Do Canadian Travellers Need Schengen Visa Insurance?

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Updated: Sep 13, 2023, 1:09pm

Fiona Campbell
Forbes Staff

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If you’ve travelled throughout Canada or the U.S., you’ll know that you can seamlessly cross between any province or state without stopping at a border control. However, to travel between Canada and the U.S., you’ll need to show the right travel documents.

Travellers of certain countries have the same freedom of movement in much of Europe, thanks to the Schengen Agreement. Signed in 1985 with only five countries (France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands), today the Schengen area includes 27 countries that have abolished their internal border controls.

Passport-holding Canadian citizens can travel to the Schengen area for less than a 90-day stay without first obtaining a visa. But many other people must get a visa before entering the countries that make up Europe’s Schengen area.

Here’s what you need to know about Schengen visas and visa insurance, and how travel requirements will be changing in 2024.

What Is a Schengen Visa?

A Schengen visa allows free movement among 27 European countries that don’t have border control checkpoints.

The countries that compose the Schengen area are Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

It’s important to note that the Schengen area is not the same as the European Union (EU). Four countries are members of the EU but not the Schengen area, namely the Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania. Conversely, four countries are members of the Schengen area but are not members of the EU, namely Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Currently, passport-holding Canada citizens do not need a Schengen visa or Schengen visa insurance. However, in 2024 the European Travel Information and Authorisation System-(ETIAS) will implement a new program that requires travellers to apply for special authorization to enter the Schengen region of Europe.

What Is Schengen Visa Insurance?

Those who need to secure a Schengen visa must meet several requirements, including the purchase of Schengen visa insurance.

Schengen visa insurance must provide medical expenses coverage, including hospitalization, medical treatment and repatriation for medical reasons. It must also be valid in all Schengen countries and cover a person’s entire stay in that area.

The minimum coverage is €30,000 (almost $45,000).

Who Needs Schengen Visa Insurance?

Passport-holding Canada citizens do not need a Schengen visa or Schengen visa insurance. However, Canadians travelling abroad should consider travel insurance that provides medical coverage and other valuable benefits.

Someone who must obtain a Schengen visa also must purchase Schengen visa insurance. This includes citizens of more than 100 countries, such as Cambodia, China, Cuba, Egypt, Haiti, India, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.

There are 60 countries that are exempt from the visa requirement, including the United States, Canada, Israel, Japan, Mexico, UAE and South Korea.

What Does Schengen Insurance Cover?

Schengen visa insurance covers medical expenses, repatriation and other expenses that may happen while travelling in the Schengen area. It may also cover prescription medications, medical tests and treatments and dental care.

Schengen visa insurance must provide:

  • Minimum coverage of €30,000 (almost $45,000) that is valid in all Schengen countries
  • Coverage for any expenses that might arise with repatriation for medical reasons, urgent health attention and/or emergency hospital treatment or death
  • Coverage for all member states of the Schengen Area

Some insurance companies offer coverage that goes beyond those requirements.

For instance, Europ Assistance sells extended coverage (known as Schengen Plus) that provides hospitalization coverage up to €60,000 (roughly $96,000), travel and lodging expenses for the return trip of a policyholder’s companion, expenses for the return of a minor under age 14 to their home country and a doctor-prescribed extended stay of up to five days. This coverage is good in Schengen countries as well as Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the United Kingdom.

Another insurer, AXA, offers three plans including coverage for medical expenses up to €100,000 euros (roughly $145,000) for up to 180 days in its Europe Travel plan. It’s valid in Schengen countries as well as the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania, San Marino, Andorra, Monaco and the Vatican.

The Multi Trip AXA policy provides that same level of coverage over a one-year period. This coverage enables someone to stay for up to 90 days. Once the 90-day trip ends, the policyholder would need to leave the region, but the coverage would be reactivated once they come back. The coverage then would apply for another 90 days within the same one-year window.

What Does Schengen Insurance Not Cover?

Schengen insurance typically doesn’t cover trip cancellation or interruption, other forms of transportation (like car rentals) or lost and stolen baggage. It also doesn’t cover pre-existing medical conditions.

How Much Does Schengen Visa Insurance Cost?

AXA’s lowest-cost coverage starts at €22 per week  (about $32). Its mid-level coverage starts at €33 per week  (about $48), and its annual plan starts at €328 (about $477).

At Europ Assistance, coverage starts at €3 (about $4.40) per day, per person for the basic plan or €5 per day, per person (about $7.30) for the extended plan.

Who Sells Schengen Visa Insurance?

Primary sellers of Schengen visa insurance include AXA and Europ Assistance.

AXA has no age limit and sells coverage to citizens of any country.

Coverage from Europ Assistance isn’t available to residents of Afghanistan, Belarus, Burma (Myanmar), Crimea Region and the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk People’s regions, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Russian Federation and Zimbabwe. Europ Assistance travellers who are under age 74 when the policy is purchased.

What's the Difference Between a Schengen Visa and the ETIAS?

Due to be introduced in 2024, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is a new travel authorization for travellers, including Canadians, from the 60 countries who can currently travel to the Schengen area of Europe without a visa. The Schengen visa is required for travellers who are not able to travel without a visa.

In short, visitors to Europe who have ETIAS do not need a Schengen visa. Those who are not eligible for ETIAS must hold a Schengen visa.

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