Healthcare Abroad: A Parent's Guide to What's Covered, What Isn't, and What to Buy

When your child moves abroad to study, one of the most important things you can do from home is make sure they are properly covered if something goes wrong with their health. Every study destination handles healthcare differently — and the gap between what the mandatory minimum covers and what your child might actually need can be significant. This guide gives you the practical picture by destination, so you can ask the right questions before departure and avoid unexpected costs after.

United Kingdom — The Immigration Health Surcharge

The UK has the most straightforward healthcare arrangement of any destination. As part of the Student visa application, your child pays the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) upfront — currently £776 per year. This is paid in full before the visa is granted, calculated across the full duration of the visa, not just the course length.

What your family gets in return is full access to the NHS — the same system used by every UK resident. This covers GP appointments, hospital treatment, emergency care, and most prescriptions at a subsidized rate. It is genuinely comprehensive for most healthcare needs.

What it does not cover is dental treatment, optometry, and some elective procedures. Your child will need to register with a local GP shortly after arrival — this is free but does not happen automatically.

What families should do: Factor the full IHS cost into your pre-departure budget — for a three-year undergraduate degree it adds up to approximately £2,716 in total, paid before your child sets foot in the UK. Once that is paid, most families will not need additional health insurance, though private dental cover is worth considering separately.

Canada — The Province Makes All the Difference

Canada is the destination that causes the most confusion for families, because the answer to "what is my child covered for?" depends entirely on which province they are studying in — and the answer changes significantly from one province to the next.

Canada's public healthcare system does not automatically extend to international students. Some provinces — including British Columbia and Alberta — eventually include international students in their provincial health plans, but only after a waiting period that is typically three to six months. During that gap, your child has no public healthcare coverage at all.

Other provinces do not include international students in public plans regardless of how long they stay. In those cases, your child's university will offer a private health insurance plan as part of enrolment — but the quality and scope of those plans varies considerably between institutions.

Even where provincial coverage eventually applies, dental care, optical services, and mental health support are typically not included. These are consistent gaps across Canadian provinces regardless of whether your child is on a public or private plan.

What families should do: Do not assume public coverage is in place from day one. Find out which province your child is studying in and what the waiting period — if any — applies before contacting the university about their recommended private insurance plan. Budget for private cover from arrival, not from whenever provincial coverage might begin.

Australia — OSHC Is Mandatory, Not Optional

Australia leaves no ambiguity. Maintaining Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the full duration of the student visa is a legal visa condition — not a recommendation. It must be purchased before the visa is granted, kept continuously active throughout your child's stay, and renewed if the visa is extended. A lapse in coverage is a breach of visa conditions.

OSHC covers GP visits, most hospital treatment, ambulance services, and limited pharmaceuticals. Annual costs for a single student typically run AUD $600–$1,000 depending on the provider and level of coverage.

What OSHC does not cover is equally important to understand: dental treatment, optical services, and physiotherapy are all excluded from standard plans. Your child can purchase Extras cover from their OSHC provider at additional cost if these are likely to be needed. There is also a pharmaceutical cap — OSHC limits medicine benefits to a modest annual maximum — which can be a meaningful gap for any student managing a long-term condition that requires ongoing medication.

What families should do: Treat OSHC as a fixed pre-departure cost and budget accordingly. If your child wears glasses, needs dental work, or is on regular medication, look into Extras cover before they leave rather than after an unexpected bill arrives.

United States — The Most Financially Exposed Destination

The US has no public healthcare system for international students. Most universities require students to enrol in the institution's Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) or provide evidence of comparable private coverage. Annual premiums typically run USD $1,500–$3,000, but the plan itself is only part of the picture.

What catches families off guard in the US is not the premium — it is the additional costs that apply even when your child is insured. Co-payments, deductibles, and out-of-network charges can add significantly to the headline figure. A single visit to a specialist or an overnight hospital stay can generate out-of-pocket costs that are far higher than families from countries with public healthcare systems expect.

What families should do: Before your child departs, find out the specific SHIP details for their university — not just the annual premium, but the deductible (the amount your child pays before insurance kicks in), the co-payment structure, and what the annual out-of-pocket maximum is. This is the one destination where reading the policy carefully is not optional.

Ireland and Germany — Private Insurance Required for the Visa

Both Ireland and Germany require students to hold private health insurance as part of the visa application — it is a prerequisite, not an afterthought.

In Ireland, students purchase a private plan through a provider recognized for Irish student visa purposes. Standard student plans typically cost in the range of €500–€800 per year, covering general medical care and hospitalization.

In Germany, students under 30 enrolled at a German university are required to hold statutory public health insurance (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung). Public providers charge approximately €120–€130 per month and cover a broad range of medical services including GP visits, hospital stays, and some dental treatment. Students over 30 must use private insurance, which is generally more expensive and should be researched well in advance.

What families should do: Confirm the insurance requirement with the institution before departure and ensure the policy documents are obtained and stored somewhere accessible to both your child and you.

The Gaps That Catch Every Family Off Guard

Regardless of destination, these categories consistently fall outside the standard mandatory coverage — and consistently generate unexpected costs:

Dental treatment is almost never included in student health plans at any destination. Routine check-ups and any treatment beyond basic care will typically be paid out of pocket.

Mental health support is a growing concern for families sending children abroad. Access and coverage varies widely by destination and institution. It is worth checking what your child's university offers through its student welfare services before assuming the insurance plan covers it.

Pre-existing conditions must always be declared when purchasing any insurance policy. Coverage varies by plan and destination, but failing to disclose a known condition can void a claim entirely when it is needed most.

Repatriation — the cost of flying your child home for medical treatment in a serious situation — is rarely covered by standard student health plans anywhere. A separate travel insurance policy with medical repatriation cover is worth purchasing for every destination, regardless of what mandatory coverage is in place.

A Note Before Your Child Departs

The single most important thing you can do is make sure both you and your child understand how the healthcare system works in the destination country before they leave — not during a stressful moment when something has gone wrong. Know what is covered, know what is not, know the name of the plan, and keep a digital copy of the policy documents somewhere you can both access from anywhere.

Healthcare costs abroad are manageable with the right preparation. They become a serious problem when families discover the gaps after the fact.