Canada guide 路 verified 2026-07-04
After You Land in Canada: First-Weeks Checklist
After you land
Canada's first-week bureaucracy is lighter than some destinations, but it still has a strict starting gate: the study permit itself is only issued by a CBSA officer at the port of entry, and it will list conditions (including any work authorization) that the student must understand from day one.
Get the physical study permit from CBSA at the port of entry
MandatoryPresent the POE Letter of Introduction and passport to the CBSA officer on arrival. The officer verifies the documents, may ask questions about the study plan, and issues the actual study permit (a paper document, not a card) listing conditions such as work eligibility. Keep this document safe, it is needed for almost everything that follows (bank account, SIN application, health coverage).
You get: Physical study permit with study/work conditions listed.Apply for a Social Insurance Number (SIN)
ConditionalIf the study permit allows work (on- or off-campus), apply for a SIN at Service Canada, it is required before starting any paid work or receiving a paycheque, and is also used for tax filing.
Open a Canadian bank account
RecommendedWith the study permit, passport, and LOA, open a student bank account (most major banks offer no-fee student accounts). If funds were parked in a GIC, this is where the monthly release lands.
Activate health insurance
MandatoryEnrol in the university's mandatory plan (many Ontario schools) or the provincial plan (e.g., BC's MSP, remembering the initial waiting period) as applicable. Do not let the interim travel-insurance policy lapse before the permanent coverage is confirmed active.
Complete enrolment/registration at the institution
MandatoryFinish in-person or online registration formalities, confirm course enrolment, and get the student ID, often also used for transit passes and campus health-plan opt-outs/opt-ins.
Get a Canadian SIM and settle logistics
RecommendedA local SIM, transit pass, and (if needed) a local address registration with the university's international office round out the first two weeks. Where the campus runs a mandatory U-Pass (e.g., UBC, SFU, University of Ottawa), it activates automatically on the student card once fees are paid, no separate purchase needed. Without an existing Canadian credit history, a prepaid SIM or a carrier's 'newcomer' postpaid plan is usually easier to get approved for than a standard postpaid contract.
Canada does not require newcomers to register their residential address with a municipal authority the way Germany does. The equivalent 'first gate' is the port-of-entry issuance of the study permit itself, get that right and the rest (bank, SIN, insurance, enrolment) follows in a fairly forgiving order.
Where this fits
This is one step of the full Canada journey: admission, tests, application, visa, money, arrival and stay-back, every figure cited to an official source.
More on Canada
Bramica is independent and takes no commission from any university, recruiter or agency. This page is information, not immigration advice. Rules, fees and thresholds change; confirm the current requirement on the official source before acting on it.