Take these 6 steps before you move to Canada!
In Canada, they start selling swimsuits in the winter and jackets in the summer. It is the same with immigration – some things need to be done before you move.
Canada has already opened its borders, but even before that, tens of thousands of people have started flying into the country to get permanent residency. Many of them will lose thousands of dollars because they did not prepare for the move.
Health insurance
Let's start with the first step, which I recommend everyone to do. Before you immigrate or get a long-term visa (e.g. work or student visa), you will need to get a medical check-up. You may have heard that medicine is free in Canada, but it doesn't start everywhere right away. For example, my family and I originally came to the province of Quebec, and it took three months to get free care there.
I highly recommend buying a private insurance, and a Canadian one, for the first time, until the government insurance kicks in. Even if you are as healthy as an ox, there is always the risk of getting sick. This can even happen due to stress or a change in climate. Without insurance, you can lose a lot of money. You can be charged about $150 CAD for a simple doctor's checkup, not to mention the cost of hospitalization. You can calculate the cost of insurance in the calculator.
Translation of documents
The next step is the translation of documents. Birth certificates, marriage certificates, education certificates, and anything else you have. I recommend to have this done in your country and have it notarized, because a similar translation will cost much more in Canada. For example, for my translation of my criminal record certificate in Ukraine my Canadian translators asked $100 CAD.
But I would like to specify right away that sometimes you still need to do translations in Canada, because some agencies require documents translated by a Canadian translator, so you should be prepared for that too.
By the way, about educational documents. For immigration, you need to translate diplomas and certify them in a special organization — this is the so-called "evaluation". To avoid unnecessary translation, just take with you certification statements in case you decide to study in Canada or if an employer requires a diploma.
Insurance documents
The third step is to take documents from insurance companies. Maybe you have taken out property insurance, car insurance, or medical insurance in your country of origin. Since you have a positive history, you may be able to reduce your premiums in Canada. It definitely works for car insurance. You should agree that it is better to pay $100 CAD per month than $500.
Recommendations
The fourth important point is letters of reference. Ask your employer for a reference letter with your contacts on it; it will help you confirm your work experience when you apply for a job in Canada. If you are renting, it is also a good idea to get a reference from your landlord because in Canada there are problems with renting if you have no credit history and a reference can help.
Bank statements
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The fifth thing you need to do is to take bank statements of all the money you have in your accounts and the money you are bringing into Canada. By the way, don't forget that if you bring in more than $10,000 CAD in cash, or its equivalent in another currency, you will need to declare it.
Treatment
The last step, but also very important — visit doctors and treat everything you can. Without being fanatical, of course. I highly recommend visiting a dentist, because when I moved to Canada, I spent the first couple of years in Kiev for dental treatment. Health insurance in Canada does not cover dental treatment, so any visit to a dentist will cost you a pretty penny. For example, you may pay $300 CAD for a simple filling and about $2000 CAD for wisdom tooth extraction.
The same goes for the ophthalmologist. Not only will simple non-brand eyeglasses cost space money, you often have to wait for them to be made. As far as I know, in Ontario children can make a free appointment once a year, but we waited a month for glasses for our youngest son.
Alex Pavlenko, Founder of Immigrant.Today
