Settling in Newfoundland and Labrador

The public plan is the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Care Plan (MCP), and every resident must register with it to be covered.

A "resident" must be lawfully entitled to be in Canada, make their home in the province and be ordinarily present there; tourists, transients and visitors are excluded.

Applicants register in one of five groups: Canadian citizens, permanent residents, international workers, international students, and Ukrainians under CUAET or SFRSP.

Permanent residents apply with the application form plus a copy of their PR card (both sides) or their Confirmation of Permanent Residence.

A permanent resident's first MCP registration lasts one year, then up to five years at a time.

A permanent resident who only has an old Record of Landing and has applied to IRCC for a PR document may get short-term interim coverage.

General international workers need a work permit valid for at least 12 months and an employer letter confirming full-time work of at least 12 months in the province.

Provincial Nominee Program participants (and, under identical wording, Atlantic Immigration Program participants) need a work permit valid for at least 6 months, a 6-month full-time employer letter and a letter from the Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism.

A worker's coverage starts once the application is approved, from the later of the arrival date and the start of full-time work, and lasts up to one year at a time.

A student's coverage starts on the latest of the approval date, the arrival date and the effective date of the documents.

Spouses and children of international workers (and, in the same wording, of students and permanent residents) may be covered if they live at the same address, for no longer than the main applicant.

In some cases the dependants of people who are not eligible can still be accepted.

Not eligible: refugee claimants, workers and students whose permits do not meet MCP criteria, and tourists, transients and visitors (each with their dependants).

Registration is free, and forms go to MCP by mail, fax, email or a 24-hour drop slot (MCP offices in St. John's and Grand Falls-Windsor take no walk-ins).

Complete applications usually get an answer in about two weeks, and an MCP card is then mailed.

MCP does not pay for the immigration medical exam that IRCC may require.

Online MCP services (MyGovNL) are not available to permanent residents or to people registered under work, study or visitor permits.

The only waiting period MCP's application form describes is for people moving from another province or territory (the rest of the arrival month plus two months, covered by the old plan); it states none for arrivals from outside Canada.

The form asks non-Canadians for their IRCC document and passport, plus (since arrival) a school letter for students or an employer letter for workers, or else the PR card.

New residents must exchange their licence for a Newfoundland and Labrador licence within three months of becoming residents.

An appointment with Motor Registration is needed for the exchange.

The foreign licence is handed in when you apply (you can ask for a certified copy).

Licences from the United States are exchanged without a written, vision or road test.

Licences from reciprocity countries are also exchanged without a written, vision or road test.

The reciprocity table lists Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Korea, Ukraine and Denmark under "Class 5 only", and France, the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Japan, Taiwan and Belgium under "Class 5 and Class 6 (motorcycle)", as the table appears in the page's HTML.

Commercial classes cannot be transferred from a foreign licence, although a driver abstract earns credit for non-commercial experience.

Drivers from all other countries must pass written, vision and road tests and enter the Graduated Driver Licence Program.

Those drivers can skip the graduated program's wait between Class 5i and 5ii if they surrender a valid foreign licence.

Applicants from outside Canada must prove legal presence in Canada.

A licence in a language other than English or French needs an English translation; the Association for New Canadians in St. John's offers translation.

Non-residents can drive a vehicle without registering it in the province for up to 3 months.

Students attend the school zoned for where they live, unless provincial rules or the Department of Education allow otherwise.

Families find their zoned school with NLSchools' School Bus Planner tool.

For a first enrolment, families give proof of the child's name, date of birth, MCP number and address and, where applicable, citizenship and custody, and complete a Student Data Form.

A child who is not a Canadian citizen must meet eligibility criteria, which include being the child of a permanent resident or of a lawfully admitted temporary resident, or holding a study permit.

The listed criteria are: child of a Canadian citizen; child of a permanent resident or landed immigrant; child of a lawfully admitted permanent or temporary resident; or a study permit.

Students arriving from outside the province are placed by age and previous schooling, case by case for grades K to 9.

International (fee-paying) K-12 students apply through NLSchools or the Conseil scolaire francophone provincial, and need a study permit if the program is longer than 6 months.

Settlement information is on the Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism's Settlement pages (Department of Jobs, Growth and Rural Development), covering language, education, health care, housing, transportation, banking and meeting people.

The province funds community organizations through the Newfoundland and Labrador Settlement and Integration Program (NLSIP) to help newcomers settle and stay.

The office's 2025-2026 partner list says its funded partners help newcomers before and after arrival with settlement support and employment resources (contact settlement@gov.nl.ca).

The Association for New Canadians is listed among the funded partners for settlement services, ESL classes, housing and employment support.