Hi everyone,
Extremely sorry if this has been discussed before but would appreciate some help from you expat experts!

7 weeks until our moving date to Toronto!

I have a student visa, my fiancee has a working visa (no job yet). I don't want to secure anywhere to live before Iseeing it so we are planning on staying in a hotel for a few weeks!

Reading up on the things we need to get....
SIN card for work - can't get this without an address
bank account - cant get this without sin card and address
Somewhere to rent- need a bank account and a job

As you might notice i cant get one without the other etc etc...

Where on earth am i meant to start with this?!

The plan was to go straight to get a sin card and bank account when we arrive and then apply for jobs and arrange apartment viewings...

Olivia

You seem to have it figured out.

Not to worry you only need an address for the SIN number for their records they don't send anything to that address (you don't get a card nowadays).

Bank will normally work from a hotel address especially if you are opening a new arrivals account. I used my work address when I first got here. I set up my account before even moving here after a trip to land for 3 days to get my work permit.

For renting a place you may need an account with a cheque book, a lot of places here require you pay rent with 12 post-dated cheques.

You have the right order as bank will want your SIN number.

Which may or may not be legal, depending on the Province.

For Ontario: What tenants need to know about the law | CLEO (Community Legal Education Ontario

opps. I was speaking from BC experience. Either way you will find quite a lot more is done in cheque and cash here rather than plastic.

I had the same experience in Ontario, lol. I couldn't get anyone to rent to me unless I provided them with post dated cheques - at the time, I didn't know it was illegal (and they should have known better, they were a very large company).

Knowledge is useful though, just in case the landlord is trying it on.

It's not legal here in Qc either, for a landlord to request/require post-dated cheques. However, there's nothing to stop a (prospective) tenant (a new arrival, or someone with no rental history, for example) offering them as a "good faith" gesture...