Please note that students covered by private health insurance are not exempt from the McGill plan.

  1. Students who meet certain criteria may be eligible for an exemption from McGill's International Health Insurance plan. The list of exemption categories can be found under Eligibility for Exemption.
  2. Exemption requests must be done on Minerva by specified deadlines.
  3. Exemptions are valid for one academic year only and must be renewed each subsequent year.

Requesting an Exemption:

Step 1: Requesting on Minerva

  1. Log on to Minerva using your student ID.
  2. Go to the Student tab.
  3. Click on International Health Insurance Menu (for students).
  4. Click on Confirm IHI Coverage.
  5. Select Request an exemption from the default coverage
  6. WARNING: Please do not select "Termination of Insurance", "Reassessment" or "Not exempt" in Step 5.

Step 2: Uploading Supporting Documents

Once you have filed for an exemption on Minerva, you need to upload documents supporting your request for exemption. You may follow the following instructions to upload your supporting documents:

  1. Log on to International Health Insurance Portal using your student email ID.
    Warning: Do not use an email alias to login.
  2. Select the Management of Exemptions option.
  3. Fill all the relevant details in the form such as document type and create a ticket. 
  1. Documents must be submitted in either:
    • Tagged image format (.tif, .tiff) for scanned images, or
    • Standard PDF format (.pdf)
  2. Encrypted PDF files are not accepted.

Supporting Documents for Each Exemption Category: 

Social Security Agreement Countries

The following countries have social security agreements:

  • Danish Flag Denmark
  • Finnish Flag Finland
  • French Flag France
  • Luxembourgish Flag Luxembourg
  • Norwegian Flag Norway
  • Portuguese Flag Portugal
  • Swedish Flag Sweden
  • Belgian Flag Belgium
  • Serbian Flag Serbia
  • Romanian Flag Romania
  • Greek Flag Greece

Eligible Documents:

  1. RAMQ confirmation letter showing your coverage start and end dates is required by McGill to confirm your exemption.
  2. RAMQ card may be accepted if submitted by the end of the first month of each new term.

Useful Information:

  1. Review the 5 essentials for registering for Québec health coverage (RAMQ).
  2. You must complete the registration process after arriving in Canada:
    1. You can only register once you are physically in Canada.
    2. Due to RAMQ processing delays, consider keeping McGill International Health Insurance while waiting for RAMQ coverage.
Sponsored Students and Award Recipients

This section applies to students sponsored or awarded by the following organizations:

  • Canadian Flag Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE)
  • Canadian Flag Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
  • Canadian Flag International Council for Canadian Studies (ICCS)
  • Saudi Arabian Flag Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau (SACB)
  • German Flag German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

Eligible Document(s):

  1. Sponsored students and Award recipients must present:
    1. an insurance card and
    2. letter from their sponsor indicating the start and end date of the coverage.

Useful Information:

  1. For students with SACB, you will need your Saudi ID # and date of birth to access this website to get the confirmation of coverage including dates of coverage available on the SACB website.
Diplomatic Status
Eligible Document(s)
Type of Diplomatic Status Document What to Submit?
Diplomatic cardA scan of your diplomatic card.
Diplomatic visa in passport
  1. A scan of diplomatic visa AND a valid RAMQ card or a letter from RAMQ, or
  2. A scan of diplomatic visa AND a private insurance confirmation letter within the last 3 months, clearly indicating the name of the student and dates of coverage.
Non-residents (thesis-away or term away from McGill University)

If you are an international student residing outside of Canada (i.e. not physically in Canada), you may request an insurance exemption. 

Eligible Document(s)
Student TypeEligible Documents
Graduate Students
  1. An email/letter from yourself indicating that you are completing your thesis abroad including specific dates that you will be residing outside of Canada;
  2. An email/letter from your supervisor or Graduate Program Director to ISS containing
    1. your name,
    2. ID# and
    3. acknowledgement that you are completing your thesis abroad and specifying the dates that you will be outside of Canada (i.e. September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025);
Undergraduate Students
  1. Your transcript which must indicate that you are on exchange or term-away status.
  2. If your transcripts indicate this, you must request an exemption on Minerva and select the 'non-resident' category
RAMQ coverage or other provincial coverage
Eligible Document(s)
Type of Provincial CoverageEligible Documents
Québec (RAMQ coverage)
  1. The RAMQ confirmation letter indicating your coverage start and end date.
  2. A RAMQ card could be accepted if it is submitted by end of the first month of each new term.
Any other provincial coverage other than from Québec.A coverage card is accepted.
Online Graduate Certificates offered by McGill University's School of Physical and Occupational Therapy

If you do decide to come to Canada during the duration of your online program, even for vacation purposes, you must contact international.health [at] mcgill.ca (ISS).

If you are an international student participating in one of the following programs:

  1. Graduate Certificate in Driving Rehabilitation
  2. Graduate Certificate in Chronic Pain Management

and residing outside of Canada (i.e. not physically in Canada), you may request an insurance exemption. 

Eligible Document(s):

  1. An email from yourself indicating that you are completing [the name of the program], including specific program dates, outside of Canada.
Refugee Status

Eligible Document(s):

  1. Proof of Interim Federal Health Program.
  2. RAMQ card (within the first 30 days of the term) or RAMQ confirmation letter
  1. Please ensure that the supporting documentation that you are submitting clearly indicates a coverage date that begins:
    1. September 1st or earlier for the fall term,
    2. January 1st or earlier for the winter term and,
    3. May 1st or earlier for the summer term.

Step 3: Supplemental Coverage

  1. Students who opt out of the Medavie Blue Cross IHI plan and obtain RAMQ coverage are strongly encouraged to enroll in a Supplemental Health Plan:
    1. Undergraduate students:
      1. Downtown campus: Studentcare SSMU
      2. Macdonald Campus: Studentcare MCSS
    2. Graduate students: Studentcare PGSS
  2. If you are not covered by any insurance, you will be requested to pay upfront for all medical services, including at the McGill Health Clinics and Montreal hospitals.

Related Content:

Eligibility for Exemptions
Exemption Deadlines