Not sure if this will be helpful to anyone here, but thought I'd share.

My husband applied for his SIN in mid-July. The advertised processing time on their website is 20 working days, which technically is tomorrow, but my husband decided to call yesterday to chase up.

Turns out the website is massively out of date, and they are backlogged by about a month, currently working on SIN applications received on 21 June!!

My husband starts work in two weeks so they are going to try to expedite his, but for anyone else waiting and wondering, I thought this information might be helpful or useful.

Huh? What do mean by "applied for his SIN"? When I initially applied for a SIN as a TWP holder, it took about 20 minutes tops, and I had a record of the number before I left the Service Canada office. Similarly when I became a PR and got a permanent SIN, it was done there and then. What website are you applying on? Why not just get yourself to a Service Canada office?

We are still in the UK, he had to do it by postal order. Sorry I should have specified that!!

Ah, that makes a little more sense, then.

How soon after you plan to arrive in Canada is he scheduled to start work? It is, literally, a half-hour process at Service Canada to get it done: bring passport, residency paperwork/work permit, sign a declaration, receive SIN confirmation. It seems like you've already started the process; if it hasn't sorted itself out by the time you travel to Canada, it may be worth turning up at a SC office local to you and seeing if they can finalise it there and then.

I seem to remember you're coming to Oakville? If that's still the case, the Service Canada office is opposite the Oakville GO station, in the same plaza as the Service Ontario office you'll need to visit anyway for drivers licences etc.

He lands on the 2nd and starts on the 3rd... but if he hasn't heard back from Service Canada by then, then he won't be able to start on the 3rd anyway... so this might be something to look into. Not a bad backup plan, thanks for letting me know!

We are indeed going to Oakville, so good to know where the office is! I assume it's in the plaza with the No Frills? I think I know the spot, I remember going there for my health card awhile back.

Yes, that's the place. It's good practice for newly-arrived Canadians to assimilate: the provincial bureau and the federal one are separated by a parking lot and the drive-through lane of a Tim Horton's. Watch for inattentive truck drivers! Obviously the office is closed on the Monday (Labour Day) but opens at 8.30 on Tuesday morning. If he's lining up at the door for opening time he may not even be too late for his first day in the office!

+1 to that -no need to stress. We arrived on the Thursday and got our SIN numbers on the Friday morning no hassles. As long as you have the docs with you then no issue. You get a piece of paper until your actual card arrives - even getting the actual card only took about a week or so.

Hahahaha that is true, I can picture it clearly now that you've described it!! Although my husband refuses to drink Tim's coffee, said it tastes like mud... which I rather agree with! :P

I've sent him a link to this thread, so it's a reasonable Plan B if Service Canada can't expedite his application. He hopefully will hear from them today...

I got mine at lunchtime on my first day of work...

If time is a problem note that he does not need a SIN to start work. The employer must make sure he is authorized to work in Canada. Most employers ask for a SIN card. If the first digit is 1 to 7 then the holder is a citizen or PR. If the first digit is 9 then the holder is a temporary worker and the card will have a date when the holder's work permit expires.

However, the work permit itself is also evidence that the holder is authorized to work. He absolutely must give the employer his SIN by the end of the year otherwise the employer cannot complete the year-end returns (and he will not get credit for the EI/CPP he has paid). The CRA can fine employers who do not record the SINs of their employees so his employer will likely start to get concerned after a week or so, but I would not be late for my first day at work just because of this.

Alrighty, thanks everyone for the advice - we have a bit of a plan anyway. Hopefully Service Canada can expedite the process, and as a backup he can sort it out once he lands.

Cheers

Hi



1. I may be missing something, but unless your spouse is a Canadian citizen living abroad, I can't see SC issuing a SIN. (Unless he is non resident and has investments in Canada)
2. Once he is "landed" if he is coming as a PR or if on TWP they are not issued until he arrives in Canada.

What heresy!

'Tis a well known (although little advertised) fact that Timmies is the Nectar of The Gods!

PMM - we already landed, Husband says he's fine to apply by post and had supplied a Canadian mailing address. He called Service Canada yesterday as well and they didn't say he wasn't able to apply.