The first week in Canada for foreign workers and PRs requires them to perform a few necessary tasks. As a PR or temporary foreign worker, it is vital to understand the next steps after arriving in Canada. Taking the right steps will ensure that they gain long-term success. Most of the activities they will need to perform will be in the first week of their stay.
First week in Canada for foreign workers and PRs – Top things to do
There is no specific order for the activities the newly arrived permanent residents or foreign workers must perform in the initial week. Here are the steps they will have to take:
Acquire Health Insurance
Irrespective of their group, foreign national workers must ensure that they expedite getting health insurance in the specific province or territory where they would be residing. Securing health insurance will ensure that individuals will not have to pay the complete money on their own related to their healthcare in Canada.
In addition, it will depend on your province or territory of residence that you will have to wait to gain eligibility for public health insurance. Furthermore, you must have private health insurance to access healthcare services in the case of any medical emergency until you become eligible for public healthcare services.
Moreover, Canadian residents who already possess an employment offer must enquire about their health insurance policies from their employers. This will prove beneficial for them. Overall, all Canadian residents must get private health insurance complementing their public insurance. This is because public health insurance has zero restrictions on the plan’s coverage by the territorial or provincial government.
Address update with IRCC
You will need to inform IRCC about your residential address to receive your permanent resident card and IRCC documents via mail. Hence, newcomers must inform IRCC about their new address within 180 days or nearly four months after arriving in Canada.
The Canadian bank account is a must
All new immigrants and temporary foreign workers in Canada must ensure that they create a new bank account. These bank accounts belong to several institutions with different branches and offices in Canada. The accounts enable PRs and TFWs to tackle routine expenditures and bill payments. Therefore, bank accounts are vital to control Canadian residents’ income flow and expenditure.
Acquire a Social Insurance Number
Your nearby Service Canada location in your residential city will provide you with a Social Insurance Number. Any new immigrant possessing a legal status in Canada can get a SIN as it will permit them to work in Canada. This number is unique for all individuals and comprises a private nine-digit number. Your employer will need your SIN to start paying you in wages.
Accessing a phone number or cellphone number in the first week in Canada for foreign workers and PRs
Newly arrived immigrants and foreign workers must also have a cellphone number to stay in touch with their family members, acquaintances, and friends. They could either be living abroad or nearby in Canada itself.
Additionally, newcomers in Canada have access to a plethora of alternatives concerning cellphone providers. All of them will have separate plans and devices at different price points based on individual requirements.
Hence, these new immigrants must carefully analyze all the available plans before determining anything specific.
It is important for newcomers in Canada to know a majority of telecom companies require clients to look forward to a post-paid plan to demonstrate a good credit score in Canada.
Specific providers will enable newcomers to get post-paid plan alternatives in a few instances. This applies only if they have excellent international credit scores. On the other hand, new immigrants without eligibility for a post-paid plan can choose a pre-paid plan. Hence, once they acquire a good credit score, they may shift to a post-paid plan.
Do you have any queries on Canadian immigration as a newcomer or PR? Get in touch with our immigration representatives at MakeHomeCanada by writing to us at [email protected].
