First 2 Weeks in Canada (Newfoundland)
May 28th 2017, 8:26 pm
#16
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 817
Re: First 2 Weeks in Canada (Newfoundland)
Hi All, thought I would share the experiences of my first 2 weeks here in Newfoundland.
Firstly, landing at St. John's airport. When I got to the passport desk I just let them know that I was here to land as a permanent resident. The officer just asked me to confirm that I had my papers (which I did) but before I could get them out he directed me to the luggage carousel and asked me to go to the corner of the room where an immigration officer would help me. There was a few people ahead of me who needed work permits so I was hanging around for 20 minutes or so, which was fine (I'd been waiting 4 months for my papers so another short wait was ok!). A lady officer eventually became free and we went through the formalities. I just had to confirm a few details on my COPR and sign. I gave her my Canadian address and she said that my permanent residence card would follow. Pretty low key and easy. She put a stamp in my passport and she was going to let me go before I mentioned to her that I'd produced a list of all of my belongings and there were things to follow. I'm glad I mentioned it as I wouldn't have wanted any issues bringing my stuff over with me next time. She took a couple of photocopies of my list, stamped it and sent me on my way. Welcome to Canada! From what I've read, I get the impression that this process may be a bit more streamlined at other larger airports where they have more people coming in from away, but it was all good.
It's been really easy to get all of the other official stuff done too. I went to my local Service Canada office to get my SIN. Only took 15 minutes, 1 form to fill in and I was away with the number in my hand. I took medical insurance for 3 months before I left but I didn't realize that in Newfoundland they give you your MCP card straight away. Again, I was in and out of the office within 10 minutes. I swapped my driving license over to a Newfoundland one without issue. I paid $133, they hold on to my UK one as its illegal to hold 2 driving licenses in Canada. If I ever need it back then I can just pop in and get it they said. Finally, had a really good meeting with my local Scotiabank branch. We opened a chequing account and savings account within an hour and I walked away with my debit card in hand (you choose a PIN in branch). I used transferwise to transfer some money across.. that worked well too. One thing is that the wiki here mentions the reliance on cheques here in Canada. I'm not sure that's true (here at least). You can do a lot of things online here and my banker said that it wasn't worth me having a chequebook. Something to keep in mind.
All in all, I've had a really good couple of weeks so far. It's helped that I'm still working for my UK company remotely, so I didn't have the extra stress of having to find a job too. Really looking forward to the next chapter in my life!!
Cheers,
Scott
Firstly, landing at St. John's airport. When I got to the passport desk I just let them know that I was here to land as a permanent resident. The officer just asked me to confirm that I had my papers (which I did) but before I could get them out he directed me to the luggage carousel and asked me to go to the corner of the room where an immigration officer would help me. There was a few people ahead of me who needed work permits so I was hanging around for 20 minutes or so, which was fine (I'd been waiting 4 months for my papers so another short wait was ok!). A lady officer eventually became free and we went through the formalities. I just had to confirm a few details on my COPR and sign. I gave her my Canadian address and she said that my permanent residence card would follow. Pretty low key and easy. She put a stamp in my passport and she was going to let me go before I mentioned to her that I'd produced a list of all of my belongings and there were things to follow. I'm glad I mentioned it as I wouldn't have wanted any issues bringing my stuff over with me next time. She took a couple of photocopies of my list, stamped it and sent me on my way. Welcome to Canada! From what I've read, I get the impression that this process may be a bit more streamlined at other larger airports where they have more people coming in from away, but it was all good.
It's been really easy to get all of the other official stuff done too. I went to my local Service Canada office to get my SIN. Only took 15 minutes, 1 form to fill in and I was away with the number in my hand. I took medical insurance for 3 months before I left but I didn't realize that in Newfoundland they give you your MCP card straight away. Again, I was in and out of the office within 10 minutes. I swapped my driving license over to a Newfoundland one without issue. I paid $133, they hold on to my UK one as its illegal to hold 2 driving licenses in Canada. If I ever need it back then I can just pop in and get it they said. Finally, had a really good meeting with my local Scotiabank branch. We opened a chequing account and savings account within an hour and I walked away with my debit card in hand (you choose a PIN in branch). I used transferwise to transfer some money across.. that worked well too. One thing is that the wiki here mentions the reliance on cheques here in Canada. I'm not sure that's true (here at least). You can do a lot of things online here and my banker said that it wasn't worth me having a chequebook. Something to keep in mind.
All in all, I've had a really good couple of weeks so far. It's helped that I'm still working for my UK company remotely, so I didn't have the extra stress of having to find a job too. Really looking forward to the next chapter in my life!!
Cheers,
Scott
Apparently I was used to a lot worse in a lot other countries.
May 29th 2017, 2:04 pm
#17
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jun 2015
Location: Vancouver BC
Posts: 1,706
Re: First 2 Weeks in Canada (Newfoundland)
When I swopped my UK one for a BC one DVLA was informed by ICBC and my UK license shown as not valid. It is part of the reciprocal agreement that you can only have one valid license.
You can also normally print a void cheque from your online banking when you need one. I need a cheque book as that is how my landlady likes the rent, but that's all I use it for.
Welcome to Canada btw.
Last edited by Engineer_abroad; May 29th 2017 at 2:06 pm.
