Hi Friends
We landed last week in Toronto and everything went off very smooth.
The IO officer at the airport war very polite and welcoming. You need inform the officer at the passport control that you are here for landing and he will ask you, if you are carrying anything, which needs to be declare (he will specifically ask for funds, if it is more than 10K per person). You will be directed to the Immigration counter after this (rest of the people will move towards the baggage claim/exit), where IO will ask for CoPR and passport. The total of three questions asks to us were:
1. How much money you are carrying (no proof was asked in our case)....?
2. Do you have any items coming later on....?
3. Do you have address in Canada, where PR card can be sent...?
We were ask to sign the CoPR with in the while box (using a black pen) in the last and one copy of CoPR (duly filled and signed) was stapled to our passport. We were provided with lots of materials about the various services for newly immigrants and a bag.
It took us precisely 20 minutes for the whole process.
Next day, we went to nearest Service Canada Office for getting the SIN number which was again a very smooth and simple process and took us just 15 minutes for the whole process (plus 10 minutes of waiting time). The SIN was provided on the spot with information that the card will reach to the address with 10 working days. Bank account was next in the list, so we headed towards that. After doing a little research for the best options, we found that almost all the banks in Canada have similar offers for new immigrants i.e. no minimum balance & no fee account for first 12 months (limited transactions per month), but RBC & TD are the best choices, as per the most of Canadians (because of their huge network and other banking products). The account was opened in 20 minutes and we were provided with the temporary client card (debit card) and account number. The only document one needs to carry for both these services is your passport with CoPR stapled to it. There is no form, no photographs and no photocopy of any document needed anywhere. You do not even have to fill up any form also.
Another important thing is registering for the health card, the only additional document you need here is the address proof in ON which can be:
1. Bank Statement
2. Rent agreement
3. Driving License
The first two would be easier and faster in most of the cases. As in ON, the coverage only starts after 90 days we really need not to rush for it. For driving license one must carry the letter from RTO clearly mentioning the driving experience and clean record in order to directly apply for G2 license and save the wait period of 9-12 months (G1 to G2).
I hope this will be of some help for the members.
yipeeeeee
