🇨🇦 Toronto · Paperwork
Registration, banking and utilities in Toronto
A Social Insurance Number, a health card, a driver licence on a deadline, and a credit file started from nothing — mostly quick, mostly in person.
The thing people get wrongThe health card and the driver licence are both ServiceOntario errands with document lists that people get wrong the first time. Turning up without three separate proofs — status, residency and identity — is the standard wasted morning.
Indicative figures
- Social Insurance NumberFreeOnline, or in person with same-day results in most cases.
- OHIP waiting periodNoneApply as soon as you arrive, with three original documents.
- Foreign licence60 daysThen an Ontario licence, by exchange or testing.
- Ontario HST13%Added at the till, not shown on the shelf.
Checked . Ranges, not quotes — your Insider confirms the current numbers in Toronto before you commit to anything.
Social Insurance Number
The SIN is issued by Service Canada and is required to be paid legally, to file tax and to open most financial products. It is free and one of the fastest pieces of Canadian admin: apply online, or in person at a Service Canada centre with your passport and work or study permit, and an in-person application is usually settled the same day. Keep the number itself private; it is requested far more often than it is legitimately needed.
- A SIN tied to a temporary permit starts with 9 and expires with the permit; renew it when the permit is extended.
- Landlords may ask for it on an application form; you do not have to give it.
OHIP and the health card
Ontario's public health insurance is applied for in person at ServiceOntario, and the application asks for three separate original documents: proof of your immigration status, proof that you live in Ontario, and proof of identity. There is no longer a waiting period, so apply as soon as you arrive. Eligibility depends on status: permanent residents qualify, and work permit holders do if they are working full time for an Ontario employer for at least six months; most international students do not, and are covered by their university's plan instead.
- Three original documents required: status, Ontario residency, identity. Photocopies of the status document are not accepted.
- A signed lease and a utility bill or bank statement usually satisfy the residency proof.
- The photo health card is the one to get; it doubles as identification.
Driving
New residents can drive on a valid foreign licence for 60 days, after which they need an Ontario licence. Ontario has exchange agreements with a number of countries and provinces that allow a direct swap; otherwise you enter the graduated licensing system and take tests. Bring a letter from your previous licensing authority documenting your driving history — it can reduce the wait and, separately, matters for insurance.
- Exchange agreements exist with some jurisdictions; others require testing.
- Get a driver's abstract or history letter from your old licensing body before you leave.
- Insurers rate largely on Canadian driving history, so premiums for new arrivals are high.
Banking, credit and tax
The large Canadian banks run newcomer account packages that will open with a passport and immigration document, sometimes before the SIN arrives. Credit is the slow part: a secured card paid in full each month is the standard way to build a file over six to twelve months. Income tax is filed annually with the Canada Revenue Agency, combining federal and Ontario portions in one return, and the first return as a newcomer has particular quirks worth taking advice on.
In order
- Apply for a SIN at Service Canada on arrival.
- Open a bank account under a newcomer package.
- Apply for the OHIP card at ServiceOntario with all three proofs.
- Hold private medical cover until the health card is issued, or for good if your status is not OHIP-eligible.
- Exchange or apply for an Ontario driver licence within the deadline.
- Start a secured credit card in month one.
- Register for a CRA account before your first tax filing.