• Getting an Social Insurance Number - SIN.

  Social Insurance Number

  Perhaps one of the most valuable things in your life from now on....... after the landing papers of course. Like just about every other human being on the planet, Canadians each have a number .... and now that we have landed and are on our way to being Canadians we get to have a Canadian number too.
  This is issued by Human Resources Development Canada and is like any other SocialSecurity/Insurance number issued by other governments across the world. We applied for ours at a Job Centre(Human Resource Centre). Once again, we received a lot of help from the Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Citizenship Division when Aaron actually walked us to the office and explained everything, for which I want to add my thanks.
  Initially you will be issued with a piece of paper verifying that you have applied. About ten days later you will receive your card in the mail. It looks like a plastic credit card. Don't lose it, you have to pay for replacements. You will not be able to start work without it - actually not quite true, you can start with just the 'Letter of Proof' but either way, make sure you get the thing. This is the number you will need for everything from unemployment and retirement plans through income tax etc.

  Just like most other countries this number is supposed to be secret and only employers etc. are supposed to ask to know it and just like every other country I have been in ...people ask for it all the time for all kinds of reasons. .... I leave this question up to you.

• Registering for Health Insurance
  - please note, the rules for this vary depending on which province you go to.

  Manitoba Here you are eligible for health insurance from day one. This covers all basic medical care including doctors visits, hospital treatments and the like. You have to pay for drugs up to a certain financial limit - this varies depending on income. After that medication is free. However the chances of you needing that level of medication in the early years is unlikely. That's why they do the medical! Pregnancy and childbirth are covered. Hospitals are clean and safe. However this is the national health so there are fewer frills than you may be used to in the US. You can buy top-up health insurance from people like Blue Shield to bring you up to the private room stuff - just like anywhere really.

  Ontario In Ontario, the health insurance is known as OHIP (pronounced Oh-Hip). OHIP stands for Ontario Health Insurance Plan. This plan covers the cost of medically necessary services (doctors visits, tests, surgery, etc.). In general, costs are covered 100%. All permanent residents of Ontario who spend at least 183 days a year in Ontario are eligible. You must be a Canadian Citizen, Landed Immigrant or have refugee status to qualify. There are no premiums or fees to pay for OHIP. The plan is funded through income and payroll taxes. Each person covered by OHIP will be issued a green Ontario Health card. The card contains your name, birthdate, health number and address. If you are over age 15 1/2 it also has your photo. As of April 1998 any doctor you visit will have to see and validate your OHIP number each time that you receive medical service. If you cannot present your OHIP card you will have to pay for the service, although you can apply to the Ministry of Health for a refund. Doctors and hospitals are not permitted to refuse emergency treatment regardless of whether you have a health card or not. New residents of Ontario, whether they're from another part of Canada, or another country, must wait three months from the time that they establish residence in Ontario until their health coverage begins. However, if you have coverage in another Canadian province, it will cover you during those three months (just as OHIP will cover you for three months after you move from Ontario to another province). Persons without coverage (including newly arrived Landed Immigrants) should purchase private health insurance to cover them during the waiting period. Don't wait three months before applying for coverage. It will take some time to process your application and you should apply as soon as possible after landing. Your health card will arrive around the time that your coverage takes effect (usually a few days after). To register for OHIP, you must go to an Ontario Ministry of Health office. Note that any children over 15 1/2 years of age will have to go too so that they can have their photograph taken. For each person applying you must show three separate documents: 1. Proof of Canadian Citizenship or Landed Immigrant Status. 2. Proof that you live in Ontario. 3. Proof that you are who you say you are. In the case of children, the document proving item 1. must be in the child's name, while the documents for items 2. and 3. can be in a parent's name. Rather than give an incomplete list, you can find out which documents qualify at the following website: http://www.gov.on.ca/health/. Note that you MUST have three separate documents even if the same document can prove two of the items above. For instance you can't use an Ontario driver's license to prove that you live in Ontario AND that you are who you say you are, you need a separate document for each. As in other provinces you can buy (or many employers provide) additional health insurance to cover the cost of items not covered by OHIP. For instance, OHIP only covers the cost of a hospital stay in a ward room. If you want a semi-private room you must pay out of pocket, or have private coverage. Additionally, you or your employer can obtain additional coverage to cover the cost of prescription drugs. OHIP does not normally cover the cost of prescription medicines, but Ontario does have a drug benefit plan for persons with low income and/or high drug costs.

Banks and Credit History

Banks in Canada are publicly owned institutions which offer shares on all the major stock exchanges. The currency unit in Canada is the Canadian Dollar.

To open an account you will need an address in Canada, and you will need a Social Insurance Number and, of course, some money! Also, in most cases, you must be physically present to open the account. The exceptions to this are either to go to an overseas branch of a Canadian bank in your home country prior to arriving in Canada, or in some cases it is possible to go to your local bank in your home country and get the manager/president of that bank to write to the bank of your choice in Canada and vouch for you.

Please note that if you bring in your money in the form of a Bank Draft it is quite possible that the Canadian bank will put a 30 day hold on the money until the check clears. This can come as a nasty shock if you need to access that money for rent deposits and general living costs. It is an idea to purchase travellers checks and bring them with you and then try to use credit cards from your home country until your finances are settled. If you arrange to have your money wire transferred to the Canadian account then this is much quicker of course BUT remember you will not have the bank details until you have opened the account and your home bank will probably want those details in writing together with a signature from you. They may or may not accept a faxed letter with signature.

It is possible to open accounts both in Canadian Dollars and USA Dollars if you wish. This can be useful if you are moving from the USA and want to keep a US dollar account so that you can pay US credit cards and bills, etc.

Many major credit card companies will transfer your account (and history thank goodness!!) to their Canadian offices. This will help you to establish a credit history in Canada which you will need for nearly every aspect of your life here. Renting or purchasing property, vehicles, anything in fact. It has been our experience that Property Rental Companies will NOT check your history in the USA or UK. Car sales people will however, and managed to get the answer back within minutes. Depends how much they want your money I guess :-)

From the guestbook:

When I moved to Canada from thew USA, my landlord (in Canada) wanted to do a credit history on us. (My self and my wife, both got job offers before we came here, but still landlady insisted) It took them less than 24 hours to get my credit history from the USA.

Accommodation

As soon as possible try to get into some kind of accommodation where you can get a telephone line connected so that you can go job hunting. You also need an address so that you can open a bank account and start to establish a credit history. It is common for the landlord to ask for quite a substantial amount of money up front. First and last months rent plus a security deposit to cover any damage that might be done to the property. Utility companies - electricity (which they refer to here as Hydro), gas, water and telephone - will often ask for security deposits to make sure that they get paid. It is very hard for new immigrants to know what is a good or bad part of town. I don't know what to tell you except to say go with your instincts. If the area feels creepy to you then it probably is.

Vehicles and General Living

You will probably want to get a drivers licence and arrange to register and insure your vehicle if you brought one with you.

You will need to enrol your children in school and generally get used to life here in Canada. Go shopping - even just looking - so that you can get a feel for lifestyle and goods available. This will also be a great introduction to the joys of GST and PST which can come as a nasty shock to the unprepared!

Most of all, try not to panic. It takes a while to get settled and it can take a considerable time to get a job. This is why the Canadian Immigration Authorities want to know that you have the necessary settlement funds.

Finally I really do urge you to read the next bit. Don't be alarmed by the title. But everyone does this and it helps to know it. Go to Post-Landing Depression

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