Hi

Just been granted HRDC clearance so will hopefully arriving in Toronto mid July. We are going to need a base to try and work out where to rent initially. We are thinking that staying in a hotel with a suite for a week or 2 is this our best bet? Does anyone know of any that are reasonably priced and in a good area from which to explore?

I also want to sit the driving test to get my stars, so as to try and get a reduced insurance quote. How/where does one go for this and how long does it take?

As my wife is pregnant we will need to locate a doctor, is this as easy as it is here in the UK?

I never realised how much clutter we had accrued over the 8 years we have lived in our current house. Our new life will hopefully be minimalized. We got a good deal on shipping £740 for about 46 boxes & a small amount of furniture.

Any advice welcomed


Iain

All in one info:

http://www.settlement.org/

Congratulations...just in time for summer in Ontario !

Welcome to Canada ...yes a hotel downtown with a suite would be your best bet ...although you might want to consider outer boroughs of Toronto for cheaper rates


the following should have website info on prices and availability

days Inn
best western
Cambridge suites

or try thru a search on Expedia.ca


as for the driving you don't need to do the test just the classroom portion to get your drivers education certificate it took me 2 weekends of classroom, then a month to get the certificate - I used the cerificate to get 3 stars


if you have further questions feel free to email me

all the best


Ray

oops you also asked about a Doctor - shouldn't be too hard in the bigger cities especially as shes pregnant

You also know there is a 3 month waiting period for medical coverage in Ontario so any expenses incurred you'll be out of pocket ! Might be risky especialy if there are any problems ....try and get private insurance in place first!


Ray

Thanks Ray

Great advice as ever ... never knew there was a 3 month wait, time to panic. Should I get cover here in the UK or wait until I land?

Will be in touch regards property, thanks for the updates.

Iain

Thanks too MIckJ - looking forward to summer - great link too

I would pre book insurance in the UK or via th internet thru a Cdn Carier - problem is will they cover pregnancy ? I don't know you'll have to do some research on that buddy.

What you don't want is to be here with a pregnant wife without ANY coverage and then panicing while looking for it - you'll have enough on your plate.

Iain my sister was in a similar situation as yourself. (she was pregnant while they were in the process of moving to Canada). She had the baby in the UK, and then moved to Canada with the baby. Her husband then applied to sponser his child in country.

This was a few years ago. If you are still unsure what to do - post the query for andrew Miller in the Canada Immigration Forum, he'll give you up to date advice!

Cheers

Ray

From an immigration point of view, I believe it's usually better to have the child born in Canada. That way it will be a Canadian citizen automatically and won't need any kind of visa or permit.

Normally it would be a British citizen by descent (automatically) if born in Canada, provided at least one of its parents was born or naturalised in the UK. If father is not married to the mother, and the mother is not able to pass on citizenship, then a specific application for registration as a British citizen would be required.

It sounds like you're going on a work permit rather than PR - if so you should talk to your employer about health cover in the first 3 months. In that case it would normally be best for your child to be Canada born so it could get citizenship immediately, rather than waiting for you to get PR and citizenship eventually, if that's what you plan to do.

If the child is going to be born in the UK, then you should get some professional advice about what the options are for bringing it to Canada.

It's usually not possible for pregnant women to fly in the last 2-3 months of pregancy, so check this point carefully with your doctor and airline.

Jeremy

Yep - my sisters husband had arrived in Canada 2 months before she did and then sponsered the child in country. The problem of coming to Ontario when your wife is pregnant is the 3 month waiting period and the uncertainty of medical coverage should problems arise.



Ray