AnkyroWho it’s forStudents abroad
Student health insurance your visa accepts.
Australia wants OSHC, the UK a £776 surcharge, Germany a public fund until 30. Each country has its own rule. Here they are, side by side.
The facts
The rules and numbers that matter for you.
Checked against official sources and insurers’ own documents on 23 October 2026. Terms change, so the broker confirms them again before you apply.
- UK: £776 a year, paid with the visa
Student visa applicants pay the Immigration Health Surcharge of £776 for each year, so £1,552 for 2 years. A course of 6 months or less, applied for from outside the UK, pays nothing.
Source: gov.uk - Australia: OSHC for the whole visa
Keeping Overseas Student Health Cover is a visa condition. It pays up to $50 per medicine and $500 a year for a single policy. Dental, optical and physio are not included.
Source: privatehealth.gov.au - Germany: student rate until 30
Under 30, students pay a reduced public rate of about 120 to 130 euros a month. At 30 you pay the standard rate, even if still studying. Choose private and you can’t switch back to public during your studies.
Source: daad.de - US J-1: set minimums by law
J-1 students need at least $100,000 per illness or accident, $50,000 for medical evacuation and $25,000 for repatriation, with a deductible of no more than $500.
Source: law.cornell.edu - US universities: auto-enrolled unless you waive
At UC Berkeley, every student is enrolled in the school plan. To waive it, international students need a plan with a full English policy in US dollars, $50,000 for evacuation and $25,000 for repatriation.
Source: uhs.berkeley.edu - Netherlands: study only means no Dutch policy
Students who only study are not allowed to take Dutch public basic insurance. EU students use the EHIC, others a home or private plan. Any job, even part-time, changes that and you must take Dutch insurance.
Source: studyinnl.org - Canada, BC: 6-month permits can join MSP
In British Columbia, study permit holders with a permit valid for 6 months or more may count as residents for the public plan, MSP. Each province sets its own rules.
Source: www2.gov.bc.ca - Portugal: no policy needed for university students
The official visa checklist exempts higher education students admitted to a recognised institution from showing health insurance.
Source: vistos.mne.gov.pt
UK and Australia: the visa sorts it, mostly
In the UK you don’t buy a policy for your visa. You pay the Immigration Health Surcharge when you apply, £776 for each year of a student visa. From the day your visa starts, you use the NHS like a resident. Prescriptions, dental care and eye tests still cost extra.
Australia works the other way. You must buy Overseas Student Health Cover and keep it for the whole visa. If payments fall behind, claims for that time may not be paid. Students from Sweden, Norway and Belgium may be exempt under their home schemes.
In both countries, the required cover leaves gaps. OSHC pays little for medicines and nothing for dental or physio. The NHS can mean long waits for specialists. Some students add a private plan for these, but it is optional.
Germany: public until 30, then it gets harder
Everyone in Germany must be insured, students included. Under 30, you join a public fund at the student rate, about 120 to 130 euros a month. Every public fund must offer a basic plan.
The age 30 rule is the trap. From 30 you pay the full standard contribution, even mid-degree. DAAD notes this is often much dearer than a private student plan. But choose private, and you can’t go back to public while you study.
EU students with public insurance at home can usually keep it, using the EHIC. You need a certificate from a German public fund saying you don’t have to join. A paid internship or part-time job can change that.
United States: the university plan is the default
Most US universities enrol you in their own student plan and add it to your bill. To leave it, you file a waiver showing your own plan meets their rules. Miss the deadline and you pay. At UC Berkeley, a waiver filed late in 2026 cost a $75 fee, and none were accepted after 15 August.
The waiver rules are strict. Berkeley wants a plan that covers the 10 essential health benefits, including mental health and maternity. International students also need a full policy in English with benefits in US dollars, $50,000 for evacuation and $25,000 for repatriation. Check a travel plan against every line before you file.
J-1 students have a federal floor on top: $100,000 per illness or accident and a deductible of no more than $500. A waiver lasts 1 year at Berkeley, so you apply again each autumn.
Netherlands and Canada: it depends what you do
In the Netherlands, students who only study can’t join the Dutch public system. You stay on your home insurance or a private plan. The moment you take a part-time job, Dutch basic insurance becomes compulsory, and paid internships have their own rules since 1 September 2025.
Canada leaves health care to each province. In British Columbia, a study permit of 6 months or more can count you as a resident for MSP. There is a wait: the rest of the month you arrive, plus 2 more months. BC tells newcomers to arrange private cover for that gap.
Ontario’s OHIP lists citizens, permanent residents and some work permit holders, but not study permits. So the same student can be in the public plan in Vancouver and outside it in Toronto. Check your province before you buy anything.
What a student plan should cover
Start with the rule for your country and school. Then look at what that rule leaves out. Mental health is a big one: Berkeley requires counselling cover for a waiver, but many cheap plans cap it or leave it out.
Think about where you’ll be. Trips home in the holidays, a semester exchange, a ski trip in winter. Some plans stop at the border, and some exclude winter sports.
Bring your visa letter or your university’s waiver page to Ankyro. We match the plan to the exact wording, so it passes the first time.
What to look for
4 things that matter most for you.
Ankyro checks each of these on every plan, so you don’t have to read the fine print.
- It passes your school’s waiver
In the US, check the plan against your university’s list: essential health benefits, evacuation, repatriation, English policy in US dollars.
- It covers the gaps in your country’s plan
OSHC leaves out dental and physio. The NHS charges for prescriptions. Germany drops the student rate at 30. Fill the gap that matters to you.
- Mental health and counselling
Check the yearly limit for therapy sessions. Some student plans cap it very low or leave it out.
- Cover from the day you land
BC’s public plan has a wait of 2 to 3 months, and BC itself tells you to buy private cover for it. The policy should start the day you arrive.
Common mistakes
3 we see all the time.
- 01Going private in Germany without thinking ahead. Once you choose a private plan, you can’t move back to the public student rate while you study.
- 02Missing the US waiver deadline. At Berkeley that meant a $75 fee, then no waiver at all after 15 August.
- 03Taking a part-time job in the Netherlands on student insurance. Work makes Dutch basic insurance compulsory from day 1.
Questions
People also ask.
Do international students need health insurance?+
Almost always. Australia requires OSHC. The UK charges a £776 yearly surcharge for the NHS. Germany requires all students to be insured. US universities enrol you in their plan unless you waive it.
How much is the UK health surcharge for students?+
£776 for each year of your visa. A visa of 6 to 12 months counts as a full year. Courses of 6 months or less, applied for from outside the UK, pay nothing.
Can I use my own insurance instead of my US university’s plan?+
Yes, if it meets your school’s waiver rules. At UC Berkeley, international students need a plan with all 10 essential benefits, $50,000 evacuation and $25,000 repatriation.
What happens to German student health insurance at 30?+
The reduced student rate ends and you pay the standard public contribution, even if you are still studying. It is often more than a private student plan.
Can international students get OHIP in Ontario?+
Study permits are not on Ontario’s OHIP eligibility list, so plan on private or university cover. British Columbia is different: permits of 6 months or more may qualify for MSP.
Also on Ankyro
Not quite you?
The NHS and Medicare don’t follow you abroad, and some visas turn down the wrong policy. Here’s what stops when you leave, and what a good expat plan needs.
02Remote workersMost “nomad insurance” is travel cover you can renew. Spain won’t accept that for its nomad visa, and Thailand’s DTV asks for nothing. Here’s how to pick.
03Families abroadMaternity cover starts 10 to 12 months after you buy, and a newborn has to be added within weeks. Here are the real rules from insurers’ own pages, and how to plan around them.
04Retiring abroadYour retirement visa may set a minimum. Insurers set an age limit to join. Medicare stays at home. Here are the rules, country by country.
05Health conditionsDiabetes, asthma, a past operation. How the insurer checks your health decides what it pays. Here is how the 2 main methods work, with real wording.