Mrs Madmac

Hi folks,

We land in Toronto in August and have opted not to organise rental accommodation at this end because we have been warned that some of the alleged "nice" properties turn out to be horrid when you arrive. (We are moving to a university town in Ontario and I believe a lot of the accommodation is geared towards students.)

Is it possible to get our driving licences changed, SIN organised, bank accounts opened etc without a Canadian address?

I'm also wondering about the "proof of funds"........ from what I read here on the forum a bank statement is enough............. would a UK bank statement be suitable or would it need to be a Canadian one? (I thought you needed to have funds in Canada to land but we can't open an account from here.... eekk!!)

I'm thinking that we will need to spend the first couple of weeks in a hotel while we are house hunting, so that we can get an address in order to set everything else up........ we can't be the first or the last to be in this position............ any advice or info is most welcome. (We don't have family out there and are going on on our own or we could have used someone else's address.)

Thanks folks.

Mrs Madmac

iaink

PR card address can be filled in online later, so noneed for canadian address when landing for that one, leave it blank and get back to them.

Drivers license, SIN etc will need address for mailing. Hotel address might do, but how long do you intend staying there before arranging a rented place.

Bank account should be no problem, I used my work address, but hotel would do, just update them when you have your own place. Really they may be able to open an account without an address at all, quite a few future expats have canadian accounts, but no canadian address. If you are nervous contact a local branch in advance to see what they want.

UK statement should be just fine for Proof of funds.

In the great scheme of things there is no rush for a drivers license, you get three months to drive about on a UK one, get accomodation sorted, get a Hydro bill sent or something like that with your name and new address, and then proceed from there.

Mrs Madmac

Just a wee note to anyone reading this post - the only bank so far to say they are prepared to open a bank account for us from the UK, i.e. with no Canadian address is the RBC Royal Bank. (The others all said we needed to be there in person with various pieces of identification.)

lousid

Check out mls.ca and get in touch with a reputable realtor. Explain your circumstances and what you would like to live in, areas, types of building and budget and they'll have a stack of properties lined up ready and waiting for you to view. You coould easily see ten or more in a day this way and make an informed decision within a couple of weeks. Also, a good realtor will find you a place to rent short term (or even put you up as I have read from others!) while you're searching.
I think you've probably done all this already, haven't you?

Cheers,
Sid

dingbat

Bet they don't when you actually come to do it - you need a SIN number and proof of address with RBC.

Alberta_Rose

We opened an account with TD bank prior to our arrival. We had to visit to activate and access the account once we got there.

Your driving licence has your address on it, so I don't think they will let you change that before getting an address! But you can drive on your UK licence for 3 months or so anyway I think.

As soon as you land you can go apply for your SIN card, and they will let you know the number for employment or other purposes in advance of actually getting the card.

Biiiiink

I got an Ontario driving license with the Delta Chelsea address on it - I omitted the "Delta Chelsea" bit though and just put the building number and street

jazzist

Why not get yourself a PO Box?

It's certainly something I'm considering, it'll also help job applications before you land, having a Canadian address.

PO Box companies will send any mail to your UK address and bill you the airmail fees. I think you can rent a box for like $10 a month.

Mrs Madmac

I think they (RBC) have changed their policy - they now have a web page dedicated to immigrants and how they can help you set up details. As long as I can provide proof of my details here and allow sufficient time for the post they say they can do it all by snail mail.

TD said they knew it would be frustrating but that they could not help until we were there.

Yes been looking at lot at the mls web site and I have numerous estate agent..... sorry realtors details for the town .......... so hopefully not too long when we get there until we have a roof over our heads.

The post office box is a great idea - off to investigate it!

Thanks every so much for all the replies.

heritagefarmer

we used a lawyer for our visa because I have an aversion to form filling, so they let us use their address.
Also, when we were in PEI looking at property, the realtor let us use her address for licences etc. Even tho people knew we didn't live there, they never turned a hair.
Maybe it's different in th city tho

jude.evans

Want to read a horror story? Read on - we returned to Canada after an 18 year absence - we foolishly went "home" to UK back in the 80"s. Anyway - returned here October 2004. Husband came over in June of that year to explore this area and opened a bank account - no problem, used a friend's c/o address. That was fine. Had all our funds transferred to that account, through a broker in London - funds arrived OK, bank froze the lot! Why? Because we didn't have proof of where the dosh came from! We had no paperwork to prove we'd sold our house in UK - they said we could be drugs barons! The 5 hour time difference meant that when we needed to phone our solicitor in UK he was locking up for the night, so many and various faxes were sent to and fro, using a local branch of the bank (TD Canada Trust) After two weeks the woman in the TD bank in Toronto (where the account had been opened) - having got all the necessary stuff from our solicitor, then told us she had no proof that our solicitor was genuine! "He could be just anyone" she said. We suggested she ring the Law Society after which we would remove ALL our money (A substantial amount)from their bank, once it was "unfrozen" and place it elsewhere! This we did. The moral? Beg your solicitor for proof of where your money has come from.
As far as SIN cards and driving licences go - we are lucky - my husband is a Canadian Citizen and I am a Permanent Resident, so we had past reocrds etc. Perhaps you have friends over here who would let you use their address? Good luck - don't give up - uncertainty over here IS better than certainty over there!