Guides

Guides for newcomers in Canada

Five guides for the first month in Canada: a checklist, opening a bank account, building credit, a first phone plan, and sending money home.

• Your first 30 days in Canada: a checklistFive things to sort out in the first month: a SIN, a provincial health card, a bank account, a phone, and a place to live.
• Opening a bank account as a newcomer: a neutral comparisonFederal rules let you open a personal bank account even without a job or a deposit today, as long as you can prove who you are.
• Building credit as a newcomerYour credit history from another country usually doesn't follow you to Canada. How reports, newcomer cards, and secured cards work.
• Getting your first Canadian phone planPrepaid plans usually skip a credit check. Postpaid plans usually do not. What the CRTC Wireless Code requires of every mobile plan.
• Sending money home: Wise, Remitly and bank wires comparedA remittance is money sent to someone in another country. Compare the fee, the exchange rate, and how the money is delivered.