dbd33

Yes but familiarity is everything, the licensing people will know what a SIN is, they won't have heard of Barclays (or HSBC or whichever) bank and, if they're anything like the people in the DLA offices in Ontario, the foreignness of it will freak them out. The snag, I agree, is that we don't know that the SIN letter is issued on the spot.

bairn7

They definitely won't have heard of M&S Bank then lol

I'll change the address over anyway, that way I can at least try if the SIN letter isn't issued straight away. I can report back as to whether it was successful.

Siouxie

You get your Social Insurance Number (SIN) issued on the day if you appy in person - I believe you only get a confirmation letter if you apply by mail (which is restricted).

https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-...sin/apply.html

Hurlabrick

Yes, you definitely get a printed 'letter' from Services Canada with your SIN and the address you gave them handed to you there and then if you apply in person.

Rich_BC

Yup, just to re-confirm what others said above, the printed SIN letter is handed to you on the day when you apply in person. Depending on which Service Canada office you go to, you can have the SIN and letter in your hands within 15 mins (from my personal experience, I went when the office opened first thing vs 1.5 hrs wait for my wife to get hers (middle of the day)).

In fact, if you plan it all correctly (make an appointment at the bank etc) you could have you SIN, bank account and drivers license issued within a matter of hours, finishing the day off with buying and insuring a car. Here in BC I did my license exchange in the morning and drove away from the showroom in my new car later that afternoon. Simples

Almost Canadian

We got out SIN issued there and then and, IIRC, left with a card stating what it was as well as a piece of paper with the same information on it. I don't know if they still issue cards now.

Rich_BC

No, they only provide the sheet of paper these days.

bairn7

Thanks all!

bairn7

I thought the sin letter may have been to good to be true. I've checked the websites of many of the registries in Calgary and, in terms of residence proof, most give the following list of acceptable documents:

- Electronic or printed and mailed utility bill (utility, cable, home phone)
- copy of land title
- residential lease agreement
- original mailed financial statement, bill or cheque
- original mailed government statements or cheques (eg AISH, Carbon Tax, GST cheque, income tax assessment, notice of assessment, etc)
- written confirmation of attendance from education institution
- written confirmation from an Alberta Hutterite Colony confirming residence
- original mailed paystub within 90 days or written confirmation of AB employment within 15 days
- Alberta Health Care mailed statement

So looks like a bank statement may be my only possibility.

I'll get my UK bank statement sent to my Calgary address but will prepare myself for the possibility of this not being accepted and having to wait on a letter from my new bank once opened.

Siouxie

Opens in new tab, no downloadhttps://d17739y53in19b.cloudfront.ne...-documents.pdf

Why bother - why not just wait until you have all the necessary documents.. (such as a rental agreement and a utility bill / cell phone bill)? I wouldn't get your UK bank involved, the registry won't have any idea who it is and you might find the bank decide you are no longer resident in the UK! You can drive on your UK license in Alberta for 90 days... depending on which City you end up in, you might be able to 'rent/share' a vehicle temporarily if you need to go somewhere. Better to do this the correct way than create more issues down the road!

scilly

Why the rush to buy a car??

As Siouxie says, you can drive on your UK license for 90 days, you can rent a car if absolutely essential, there's transit in the larger places.

bairn7

Thank you. I have the information I require now.

scilly

Are you prepared for the winter driving conditions in Alberta?

They are very different from the UK.

For one thing, you will have to ensure that any car you buy has the correct winter tires.

Siouxie

I'm not sure that you have to have an Alberta license to purchase a vehcile and register it.. so I don't think you have to worry about rushing into it.

https://www.alberta.ca/register-vehicle.aspx#toc-1
https://www.alberta.ca/buying-vehicl...te-seller.aspx
https://ama.ab.ca/knowledge-base/art...cle-in-alberta

bairn7

Thanks Siouxie. I understood that you needed a AB licence for insurance. But it appears that perhaps it may be possible by ringing around, although one page I've found suggests that they may charge a premium to do so.

I think I'll bite the bullet and go for a full month of car rental (please don't ask why I am insistent on a car, I just am ). I'm registering my Canadian address with my UK bank (or at least one of my UK banks) as they have confirmed that it is acceptable. Plus you don't really want to not tell a bank that you have moved overseas and then come across some issue with your account that requires you to visit a branch to rectify. I'll try to get a licence with my bank statement. If that doesn't work, I'll have the car hire to fall back on and will wait until I get a Canadian bank statement.