IEC Canada FAQ

Check you have everything you need before you arrive in Canada. Immigration Canada has a handy guide here.

Note: You must prepay for your health insurance. You will only be granted a visa for the time frame you can prove you have paid for even if your documents show that you are covered for longer.

Summary of comments per airport:

1. Toronto: Hour and half queuing and then 10 mins at the desk.
2. Calgary: No mention of major delays, just flew to the airport and activated visa.
3. Vancouver:
4. Montréal: Immigration queues were long. Took about 2 hours to get through and several people missed connecting flights.

What people said:

• For us the wait in the line at Toronto was an hour and a half. Once we were at the window it was 10 mins and we got our work permits
• ...arrived in Canada on Monday, went from London - Calgary - Kamloops. Activated my work visa at Calgary.
• Yeah immigration is a nightmare especially if you fly into Montreal . I was in there for 2 hours waiting and it was pure luck my connecting flight to Toronto was delayed.

There is no easy answer to this one! Flights vary over time, and deals crop up here and there. Also operators resell flights on different platforms at reduced costs. The best thing is to shop around.

Considerations to make:

1. Flying from the UK to Iceland (EasyJet) and then Iceland to Canada (IcelandAir) seems to be a good way to reduce costs. You can even do a few days in Iceland if you like.
2. Flying from the UK to Seattle (several airlines) and then up to Vancouver (usually WestJet) seems to reduce the cost of a one way flight.
3. Baggage fees can surpass those of a direct flights with a premium airline such as Virgin or BritishAirways.

IEC Visa Requirement
The minimum required cover under the International Experience Canada Visa is Medical Care, Hospitalisation, and Repatriation. Your visa will only be granted for the period covered by your insurance!

Insurance companies people have used:

1. Big Cat Travel Insurance (2 people)
2. Backpacker (2 people)
3. True Traveller (1 person)

What people said:

• "I got mine here Big Cat Travel Insurance"
• "We went with backpacker, they're fairly good"
• "Medical insurance also. It's a requirement for the IEC. Have friends in Canada and backpacker worked fine for them. Costs around €600 depending on how much you add in"
• "Me and my boyfriend just sorted ours, went with big cat. £876 (with winter sport). And we went with their cheaper option"
• "I went with “True Traveller” insurance and went for the most basic package. It covers all of the requirements that they look for in insurance. Think it was about £600 for 2 years."

IEC Visa Requirement
The requirement under the International Experience Canada Visa is CAN$2,500.

How much people said they have/are taking:

1. £5,000-£10,000
2. CAN$2,500
3. CAN$10,000
4. £5,000

What people said:

• "I think £5000 - £10,000 would be plenty"
• "If you don't have a job lined up, i think you might struggle to live comfortable on 2500 CAD also you gotta take rent into account if your staying hotel or Air B&B without credit score you maybe asked to pay more than your deposit and first months rent"
• "Yeah id say £5k ‘minimum"
• "As for funds this truly depends on your lifestyle choices, but a generic amount that I think would be sufficient for most is $10,000"

Canadian Banks
Many banks in Canada charge for their services as standard. Check all fees before signing up!

Banks recommended:

1. Scotia Bank (fees if less than CAN$5,000)
2. CIBC
3. TD Canada

What people said:

• "I think I'm gonna go for Scotia Bank since HSBC currently aren't allowing new accounts because they're merging with another company or something, so might be a few months until you can go for them. Scotia seem alright as long as you have over 5k in it at all times otherwise they'll charge you each month"
• "CIBC will waive their fees for two years if you are a newcomer."
• "TD is a good bank"

Official Immigration Canada Statement
The border services officer may also ask for proof of funds.You must present a statement of your bank account issued no more than 1 week before your departure for Canada. It must clearly show that you have enough money to support yourself for the first 3 months of your stay in Canada (the equivalent of CAN$2,500).

Evidence people used:

1. English bank statement
2. Statement from Revolut

What people said:

• "Proof of funds, bank statement that shows you have over $2500, the bank statement has to be less than a week old"
• "It can even be a statement from revolute thats what i gave and they accepted it"
• "Apparently it doesn't need to be [from a] Canadian [bank]. Asked Alliance the other day about it"

Note: If you are taking over CAN$10,000 you might need to look into how best to proceed. There are restrictions on moving large sums of cash into the country. The official statement from Immigration Canada is below:

If you arrive in Canada with the equivalent of CAN$10,000 or more, you must tell the border services officer. If you do not, you could be fined or put in prison. These funds could be in the form of:

• cash
• securities in bearer form (for example, stocks, bonds, debentures, treasury bills) or
• bankers’ drafts, cheques, travellers’ cheques or money orders

Important!
If you are repaying student loads you must contact the agency (SFE for those in England). The thresholds are the same in Canada as they are in England so unless you land a great job, you don't need to worry. But if you don't inform them, they could start charging you a base rate!

Contact your student loan company:

1. For students in England, this is Student Finance England. You can tell them you're travelling and they will ask you to submit proof of salary when you start work. If it's below the threshold, you're good. If it's over the thresholds for your plan, they will arrange a payment plan, usually direct debit.

What people said:

Nobody has brought this up. This was from my own research.

These are the thresholds for each Plan:

1. Plan 1: Overseas earnings thresholds for Plan 1 student loans - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
2. Plan 2: Overseas earnings thresholds for Plan 2 student loans - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
3. Post Grad: Overseas earnings thresholds for postgraduate student loans - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Your Experience Will Vary
Each person emigrating to Canada is doing so with different skills and ambitions. Alliance do have a careers service that can help.

Website to check out:

1. Indeed: Lots of jobs on here but not specifically targeting the immigrant market.
2. LinkedIn Typically for skilled workers and not always specific to the immigrant market.
3. CA Job Bank: Official Canadian Gov website that shares jobs aimed at immigrants.

What people said:

1. Depending on your skills/area of expertise, LinkedIn has tonnes of jobs. Too early for me to properly look but a few weeks ago there were at least 15 jobs on there that I’d apply for. There is the Canadian job board too hosted by the gov thats worth checking out. Finally, Indeed looked promising too. Im speaking from zero practical experience tho so take this with a handful of salt.

Note: Canadian employers tend to favour those who are in the country. This can make applying for jobs before you arrive futile unless done through a specific route or agency.

Provinces Vary
As is a theme with these things, provinces vary slightly but the overall process is the same.

Visit a Government Office:

1. To obtain your SIN, attend a government office with your passport and work permit and they will register you and provide you with an SIN.

What people said:

1. Just go into the government office it's very straight forward just give them your visa and passport and they might ask you 1 or 2 questions

Note: There are rules for holders of TRPs (temporary resident permits) to keep their SIN up to date so look into what this might entail and if it applies to you.

Canadian Driving License
There isn’t such thing as a Canadian driving license. Each province set their own rules about this and therefore it will differ depending on where you intend to drive.

Summary by province:

1. Alberta: You can swap your UK licence for an Alberta driving licence.
2. Calgary: International Driving Permit offers 1 year driving on UK license.
3. BC: International Driving Permit offers 90 days on UK license. You can swap a full UK driving licence for a BC license at any ICBC office at anytime.

What people said:

1. You can use your uk driving license in Alberta as a straight swap for a Canadian license. It takes a week or two to come in the post but it's super simple. I swapped my license in November and bought a car here

Car Purchase Veries By Province
Different provinces have different rules around cars. Check on the provinces official websites for more info. Note that in Canada you have to pay various taxes on new and 2nd hand purchases. The advertised price of a car likely wont include these taxes that you must pay when you purchase and register the car.

Approx Costs:

1. Finance: CAN$ /month
2. Insurance: Varies a lot per person. Guide price of CAN$200/month
3. Fuel: Depending on tank size - CAN$65-80 per tank

What people said:

You may wish to consider the coverage, data allowance and whether or not international calls are included.

Recommended Plans/Providers:

1. Telus: Unlimited Calls(inc. Intl)/texts, 50gb data ($39/month)
2. Rogers: Unlimited Calls/texts, 100gb data ($45/month)

What people said:

1. I pay $39 for 50gb data, unlimited calls texts with telus. Oh I get international calls too.
2. I’m with Rogers and pay $45 for 100GB data, unlimited texts and calls within Canada. For calling abroad I just use WhatsApp.