Information for International students
As an international student, we want to share some additional information on programs and services to support your time in Canada.
Pathway to stay PROGRAM
The Pathway to Stay Program is a free, non-credit program open to all NSCC and Dalhousie (undergraduate) international students.
The program includes 3 interconnected work-integrated learning (WIL) components whose content is developed by En Point.
- Workshops: provide students with the opportunity to focus on their career development goals and sharpen their skills and build their toolkit. These workshops have been delivered and recorded between January and May 2024. Students can watch recordings at their own pace from the moment they join the program. These workshops are essentials to prepare students for virtual and in person events.
- Bootcamps: events to practice and improve students’ job-seeking skills and become more confident with networking and personal interactions. In the fall, students will be able to attend two mini-bootcamps, essentials to learn how to work on presentation skills, branding, networking, and employer research.
- International Students Showcases: showcases are in-person events that will give students the opportunity to further practice their pitches, hear from employers and network.
For additional information on the program, check out the Pathway to Stay website.
International Emergency health insurance
Navigating the Canadian health care system can feel overwhelming. We encourage our international students to seek support through our Benefits Plan Office (BPO) at any time to discuss your benefits.- Fall opt-out deadline – October 15
- Winter opt-out deadline – February 15
Adding dependents – If you have dependents with you in Nova Scotia, you can add them to your mycanadaplan coverage by completing the online family add-on form. The deadline for students beginning their program in September is October 5. The deadline for students beginning their program in January is February 5. For all other students, the deadline is 30 days from the start of your program.
Access to a primary health care practitioner, like a family doctor, is incredibly challenging for most Canadians. In Nova Scotia, we are experiencing a shortage of primary care providers and have implemented a virtual health care service called myvirtualdoctor to support students in accessing primary medical care when its needed. Make sure to review details on NSCC’s virtual health care program, myvirtualdoctor
Students who require immunizations and/or blood work requisitions to confirm previous immunizations in support of program requirements can use the myvirtualdoctor virtual health care service.
To obtain bloodwork to confirm previous immunizations
When you start a consult using myvirtualdoctor, you will need to indicate that you require a blood requisition to confirm you have received specific immunizations. Students will need to know exactly what immunizations to refer to – please see the information provided through your NSCC program.
Once you have the requisition, you can proceed to make an appointment through the NS online booking platform: https://booking.nshealth.ca/qmaticwebbooking/#/
When your appointment booking is complete, you can check back through myvirtualdoctor to initiate another consult to get the results.
Please note: there will be no fee for the blood requisition request or the follow up consult to get the results. The cost for the actual blood collection appointment is not covered through myvirtualdoctor, nor through your EHI (if you are an international student who hasn’t yet obtained provincial health care coverage) so you will be responsible for that cost.
To obtain an appointment to complete immunizations
If the immunization requires a prescription or referral, you can start a consult using myvirtualdoctor. The consulting practitioner will be able to help you find a local clinic/pharmacy to get your shots.
Please note: immunizations required for NSCC programs are covered through the student health plan, so please bring your mybenefits card to your appointment so that you are only responsible for the co-pay (30%) portion.
