Uk to canada important things to think of
 

Hi
we are moving to toronto from the uk in September and I'm wondering what's some of the things people have sorted out before they did the move
Visa being sorted by new company
Flight over in hand as is schooling for kids car house etc
I mean the smaller things that we may not know of OR think of OR forget to add to the longggggg list of jobs

Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
 

Cancel the milk and newspaper ;)

Fill out the P tax form to get a refund.

Couldn't remember which one. P85

Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
 

Have you seen the to do lists in wiki here?:

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/To_Do_Lists-Canada

Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
 

wow no I hadn't thank you and jeez thankfully we thought of most if it just the party we don't have time for 😉😉😉 some definite important bits there too we never knew so thank you x

Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
 

Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
 

Before leaving, eat a 99.

Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
 

Yes, the OP should apply for a copy of their Drivers extract, from DVLA https://www.gov.uk/government/public...driving-record

and letters from each insurance company that they have used is recommended confirming there have been no 'no fault' claims... this is for BC but the format of the letter is what Insurance companies want in most Provinces.

https://www.icbc.com/autoplan/moving...residents.aspx

@Kaz0376 When you arrive in Canada make sure you ask for a Visitor Record for any children and one for the spouse if they aren't applying for a spousal open work permit - you will need one for a) attending school and b) obtaining a drivers license (and it helps to have it for applying for OHIP too. This is something that is issued at the Port of Entry by a CBSA officer - you have to request it, it's not automatic.
Ask if the company are providing you with health cover for all - medications/eye tests etc/dental/physio

:)

Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
 

For the kids, make sure you have their vaccination records from their GP. You will need these. Maybe not on the day you register them for school, but it will come up at some point during their first year.

Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
 

A few things not include din the wiki.

Opening a bank account:
You can open one in RBC while you are in the UK, but apart from allowing you to transfer money over it won't allow you to do anything else. You will need to 'activate' it once you land here, which is pretty much the same as opening a new one.

If you do decide to go with RBC keep in mind that it will take a couple of weeks after opening/activating your account before you get your debit card - assuming you have a fixed address. The debit card you will get CANNOT be used for online purchases; you will need a Virtual Debit Card for that (I know..it's weird, but there is no one-card that you can use for both shop and electronic purchases, they only give you separate cards).

Also, you won't be able to get a credit card for several months. Whatever your credit history is in UK does not matter. What matters is your Canadian credit history and you will have none, so no credit card for you. You can only get a secured credit card, which means they need to put a hold on whatever amount of money you want your credit card limit to be. I imagine you will be under probation in your new role? That makes it even harder to get a proper credit card until your probation is over, although in general what I said previously applied regardless.

You may not be able to use your UK credit/debit cards here everywhere. For instance, I could not pay my rent with my UK cards, they were not recognised by their payment system.

EDIT: do not underestimate what the above may mean for your ability to buy/finance a car - so think carefully how close to your work you need to rent to begin with.

Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
 

Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
 

It's good to hear that the experience was different with another bank/province.

Did they give you debit cards at the first appointment, or those little blue cards that are only good for withdrawing cash from the bank's atm? In my case it took 2 weeks for the proper debit cards to arrive..

I showed them my work contract too BUT because I had done my landing some time ago (in/out for a day) as a lot of others do, I wasn't considered a newcomer anymore, so no 'newcomer' credit cards for me...but they did allow other newcomer benefits on my account, so there is an element of inconsistency/random luck in there too I suppose.

Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
 

Our experience re credit cards was also different from London's. We had unsecured credit cards with a hefty limit within a week. We also had one with HSBC which was set up from the UK before we arrived. I think this was facilitated by their Premier account people.

Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
 

Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
 

I suspect that was the individual customer service managers decision, rather than bank policy - ALL the banks consider you a newcomer for at least a couple of years after landing... for example:If it's still less than 3 years I would challenge their decision - or tell them you intend to take your account to one of the other banks who will treat you as a newcomer!
:)

Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
 

Very good point. I don't think I'd ever been asked for them before this summer. But we have an outbreak of measles and it was obligatory that I had proof of his shot for summer camp.