What do I need to do when I arrive in Canada?

The complex migration process for moving to Canada was left behind, the visa was opened, air tickets were bought, farewell parties were held, the fees were over. How to start life in a new country?

First Steps

Good preparation for immigration assumes that a person knows where to go from the airport. It is wise to book a hotel room in advance, temporarily stay with friends, rent a Reception House with meals.

The first thing to do is to submit your address to the Canadian Immigration Service and apply at one of the points of arrival in the country for the issuance of a permanent resident card, which is an official confirmation of immigrant status. The status allows you to live in any province, work, study, use health insurance, legal state protection.

The document looks like an ordinary plastic card, contains a photograph, personal information about the holder, encrypted information available for reading by migration service officers.

The application is processed for 2-3 months, the card comes to the specified address.

Other primary actions of an immigrant:

• search for temporary housing (if it has not been done before) according to advertisements in newspapers, on Internet sites;
• studying the map of the city where you settled, work schedule, public transport routes;
• purchase of a telephone book with addresses, telephone numbers of state institutions;
• connection with the local immigration center.

The next important steps are getting a social security number and a health insurance card.

Obtaining a SIN, Social Security Number

Social Insurance Number is a nine-character number that is used to identify an individual by government agencies. A Social Security number is required for employment, education, opening a bank account, access to government programs and benefits. You can get a SIN in person at a service office, Service Canada Centre, by mail, online, or on a government website.

To obtain a foreign passport, a permanent resident card is required. With a personal submission, the number is issued during a visit to the service center, with remote registration, it arrives within 20 days.

You can call SIN only if you are completely sure that this information is really needed and is required for legitimate reasons. You can get a number from the age of 12. Parents apply for minor children.

In the first month of your stay, you must also apply for a health insurance card. This is done in the clinic at the place of residence. You need to fill out the form and expect the issuance of the document within three months.

Search for permanent housing

After a few weeks in the country, you need to start looking for permanent housing. Do not think that the first apartment or apartment will look like in a movie and exactly meet your needs.

For the first few years, immigrants rent real estate. You can search for options on your own, through advertising sources, through an agency. In most cases, the lease term is one year with a subsequent renewal, unless both parties have other intentions.

If a variant is found, it is important:

• make sure that the landlord is the owner of the property;
• carefully study the lease agreement, pay attention to the included utilities;
• make a calculation after inspecting the apartment and processing documents.

An effective search option is an arrival in an area that you like and a personal tour of the objects put up for rent. Before starting the search, it is important to decide on the budget and the amount that you are able to pay for the apartment. It is desirable that by the time of settlement you have an open bank account.

Opening a bank account

The banking system of Canada is stable and safe, the activities of large financial institutions are controlled by the state. Choose a branch that is close to where you live. To open an account, you need a passport, social security number. Newly arrived immigrants can present IMM 5292, a document confirming permanent resident status, which is issued by the immigration authorities upon arrival.

The client himself chooses the type of account that is needed:

• current, for conducting daily banking operations;
• accumulative;
• credit.

When opening a credit account, it is important to carefully read the contract, find out the rate, correlate the costs with your solvency in order to form a positive history from the beginning of your stay in the country.

The owner of the current account is issued a debit bank card, from which you can withdraw money from ATMs and pay at retail outlets for services.

In the first months of life in the country, it is desirable to find a job, enroll in English or French courses, and arrange children for school.