Settling in British Columbia

Holders of study permits or work permits (including Working Holiday permits) valid for six months or more may be deemed residents and covered.

The work permit or study permit used to enrol must be valid for six months or longer.

Spouses, children and dependent post-secondary students of an MSP beneficiary are covered as dependents if they are B.C. residents.

A spouse or child of a main applicant who holds work, study or religious worker status can enrol on a visitor record without any special designation on it.

International students on a study permit of six months or more must enrol in MSP and pay the International Student Health Fee of $75 a month, and this includes K-12 international students.

Only family members who hold their own study permit of six months or longer pay the student health fee; a non-student spouse does not.

Tourists and visitors are not residents for MSP purposes.

New residents wait for the rest of the month in which residence is established plus two more months before coverage starts.

The wait period can start later than arrival, for example when someone arrives as a visitor and later gets a status that qualifies for MSP.

Each family member has a separate wait period based on that person's own arrival date.

For people arriving from Ukraine (including under CUAET), the wait period is waived for eligible returning Canadians, permanent residents and deemed residents; this waiver is specific to arrivals from Ukraine.

Newcomers should apply as soon as they arrive rather than waiting for the wait period to end.

Applications can be made online, by mail with the paper form, or in person at any Service BC location.

Applicants must provide images of documents showing the name, date of birth and citizenship or immigration status of everyone applying.

Permanent residents can use their record of landing or their permanent resident card (front and back).

Adult permanent residents finish enrolment by getting a photo BC Services Card at an ICBC driver licensing office.

Temporary document holders and people under 18 and a half receive a non-photo BC Services Card by mail.

People arriving from outside Canada should arrange private health insurance before they arrive and keep it until MSP starts.

The province warns that most private insurers do not cover pre-existing conditions, including pregnancy.

Medical and hospital care received before MSP starts must be paid in full unless the person has other insurance.

A waiver of the wait period exists but is approved only in the most serious and exceptional cases.

ICBC (Insurance Corporation of British Columbia), which issues B.C. licences, gives new residents from outside Canada 90 days after moving to switch to a B.C. licence.

A newcomer can drive on the current foreign licence for up to 90 days.

The 90-day rule does not apply to tourists staying up to six months or to full-time students at a designated B.C. institution with a valid student exemption.

Licences from some countries can be exchanged without additional testing; licences from other countries need a knowledge test and a road test.

ICBC's licence exchange list covers Austria, Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea (not motorcycles), Switzerland, Taiwan (not motorcycles), the United Kingdom and the United States, plus every Canadian province and territory.

The exchange-list tab itself says knowledge testing is waived for passenger licences and most motorcycle licences from those jurisdictions (see the note under "Not confirmed").

Holders of a licence from a country not on the list can still get a B.C. licence but must pass a knowledge test and a road test within the same 90 days.

ICBC recommends starting early, because the knowledge test comes first and road test appointments may take time.

Applicants must surrender every driver's licence they hold when they apply, because only one licence can be held in B.C.

Most Government of Canada immigration documents are accepted as primary identification, along with secondary identification.

Translations, when ICBC asks for them, must be done by an ICBC-approved translator.

Only B.C. residents can apply for or hold a B.C. driver's licence.

All children aged 5 to 16 in B.C. must get an education.

The province's newcomer site states that public school education is free.

Registration needs documents showing the child's date of birth, the family's resident status in B.C. and the address, plus the child's immunization record.

Some schools have Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) to help newcomer families.

Under School Act section 82, free schooling is for a student who, with the student's guardian, is ordinarily resident in B.C.

Refugee claimants and people who applied for permanent residence from within Canada can be ordinarily resident if other ties to the community exist.

A person in Canada on a time-limited basis who has taken no steps toward permanent residence is usually not ordinarily resident.

The ministry funds school-age children of refugee claimants whose claims are not yet decided.

The ministry funds children whose guardian is authorized to work for one year or more and works, or will work, at least 20 hours a week.

The ministry funds children whose guardian is authorized to study for one year or more in a degree or diploma program at a public B.C. post-secondary institution, or a degree program at a private one.

Boards should not charge tuition for students who meet these criteria.

Students who do not qualify (for example children of visitors) are classed as out-of-province or international students, receive no provincial funding, and districts may charge them fees.

The Vancouver School Board (the largest district) says a child of a qualifying work permit holder or study permit holder does not need the child's own study permit.

The Vancouver School Board charges tuition when no parent or legal guardian lives in B.C. full time.

WelcomeBC covers living in B.C. (healthcare, child care, housing), working (SIN, credential recognition, job search) and studying, and links to the B.C. Newcomers' Guide.

Provincially funded newcomer services are free and confidential, and are often offered in the newcomer's preferred language.

Permanent residents use federally funded services, which the B.C. page points to alongside the provincial programs.

The BC Newcomer Services Program serves temporary workers, international post-secondary students (where their school offers no such services), provincial nominees awaiting a PR decision and naturalized citizens.

BC Newcomer Services Program providers offer orientation to life in B.C., English practice, community connections, job search help and emergency counselling, in person and online.

Refugee claimants get specialized help through BC Safe Haven.

Career Paths for Skilled Immigrants helps permanent residents find jobs that match their skills.

The province publishes a B.C. Newcomers' Guide (2025 edition) in digital and print form.