northeastcanuck

Hello everyone. My daughter is heading to Ontario to live in less than two weeks. It is something that has come up suddenly so we are having to move very quickly with all the admin to make this happen. In a nutshell, she finished a year of uni here in the UK which hasn't worked out and now with the prospect of "online" learning next year she has made the decision not to return. In the meantime her part-time job here in the UK is uncertain and she has been in and out of furlough/flexible furlough which has been a bit of a nightmare. Luckily for her, she is a Canadian citizen (thanks to me - I'm Canadian), and she has a Canadian passport, citizenship card and all the rest. She lived in Canada for a couple of years as a child. Also, she is fortunate to have a job to go to in Ontario working for my sister who runs a growing business and is currently hiring. We have been able to sort out more or less everything she needs except a SIN which seems to be a bit of a minefield at the moment...

Normally, on arrival she would simply go to the local service centre and get one. However, there are two roadblocks at the moment, the first is she has to self-isolate for 14 days as we all know and secondly the local service centre is closed indefinitely due to covid. So, the other options appear to be to do it by mail, or online. Doing it by mail might be an option but I am concerned about how long it will take to turn around her application and the information online is vague. Doing it online seems to have a 20 business day turnaround but it has an additional requirement to provide proof of address like correspondence from a bank, utility etc which of course she doesn't have yet. She will have an address living with my father but nothing is in her name. There seems to be an option to provide an employment contract with her address on it which might work although she doesn't have a formal contract in that sense, but I'm sure one can be produced if necessary.

I have tried calling the number for the SIN helpline and it just says they are too busy to take calls and hangs up on me!

Is there anyone else in a similar situation or who has gone through this recently? I would be grateful to see how others have dealt with this!

shelley748

She is not going to be able to "bypass" the system and get anything sooner. Online is how most ppl are doing things at the moment like renewing Driving Licences etc.... so she is likely going to have to go that route and provide the paperwork they require. You could also check the local Service Ontario https://www.ontario.ca/locations/serviceontario or ask your sister to check for her and see if it is possible for her to go in- some of them are opening with limited hours...

Hurlabrick

That wouldn't help with a SIN number, these are from Services Canada.

northeastcanuck

All the local services Canada locations are currently closed, even all those within 100km so looks like she will have to go with the online route and just hope for the best.

Siouxie

Would any of these work for her, after quarantine has ended, perhaps?

Brampton http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/tbsc-...=3841&lang=eng
Toronto Toronto - North York Service Canada Centre
Toronto - Scarborough Service Canada Centre
Thunder Bay - Thunder Bay Service Canada Centre
Windsor Windsor Service Canada Centre
Ottawa Ottawa East Service Canada Centre
Ottawa West Service Canada Centre
Peterborough Peterborough Service Canada Centre

Check out the others in both lists - there may be more ..

MB-Realtor

As she will be working for a family member who is aware of her situation, the SIN should not be a big problem, she could be paid normally* but the SIN information could be added to her payroll account when it arrives.

* I suppose it would depend on the payroll program, but i am sure there are work-around's till the SIN arrives.

Siouxie

Please don't suggest that anyone break the law and employ someone 'under the table'. The OP's daughter should be able to obtain her SI Number once she is in Canada.

bats

A thought/caveat re quarantine. Is your daughter going to quarantine in someone's house? This may not be allowed unless they have a completely separate space. Ie bedroom and ensuite. It could still be a problem if that space in in your father's house if he's over 65.

northeastcanuck

My father is moving out and staying with his best friend for the entire quarantine period so she has the whole house to herself (you are right, he's over 65). It's quite the upheaval but it's all sorted out now.

She's applied for her SIN online. The receipt it gives you clarifies that you don't need to have a SIN to start work, just that you have to apply for one within 3 days of starting work which she's done. It was pretty straightforward to be honest, just a bit of chicken-and-egg re proof of address but she sorted that out by providing an employment contract so should be good!

Here is the statement you get when the application is finished, so no issues re workarounds or anything like that, all above board!

"The Employment Insurance Regulations require individuals to apply for a Social Insurance Number (SIN) no later than three days after the day on which the employment begins and to inform their employer of their SIN as soon as they receive it. The legislation does not prevent people from working in insurable employment before they receive their SIN.

Please retain this notification for your records. It may also be used as proof that you have applied for a SIN."