Arrived in Canada. What’s next?
Tips to make transition into Canadian life easy

Settlement checklist

Arriving in a new city can be overwhelming. The following checklist will help you keep track of the most important things you need to do to get settled in Ottawa.

Your first days

• Visit the YMCA-YWCA Newcomer Information Centre(link is external) located at 200 Catherine Street in Ottawa or a settlement agency
• Find temporary accommodations for your first few nights in Ottawa (if you haven’t already done so)
• Exchange your money for Canadian currency at a bank
• Apply for the Ontario Health Insurance Plan(link is external) (OHIP), a publicly funded program that covers basic health care services
• Apply for the Interim Federal Health (IFH) Program(link is external), a short-term health insurance program that provides temporary health insurance until you are covered by OHIP. It is available to protected persons only (resettled refugees, refugee claimants, certain persons detained under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and other specified groups)
• Apply for a Social Insurance Number(link is external) (SIN), which you are required to have to work in Canada

Your first weeks

• Contact an immigrant-serving organization in your community that will help you get settled in Ottawa
• Get a map of Ottawa and find out about transportation in your area, including OC Transpo(link is external), the city’s public transit system
• Open a bank account
• Look for permanent accommodations
• Find someone who will act as a reference or co-signer for your apartment and/or mortgage
• Set up essential services such as utilities (water, heat, electricity), insurance and telephone
• Register your children in school
• Arrange child-care for your children if you will be working
• Apply for the Canada Child Tax Benefit(link is external), a tax-free monthly payment made to eligible families to help them with the cost of raising children under age 18
• Find a family doctor
• Have your children immunized(link is external) once you have arrived in Ottawa
• Apply for an Ontario driver’s license(link is external)
• Get licence plates and registration(link is external) for your car
• Visit the Ottawa Public Library(link is external) to obtain a free library card and learn more about the various programs and services offered. You may obtain information in multiple languages as well as, use the public computers and Internet
• Start looking for a job
• Look into having your foreign credentials recognized (if you haven’t already done so)
• Register for language training to improve your skills or to learn English/French as a second language
• Start volunteering to gain Canadian work experience

More information

Ontario Immigration(link is external)
Settlement.org(link is external)
Information about visas(link is external)

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