Before you start

Permanent resident, CSQ holder, or work permit of sufficient duration
Proof of Quebec residency
Identity documents for every family member
Private interim insurance, unless a social security agreement waives the wait

Step-by-step

1
Check whether a social security agreement covers you
Quebec holds agreements with several countries, including France, that waive the three-month waiting period for their nationals. If yours is on the list, you obtain the relevant form from your home country's social security body before departure and coverage starts on arrival. This is the single most valuable thing to check before you fly.
OnlineWho: YouBefore departure
2
Buy private cover for the waiting period if no agreement applies
The gap is genuinely uninsured and Canadian medical costs are high without coverage. Interim policies are cheap relative to the risk and much easier to arrange before departure.
OnlineWho: YouBefore departure
3
Register with RAMQ as soon as you arrive
Registration is done in person or by post with your immigration documents and proof of Quebec address. The card follows by mail. Register everyone in the household on arrival rather than waiting.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
4
Sort out prescription drug insurance, which is compulsory here
Quebec requires every resident to be covered for prescription drugs. If your employer or professional order offers a plan you must join it; if not, you are enrolled in the public RAMQ drug plan and pay a premium through your tax return. Being uncovered is not an option and the premium is collected either way.
Via employerWho: You
5
Register with the Guichet d'accès à un médecin de famille
Quebec has a shortage of family doctors and the provincial access point is the formal queue. Register immediately — position depends on when you joined, not when you need one.
OnlineWho: You
6
Learn where your local CLSC and walk-in clinics are
CLSCs are public community health centres handling vaccinations, nursing care and some walk-in services, and they are a Quebec institution the rest of Canada does not have. Between them and private walk-in clinics, this is how routine care happens before you have a family doctor.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport and immigration document
Proof of Quebec address
Social security agreement form, where applicable
RAMQ card, once issued
Records of prescriptions and conditions from your previous country

Things most newcomers don’t know

If you are French, Belgian or from another agreement country, the three-month wait does not apply to you.

Quebec's social security agreements waive the waiting period entirely for nationals of a number of countries, with France's being the best known. You obtain a form from your home social security institution before leaving and coverage begins on arrival. A great many eligible people buy private insurance they did not need, and a great many others assume they are covered when their country has no such agreement. Check the list; it takes five minutes and can save both money and real risk.

Source: RAMQ

Prescription drug insurance is compulsory in Quebec, which is unique in Canada.

Every Quebec resident must be covered for prescription drugs — through an employer or professional-order plan where one is available, and through the public RAMQ plan otherwise. You do not opt out. If you are on the public plan the premium is calculated and collected through your Quebec tax return, which means people who never used a prescription still see a line for it at filing time and are surprised by it.

Source: RAMQ

The CLSC network has no equivalent in the rest of Canada and newcomers rarely use it.

Centres locaux de services communautaires are public community health centres providing nursing, vaccination, prenatal, mental health and some walk-in services, organised by neighbourhood. They are free, they are not emergency rooms, and they handle a great deal of what people otherwise queue for at a private walk-in clinic. Finding your local CLSC on arrival is worth ten minutes.

Source: Santé Québec

Quebec's shortage of family physicians means waits measured in many months through the Guichet d'accès. Your position depends on when you registered, not on when a need arises. Registering immediately, before you have any medical issue, costs ten minutes and is the single most useful piece of healthcare admin a newcomer here can do — and almost nobody does it in week one.

Source: Santé Québec

Common mistakes to avoid

Buying private cover without checking whether a social security agreement waives the wait.
Assuming your country has such an agreement when it does not, and arriving uninsured.
Not joining an employer drug plan and being surprised by the public premium at tax time.
Waiting until you need a doctor to join the family physician queue.
Assuming dental, vision and ambulance are covered — none of them are.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.