receipts, invoices and medical reports. You'll need them to claim.
Submit your claim
File in myTuGo with your documents, or email claims@tugo.com.
Good to know
Common questions
Does this meet Super Visa requirements?
How much coverage should I buy?
Are pre-existing medical conditions covered?
Should I buy my whole season at once, or a few months at a time?
Can I extend my coverage if I stay longer?
What do I do in an emergency?
Travel under our wing.
Ready when you are.
Get your quote in a few minutes on TuGo's secure site. Questions first? Sky can help — in English or French.