GMS Visitors to Canada and Super Visa Insurance

1What GMS Visitors to Canada Insurance Is

GMS Immigrants & Visitors to Canada is emergency medical insurance for people who come to Canada. It is for visitors, new immigrants, foreign workers, students and Super Visa applicants. Some GMS materials call the same plan Visitors to Canada Insurance. It is the same product under a different name.

It is not for Canadian residents travelling outside their home province. GMS sells a separate plan, TravelStar, for that. If you are the one travelling from Canada, see our travel insurance for Canadians page instead. The two plans have different eligibility lists, stability rules and exclusions, so they are not interchangeable.

Want to see GMS next to other insurers first? Compare visitors insurance quotes or compare Super Visa insurance quotes from several Canadian insurers on one page.

2Who Can Buy It

GMS uses two eligibility lists. Which one applies depends on the person’s age.

Under age 55

A person under 55 cannot be covered if they:

• Have any reason to seek medical treatment. Regular care of a chronic condition and a medical exam required for a visa do not count.
• Have ever been refused similar coverage by another Canadian insurer while in Canada
• Had more than $5,000 of medical treatment in Canada in the last 12 months

Age 55 and older

People 55 and older face the same three rules plus a longer health list, explained in the next section. Anyone 80 or older on the effective date cannot apply.

There is no scored medical questionnaire. Instead, the applicant declares that none of the items on their age list apply to them. Read every item carefully before you buy.

3Health Rules at 55 and Older

For applicants aged 55 to 79, GMS’s list includes these conditions. If any applies, the person is not eligible:

• Expecting treatment for heart disease, or waiting for tests for a heart condition
• Taking medication for heart disease while also taking insulin
• Having an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)
• Fainting or falling more than once without a diagnosis
• Using home oxygen, or taking oral steroids for a lung condition
• Being treated for cancer, or having metastatic cancer
• An untreated vascular aneurysm
• Ever having a heart valve replacement, kidney dialysis or an organ transplant
• In the last 12 months, a diagnosis, treatment or change in treatment for congestive heart failure, atrial flutter, atrial or ventricular fibrillation, peripheral vascular disease, stroke or mini-stroke (TIA), AIDS, a terminal illness, blood clots or bleeding in the stomach or bowel
• Needing help from another person with daily living, for people aged 70 and older

Cancer has no exception on this plan

GMS’s TravelStar plan for Canadians makes an exception for breast or prostate cancer treated only with hormone therapy. This visitors plan does not. Any cancer treatment, of any type, makes a person 55 or older ineligible. If your parent or grandparent has a cancer history, talk to an EGE Insurance advisor before you apply, or read our guide to Super Visa insurance with pre-existing conditions.

4Pre-Existing Conditions and the 180-Day Rule

GMS uses one stability period for every age: 180 days, measured immediately before the policy’s effective date. A pre-existing condition is judged on whether it was stable during those 180 days.

What stable means on this plan

GMS treats a medical condition as stable when, during that time, all of these are true:

• There was no reason to expect treatment for it after the effective date
• No new or different treatment was received
• No prescription was changed and no new prescription was started for it
• The condition did not get worse
• There were no new, more frequent or more severe symptoms
• No doctor visit was needed for symptoms without a diagnosis
• No hospital stay, specialist referral or follow-up visit was needed
• No tests or further investigation were done or planned for it, whether or not the results are known

Mental health counts as a medical condition

GMS’s definition of a medical condition names emotional, psychological and psychiatric conditions, as well as illness and injury. It also includes symptoms that were never diagnosed. So a mental health condition is assessed by the same stability test.

TravelStar uses a different stability test, even though both plans use 180 days. Only the Immigrants & Visitors to Canada wording applies to this plan.

5Coverage Amounts and Deductibles

You choose the amount of insurance and the deductible when you buy. Both are shown on your confirmation document.

From GMS’s brochure and benefits table. The policy wording calls the amount the policy dollar limit.

Get both choices right before coverage starts. Once the effective date has passed, GMS does not allow a change to the deductible or the policy dollar limit.

Coverage beyond 365 days needs a new application, and the person must meet every eligibility rule again.

6Using It for a Super Visa

GMS Super Visa insurance is the same Immigrants & Visitors to Canada plan. For a Super Visa, buy an amount of $100,000 or $150,000 for 365 days. The $25,000 and $50,000 amounts do not meet Super Visa requirements. Check IRCC’s current Super Visa insurance rules for your application.

• Choose the amount at purchase. It cannot be changed after the effective date.
• The Super Visa amounts are set out in GMS’s brochure and benefits table. The policy wording refers only to the policy dollar limit on your confirmation document. If an officer asks for proof of the amount, show the confirmation document and the brochure.
• If the visa is refused and the person did not travel to Canada, GMS gives a full refund, less an admin fee, even after the effective date. You need to send the visa refusal letter.

Because of that refund rule, you can buy before the visa decision without losing your money if the visa is refused. For payment options across insurers, see Super Visa insurance with monthly payments.

7Waiting Periods

Injuries are covered from the start in every case. The waiting period applies to sickness and other medical conditions, and it depends on when you buy.

No waiting period applies to injury in any of these cases.

For a parent or grandparent coming on a Super Visa, buy the policy before the flight. That way there is no waiting period at all.

8Side Trips Outside Canada

A trip outside Canada is covered for up to 30 days when all of these are true:

• The trip starts and ends in Canada
• It is not more than half of the total coverage period

Medical costs in the person’s country of origin are not covered during a side trip. Outside Canada, eligible costs on a covered side trip include air ambulance, a medical attendant during transport, and an escort for an insured child under 18. Each needs GMS’s approval first.

Check the 30-day and half-of-coverage limits against the length of the policy before booking the trip.

9Changes and Extensions

You can buy an extension if all of these are true:

• You contact GMS at least 48 hours before the current policy ends
• No medical treatment has been needed during the coverage so far. A medical exam required for a visa does not count.
• Total coverage, with all extensions, is not more than 1 year
• The person is under 80 on the day the extension starts

Once treatment has been needed, a purchased extension is not available. The deductible and the policy dollar limit can only be changed before the effective date.

10Refunds and Calling GMS Travel Assistance

• Cancelled before the effective date: a full refund
• Visa refused and the person did not travel: a full refund, less an admin fee, even after the effective date, with the visa refusal letter
• After a claim is reported: no refund

A call to GMS counts as a claim

Contacting GMS Travel Assistance counts as reporting a claim. There is one narrow exception for refunds. If GMS Travel Assistance was contacted only once during the coverage, and no payment for treatment was made or is pending, a partial refund may still be possible. GMS reviews and approves each case.

In an emergency, follow the instructions on your GMS confirmation and policy documents. Services such as air ambulance need GMS’s approval first.

11What Is Not Covered

The main gaps to know before you buy:

• Pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage, childbirth and complications of any of these. There is no week-based exception.
• A newborn, until the baby has been out of hospital for 48 hours and is added to the policy as a dependant
• Pre-existing conditions that were not stable for the 180 days before the effective date
• Sickness during the waiting period, if the policy was bought after arrival
• Medical costs in the person’s country of origin during a side trip
• Anyone who did not meet the eligibility list for their age on the effective date

Unsure how GMS compares on these points? Read GMS vs Manulife Super Visa insurance or compare Super Visa quotes from several insurers.

12Frequently Asked Questions