Frequently Asked Questions

[Admin]

What are the first steps we must take with our personal accounts (banking, cell phone etc) upon arriving?
It’s good to buy a cellphone chip since it’s good to have a canadian number in case to contact people or have some emergency. There are a wide variety of cell phone plans and companies to choose from. You can compare your options in the website below:
http://www.comparecellular.ca/compare-rate-plans/ontario/
You can filter by price range and company to see what is best suited for you. If you bring your own cell phone, make sure to ask if your cellphone is compatible to the chip of the company.

For making a bank account, the main thing to remember is to have the necessary documents ready when you go to visit the branch. For example, for TD Canada Trust (a really big bank here), they ask for 2 pieces of identification:
                   
(1) One of the following documents:                    
                   
Permanent Resident Card
Confirmation of permanent residence (IMM Form 5292)
Temporary Permit (IMM Form 1442, 1208, 1102)
                   
(2) One of the following documents:                    
                   
A valid passport
Canadian Driver’s Licence
Canadian Government Identification card
So basically you are going to need the first form mentioned, which is your immigration document. You can use your passport for the second ID needed. TD is just one of the choices but there are other options as well.

Scotiabank = http://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/0,0,2,00.html
Bank of Montreal = http://www.bmo.com/home?redirect_uri=www.bmo.ca
Royal Bank of Canada = http://www.rbc.com/canada.html

There is not much difference between them except for opening hours and location of branches, so really you can choose whatever is closest to you.

[juliana.couto]

What are the fist steps we must take with our personal accounts (banking, cell phone etc) upon arriving?
You should go to the bank in order to open an student account. You can choose between considerable banks. The famous ones are Scotiabank and RBC.
You should go to a cellphone company to get a Canadian number. The famous ones are Fido, Rogers, and Wind.

Do you recieve us on the airport?
No.