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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.
Here are a few things we want to bring to your attention with respect to your emergency health insurance benefits:
mycanadaplan – We provide health and dental coverage to all full and part-time international students​ and the coverage is the same for both student groups. In addition to your health and dental benefits, you have coverage that supports you for emergency related medical treatments. This includes hospitalization as well as other accident related procedures. View benefits provided under your mycanadaplan emergency health insurance ​​​.
International Opt-out​ – Once an international student obtains Nova Scotia provincial health care coverage (MSI), they are eligible to opt-out of the International Emergency Health Insurance (EHI). Depending on when coverage is obtained, a student must submit their opt out by the appropriate deadline.
  • 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.

Benefits cards – As an international student, you will be issued two different student benefits cards. Both can be generated on our benefits website:
  • mycanadaplan emergency health insurance wallet card
  • mystudentplan myBenefits Card​ for health and dental

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.

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NSCC Student Advising Handbook 2025-2026 Copyright © 2024 by Nova Scotia Community College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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