TAKING CARE OF ESSENTIALS

Finding accommodation

Your first concern on arrival will be accommodation. If you are fortunate you will have friends or relatives who will put you up for a while. If you have been transferred by your UK firm they may have arranged accommodation for you. Failing that you will need to have sorted something out for at least the first week or so.

Locating temporary accommodation

Bed and breakfast type accommodation is available in most towns and cities and might be your best bet on arrival. Better still, arrange it before you leave. Contact the Better Business Bureau in the city or the city nearest the area you are moving to. See Useful Addresses for a list of the bureaux in major cities as well as other sources of short-term accommodation. There are quite a few websites listing bed and breakfast accommodation across Canada, and by area. Two to try are www.canadaguesthouse.com and www.bbcanada.com There are lots more – just type bed and breakfast Canada into your search engine.

Locating permanent accommodation

Once you have a temporary roof over your head you could contact a rental agency to get something more permanent. That’s where the letters of recommendation you brought with you will be useful as landlords are very keen to have some evidence of your reliability before letting the accommodation. You will also need to be prepared to pay at least one month’s rent in advance, as well as a security deposit usually equivalent to one month’s rent in the case of furnished accommodation. After that you may wish to begin looking for a house to buy. The procedure is much the same as in the UK, except that agents tend to cover a much wider area in Canada, where they are called real estate agents. You will also find that you get a more comprehensive service from your agent, who will usually accompany you to homes that you wish to view and will be able to provide you with a good deal of information about the property before you see it. Although this varies from province to province, you are likely to need at least a 5 per cent deposit, in most cases 10 per cent.

Making health care provision

Heath care is another provincially regulated area. The provincial medical insurance cover in Canada is good, but it is very important to remember that in most provinces you and your family will not be eligible for cover for 90 days. Be aware that normal holiday travel insurance will not be sufficient to cover your waiting period. Canadian Immigration authorities advise you to obtain travel insurance before leaving home to cover you for two to three weeks. Once you arrive in Canada you should arrange further coverage for the interim period. Should you wish to consult an expert on this, contact:

Canadasure
2 St Marys Court
Carleton Forehoe
Norwich NR9 4AL
email: info@canadasure.com

Of course, you may choose to retain private insurance. In this case you will need to find out if the policy you currently hold will be applicable whilst you are in Canada.

Adequate travel insurance is essential if you are only going to be in Canada temporarily.

You should also find a doctor and dentist as soon as possible. These are listed in Yellow Pages under Physicians and Surgeons, Dentists, and Clinics-Medical. If you have friends or relatives in the area ask for recommendations. Be sure to ask if the doctor belongs to a provincial health insurance plan. If not, you will pay a great deal more for your health care. You should also compare the rates charged by dentists, as there is no universal dental insurance, although many employers offer a group plan. Take the records you brought with you from your UK doctor and dentist to your new practitioners.

CASE STUDY

Even Samantha doesn’t always get it right!

It looks as if Sam has everything under control: she has upgraded her qualifications and even secured a Canadian job before leaving England. She has tidied up her affairs in the UK, arranged temporary accommodation in Vancouver and now arrives in Canada.

On the way from the airport to her bed and breakfast the taxi is involved in a slight accident. No one is seriously hurt, but Sam has bumped her head and the taxi driver insists on driving her to hospital, just to check for concussion.

‘You have got travel insurance, haven’t you?’ asks the taxi driver.

‘No. I understood I’d be covered by the BC Medicare Programme,’ replies Samantha.

‘Not until you’ve registered with the Plan,’ says the receptionist in accident and emergency.

As a Permanent Resident Samantha is not instantly covered by provincial medical insurance. She needs to complete all the necessary forms and, in most provinces including BC, wait for 90 days before coverage begins. She should have arranged some temporary insurance.

Transportation

Most cities are fairly well served by public transport, but Canadians do rely on their cars pretty heavily, particularly in more rural areas. Unless you are in a big city you should probably think about getting some sort of personal transport as quickly as possible, otherwise your job search may be hampered. Car lots proliferate in most areas and good deals are to be had on secondhand cars.