Uk to canada important things to think of
Jun 27th 2019 | 4:31 am
#1
Thread Starter
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 34
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
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
Jun 27th 2019 | 5:05 am
#2
Oscar nominated
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 55,309
From: Moncton, NB, CANADA
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
Fill out the P tax form to get a refund.
Couldn't remember which one. P85
Last edited by BristolUK; Jun 27th 2019 at 5:07 am.
Jun 27th 2019 | 5:21 am
#3
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 2,485
From: London, ON
Re: 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
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
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/To_Do_Lists-Canada
Jun 27th 2019 | 5:30 am
#4
Thread Starter
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 34
Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
Jun 27th 2019 | 11:55 am
#5
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 207
From: Ontario
Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
We found that for car insurance we needed proof of driving years not necessarily proof of no claims. So the actual number of years you have been driving I think we got this from the DVLA.
Jun 27th 2019 | 12:04 pm
#6
Assimilated Pauper
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 40,070
From: Ontario
Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
Before leaving, eat a 99.
Jun 27th 2019 | 7:19 pm
#7
Banned
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 19,878
From: SW Ontario
Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
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
Last edited by Siouxie; Jun 27th 2019 at 7:25 pm.
Jun 29th 2019 | 1:12 am
#8
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 277
From: Ajax, Ont
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.
Jul 8th 2019 | 9:24 am
#9
Just Joined
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 22
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.
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.
Last edited by london.2014; Jul 8th 2019 at 9:27 am.
Jul 8th 2019 | 9:41 am
#10
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 327
From: Calgary, AB
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.
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.
we set up a Scotia bank account from the U.K. we made an appointment with what would become our local branch for the day after we arrived so we could sign the documents that declared it was us who set up the account- provide ID and then they gave us the debit cards there and then. (Yes they can’t be used online but they can be used in every shop here) we also instantly put money into the account which meant we weren’t carrying cash around- and it meant we could etransfer money like rent etc with no issues.
Because my husband was coming over and starting a job right away- all we had to do was show them the contract which declared how much his salary would be and they also issued him a “newcomer†credit card. Not for a lot- it was for $2000. And it arrived in the mail just over a week later but it meant we could start building credit in Canada right away. - they didn’t care about any credit history- it was simply being based on his income.
That was just our experience with the credit side of things.
Jul 8th 2019 | 9:46 am
#11
Just Joined
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 22
Re: Uk to canada important things to think of
Just to add my 2 cents worth as to my experience:
we set up a Scotia bank account from the U.K. we made an appointment with what would become our local branch for the day after we arrived so we could sign the documents that declared it was us who set up the account- provide ID and then they gave us the debit cards there and then. (Yes they can’t be used online but they can be used in every shop here) we also instantly put money into the account which meant we weren’t carrying cash around- and it meant we could etransfer money like rent etc with no issues.
Because my husband was coming over and starting a job right away- all we had to do was show them the contract which declared how much his salary would be and they also issued him a “newcomer†credit card. Not for a lot- it was for $2000. And it arrived in the mail just over a week later but it meant we could start building credit in Canada right away. - they didn’t care about any credit history- it was simply being based on his income.
That was just our experience with the credit side of things.
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.
Jul 8th 2019 | 10:25 am
#12
"In cruce vincam"
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,233
From: Mill Bay, Vancouver Island
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.
Jul 8th 2019 | 12:14 pm
#13
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 327
From: Calgary, AB
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.
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.
Se brought a credit card each from the U.K. as well (one a Lloyd’s bank Visa credit card and one a Capital One mastercard and didn’t/haven’t had any issues using either of those since moving.
Seems there’s definitely inconsistencies with what I’ve heard from others too- happy that we had no issues. All our banking/setting up experience was very positive.
Jul 8th 2019 | 12:37 pm
#14
Banned
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 19,878
From: SW Ontario
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.
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.
Scotiabank StartRight Program, created for Canadian Permanent residents from 0–3 years in Canada, International Students and Foreign Workers
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!
Jul 8th 2019 | 9:49 pm
#15
BE user by choice
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 4,854
From: A Briton, married to a Canadian, now in Fredericton.
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.
