What are some of the things that I need to do for softlanding?
1. SIN
2. PR Card
Is that all?
Also, I have some questions:
1. Should we open a bank account during softlanding or when we come back? I heard some banks have promotions for newcomers.. which banks are recommended?
2. Should we create a provincial health card during the softlanding? Or should we do it after we move and get a job permanently since we might move province after getting a job?
SIN is a must, the PR card is dependent on IRCC, you must have a Canadian address on where they can ship the PR card. Other things that might interest you: getting a health card, and porting your driver's license .
1. I never did a soft landing, I landed here and that's it so can't comment on that. Nearly all banks have promotion for new comers, but be weary of the bank fees they're quite high, especially RBC which can't be waived. I suggest getting one from the big banks to get a waived annual fee in a credit card, then open in the online banks like Simplii or Tangerine to maximize the bonuses they give to new customers, they're free and no maintaining, so it's essentially free money.
2. Depends on how long, if you're looking to stay in your first province maybe 2-3 weeks then don't bother, but if you're staying like 2-3 months, it might be worth getting one. If you live in BC they have a 3 month wait period on the health card so it may not make sense to get one in BC if you're planning to switch provinces anyway. Also in BC they won't give you a health card OR a driver's license (the actual card), without a PR card unless you have another valid ID like a work permit, they just issue a temporary paper saying you have a health insurance and a driver's license. And the PR card can take quite a long time, IRCC took 10mos to ship mine. Each province has their own policies keep this in mind when you get a health card / driver's license.