- Adequate health coverage ensures that international students can receive quality health care in the country in which they are studying.
- Health care can be very expensive, especially for international students who do not have access to free health through public resources.
- Most academic institutions require international students to have some form of international health insurance.
- Each country or region has different types of visa and requirements, as do most educational institutions. Most visas require health insurance, here are some visa requirements for the most popular destinations, which you should check before going abroad to study.
Study in the United States
he health insurance is mandatory for the exchange of J-1 students and for their J-2 dependents. Although currently optional for F-1 students and F-2 dependents, it is strongly recommended that you and your dependents also purchase health insurance during your stay; especially due to the high cost of healthcare in the US.
The J-1 visa is a well-known US work / study visa and its requirements have recently been updated. These requirements came into effect on May 15, 2015. This visa requires insurance and must also meet the following requirements:
- Medical benefits of at least $ 100,000 per accident or illness
- Repatriation of mortal remains in the amount of $ 25,000
- Expenses associated with the medical evacuation of exchange visitors to their country of origin for an amount of $ 50,000
- Franchises that do not exceed $ 500 per accident or illness.
- A policy underwritten by an insurance company with:
- an AM Best rating of “A-” or higher
- a McGraw Hill financial or Standard & Poor’s repayment capacity rating of “A-” or higher
- a Weiss Research Inc. rating of “B +” or higher
- a Fitch Ratings Inc. rating of “A-” or higher
- a Moody’s Investor Services rating of ” A3 ” or higher?
Study in the Schengen area of Europe
If you are a student of the Schengen area of Europe, your visa will probably require insurance.
These are the current requirements for the Schengen area:
- Medical benefits of at least € 30,000 (equivalent to $ 50,000)
- Coverage for repatriation for medical reasons, urgent medical care or hospital treatment or death
- Coverage period valid within the Schengen area for the entire stay
When it comes to other popular countries such as study destinations or Erasmus countries, including China, Japan, Australia and South Africa, it is a good idea to have some form of international health insurance as the quality and availability of medical facilities may be more limited than in your country of origin and may require medical evacuation if the treatment you need is not in that country.
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