How do I get Québec health insurance when I arrive from outside Québec?

General information, not medical advice. As soon as you arrive in Québec, you can register for the RAMQ health insurance plan if you meet the eligibility conditions that match your status (person settling in Québec or person on a temporary stay). Your coverage usually starts after a waiting period of up to 3 months, even if you are a Canadian citizen. The waiting period does not apply to children under 18. During this period, the RAMQ does not reimburse care, and it strongly recommends taking private insurance as soon as you arrive. In most cases, you register online.

Estimate your situation

RAMQ Quebec calculator: waiting period, contributions, coverage ↗ Tool offered by ITAG

Demande au Québec is published by ITAG, which also offers these tools. They give an estimate, not an official decision. Some require creating an account, free or paid depending on the tool. This link is not a source.

Key facts

Waiting period

Up to 3 months, even with Canadian citizenship. It does not apply to children under 18.

Missing documents

12 months from the registration date to submit them; otherwise the start of eligibility is delayed.

Presence rule

Person settling in Québec: stay in Québec 183 days or more per year. Person on a temporary stay: do not leave Québec for more than 21 consecutive days.

Registration

In most cases online; in some situations by phone. One form per person.

Short trip

A person travelling in Québec for 6 months or less is not eligible.

Steps

1. Check your status with the RAMQ. A person settling in Québec has their main residence in Québec, stays in Québec 183 days or more per year and has authorization to remain in Canada (Canadian citizenship, permanent residence, refugee or protected person, etc.). A person on a temporary stay has, for example, an eligible work permit, and does not leave Québec for more than 21 consecutive days.
2. If you come from another country to study, the RAMQ requires a study or internship permit from a country that has a social security agreement with Québec. Tourists are not eligible.
3. If you come from another province for temporary work of 12 months or less, you keep the coverage of your home province: contact the body responsible for its health insurance. If the contract is longer than 12 months, you register for Québec health insurance.
4. Prepare your identity documents. The RAMQ only accepts originals, for example a passport, a birth certificate issued by a Canadian civil status office or a document issued by Canadian immigration authorities. A person aged 14 to 74 without a photo on their card must provide 2 pieces of ID, including one with a photo, at a SAAQ service point or a health network service point.
5. Start your application on the RAMQ page "Register or re-register for health insurance": by answering a few questions, you get the exact steps for your situation. In most cases, you can register online; in some situations, you must phone.
6. Each member of your family fills out their own form and provides their own documents: 1 person = 1 form.
7. Count the waiting period: it starts on the date of your registration if you are in Québec and have all the required documents. You have 12 months, from the date of your registration, to submit any missing document; otherwise the start of your eligibility will be delayed.
8. During the waiting period, you pay for your care. The RAMQ recommends private insurance. Some care is free during this period (domestic, family or sexual violence; pregnancy, childbirth or termination of pregnancy; infectious diseases with an impact on public health). The RAMQ page also presents the exceptions to the waiting period.

General information drawn from official sources. It does not replace legal, medical or financial advice. For your situation, contact the organization concerned or a professional.