| Starting Out in Canada |
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Your first months in Canada will doubtless provide some of your most
interesting memories for years to come. Prepare for something of a
roller-coaster ride, especially emotionally, as you experience the
highs and lows of starting life in a new country.
If a fear of the unknown outweighs your sense of anticipation of what lies ahead, don’t worry, you are not alone. Few immigrants are really up to speed with the ground realities of starting life in Canada. While most people come to the country with a broad picture of what to expect, it’s the small details that make their early months more trying than it should be. In this article, we will look at every detail with regard to starting out in Canada, point out the most common stumbling blocks, and how to overcome them. Finding a place to live Wherever you choose to move - big cities like Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver or Calgary, or smaller suburbs - it is important that you make initial accommodation arrangements before you fly to Canada. While it isn’t impossible to find a hotel room after your arrival, finding something that fits your budget is an entirely different matter. If you have family or friends willing to put you up for the first couple of weeks or more, consider yourself lucky. If not, tap your contacts in Canada to try and arrange an apartment or room on rent for a month or so. This of course assumes that you do have some acquaintance in the country. Many homeowners in Canada let out basement apartments, and if you can book one of these ahead of your arrival, it will ease the pressure on you to find suitably priced accommodation soon after your land. What if you don’t know a soul in Canada? All is not lost, though you should be prepared for a rather more expensive start to life in your newly-adopted country. Your best bet is to check out Internet listings of budget hotels or motels in the city you plan to move to. If you are single, you might even want to consider the YMCA or YWCA. Some good sites to get you started: Relocatecanada.com You can usually make a booking either online or via e-mail, though you can just use the phone if you prefer. Be prepared to spend between C$50 and C$100 a night for modest hotel accommodation. It is difficult, but not impossible, to find rooms available for less than that. Whatever you pick, don’t reserve the room for more than three nights, you are better off leafing through the Yellow Pages after you arrive to search for rental apartments. The big house hunt The first big challenge for a new immigrant is finding an apartment or house to rent. (Even if you have the funds to buy a home outright, it makes little sense doing so until you are certain about where you are going to settle. As for getting a loan at this juncture, forget it). The best place to start house-hunting is in the many rental listings publications available in all major cities. The magazines, like Renter’s News and For Rent, are free and can be found at street-corner kiosks or at grocery stores. Save yourself some legwork and make it a point to call apartment rental offices before you visit. Many building owners refuse to let out apartments to newly-arrived immigrants or those without permanent jobs. Neither of these is legal, but launching a lawsuit is probably not on your agenda at this point. What if you cannot afford to cough up an entire year’s rent? Here are some ideas you can consider.
Get your cards (SIN, Health, credit) So you’ve found a place to live, whether or not the arrangement is temporary. What next? Should you start hunting for a job? Not just yet. Before anything else, you need to equip yourself with two documents that every Canadian resident must possess: a SIN card and a Health Card. SIN stands for Social Insurance Number, and it simply impossible to get by in Canada without one. You’ll need it for virtually everything, whether it’s opening a bank account, registering with an employment agency or even getting a paycheque. Make getting a SIN card your number one priority. (Everyone in your family will need one too, no matter what their age). For the location of the HRCC office nearest you, refer to the Government of Canada pages in the local telephone directory, under the heading Social Insurance Number. To apply for a Social Insurance Number, you need to fill out an application form (if you wish you can download this ahead of time from here. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the file. Acrobat Reader is available as a free download from the Adobe site (www.adobe.com). Along with your form, you will also need to provide original or certified copies of documents that prove your identity and status in Canada. Your passport and landing papers (stamped and stapled to your passport when you arrive in Canada), plus any one other piece of identification, are all you need for this. There is no fee for SIN cards. Very Important: Check that your name is spelt correctly and in full on your SIN card. This will ensure that when you start working, your Canada or QuĂ©bec Pension Plan contributions are properly credited to you. Incidentally, you will need your SIN when you apply for a Health Card, another very important document. Before you do that though, you should do one or both of these: open a bank account and get a Temporary Driver’s Licence. The reason for this will shortly become apparent. To open a bank account, you will need to bring some documents proving you live at the address you provide, such as a rental agreement, a post-marked envelope bearing your name and address or a letter from the folks you are staying with. The Temporary Driver’s Licence is also fairly easy to obtain. All you need to do is take a computerised or written test which checks your knowledge of Canadian driving laws. Pick up a copy of the widely-available Official Driver’s Handbook or Safe Driving Guide (cost $10-$12, depending on where you buy it) to get up to speed with local road regulations before you go for your test. Once you have opened your bank account and obtained your temporary driver’s licence, you are ready to apply for a Health Card. Essential health care is available either free or at low cost, depending on where in Canada you choose to settle, but you must be registered with the provincial health care plan to benefit from this. A word of advice: medical costs in North America are easily the highest in the world, so it is crucial that you register for a health plan soon after you arrive. Health care in Canada is administered by provinces rather than the national government, so the type and extent of coverage depends on which city you move to. As with the SIN, every individual in your family must have their own Health Card. There is a waiting period of about three months before you actually begin to be covered by the provincial health plan, so it is imperative to apply soon after you take up residence in Canada. The exception is in Alberta, where new immigrants can seek coverage from the day they arrive. The health plans go under different names, depending on the province you’re in. In Ontario, for example, it is called Ontario Health Insurance Plan; in British Columbia you would sign up for the Medical Services Plan. The differences go beyond just the name. Services available for free in one province may be available for a small fee – or not covered at all – in another. (Which is why it is important to ask a physician if there is a cost involved before you receive any services). Of the four most popular provinces with new immigrants, Ontario and Quebec do not charge for health coverage, while British Columbia and Alberta have monthly premiums ranging from about $35 for individuals without dependents to $70 for families. (You will be entitled to subsidies until you start earning income). To apply for a health card, you will need to visit a provincial health ministry office (they go by different names depending on the province you are in). For the centre nearest you, call one of the numbers listed below:
You will typically need to carry three separate original documents that prove your immigration status, your residency and your identity. New immigrants are often thrown by this requirement as they do not possess most of the papers listed as acceptable by health authorities. (This is why we urged you earlier to open a bank account and get a driver’s licence). Make certain you carry the following documents:
Transfer your funds When you first enter Canada, immigration authorities will ask you how much money you are bringing with you or intend to transfer in at a later date. They will also likely provide you with a minimum figure that you should deposit into a Canadian bank account within 30 days of your entry. This figure is typically between $10,000 and $20,000 depending on the size of your family. If you haven’t already done so, make sure you place the agreed amount into your new bank account within your first month. You do not need to inform immigration authorities that you have actually transferred the funds – the banking system is structured so that they are automatically notified. Obtain a credit card We cannot stress enough the importance of having a credit card. North America as a whole is a credit card society and there is a huge emphasis on having a “good credit rating”. Need a bank loan? The bank will first check your credit rating. Seeking a mortgage to buy a home? Ditto on the credit rating. Not having a credit rating is worse than having a poor rating – at least in the latter case you can still find lenders, though you’ll be charged a much higher interest rate. Unless you have lived at some point in the United States, you will start life in Canada with a zero credit rating. This also means you will find it extremely difficult to obtain a credit card. Financial institutions in Canada care little even if you have held a major card in another country – what matters is having some credit history in North America. So how does one go about getting this elusive piece of plastic? First, try to persuade your bank to accept your credit application. If you have a large enough balance (and your luck is in), you just might get it. Most banks will turn you down, but a significant number will agree to give you a card on the condition that you put an amount two to three times the maximum credit sought into a term (fixed) deposit. If you are strapped for cash, go for a card with a low maximum spending limit, say $500. Remember, the amount itself is not important, it’s the ability to be regarded as “credit-worthy”. Once you have your first card, getting other credit cards and higher spending limits is easy – in fact, don’t be too surprised if the banks that turned you down the first time start hounding you to sign up with them! If you are married, get your spouse his/her own credit card as well (not a supplementary one). This way, when you are ready to make a major purchase, such as buying a house, both partners will be able to show “credit history” which is so important to securing a loan or mortgage. To build this history and maintain a good credit rating, make sure you use the card regularly, even if just for purchasing groceries, and more important, pay your card bills before the due date. All major banks and financial institutions offer credit cards, but the schemes and services available vary. The most widely accepted cards in Canada are Visa and MasterCard, though many institutions will also take American Express or Diners Club. Many banks today offer cards without any annual fee and these should be your first choice when you apply for one. Other banks have annual fees ranging from $15 and up for premium cards (such as Visa Gold), with services such as loss or damage insurance thrown in. If you feel you need these extras, by all means opt for the premium card instead. Getting a phone It goes without saying that getting a phone should be one of your number one priorities. You will quickly learn that the slogan “Let your fingers do the walking” is not just an advertising line: In a country as big as Canada, doing things by phone will save you a huge amount of time, money and energy. Depending on the area in which you live, you can likely choose between major phone service providers like Bell Canada, Sprint Canada and Telus Mobility. At the time of writing, Rogers was set to introduce local phone service using VOIP technology which uses much cheaper Internet connections rather than phone cables. That are also several cellphone (mobile phone) service providers such as Clearnet, Rogers, Microcell and Virgin. |