Arrival planner · US & Canada
Landing in a new country is not one big task, it is about twenty small ones — and they have to happen in a particular order, because half of them are gated on the other half. This planner asks five questions and turns them into a dated checklist for your first thirty days. It runs entirely in your browser: no account, no email, nothing sent anywhere.
Almost every arrival checklist you will find is a flat list. The problem is that a flat list hides the dependencies, and the dependencies are the whole difficulty. You cannot open most bank accounts without an address. You cannot sign a lease without a bank account. Several employers cannot pay you without a tax number, and the tax number office may want proof of employment. Miss the ordering and you can lose two or three weeks to a loop that looks, from the inside, like nobody will help you.
What follows is the sequence the planner above builds for you, and the reasoning behind it. Dates and specifics differ by country, province and state — treat this as the shape of the month, then confirm the details for where you actually landed.
In the first seventy-two hours, do only what has no prerequisites. That is a short list, and it is short on purpose.
With a phone and an address you can open a bank account, and the bank account is the hinge the rest of the month turns on. It is what a landlord wants to see, what an employer pays into, and what starts the paper trail that eventually becomes a credit history.
Take your passport, your visa or permit, your offer or enrolment letter, and proof of address to a branch in person. Newcomer accounts exist at most major banks in both countries and usually waive fees for the first year — ask specifically for the newcomer or student product rather than the default one, because the default one has monthly fees you do not need to pay.
This is also the week to sort transit. A monthly pass or a stored-value card is cheaper than single fares almost immediately, and in most cities the card is also the thing you tap to get into places you will need to get into.
This is where the two countries diverge most sharply, and where the wizard's answers change the plan rather than just the dates.
In Canada, the Social Insurance Number is comparatively quick — you can apply in person at a Service Canada office and often walk out with the number the same day, provided your permit carries the right condition allowing work. Bring the permit itself, not a copy of the approval letter.
In the United States, the Social Security Number is slower and more conditional. Students generally need evidence of authorised employment before the SSA will issue one, which produces the loop people get stuck in: no job without a number, no number without a job. The way out is usually the campus employment letter, so the international student office is the stop that comes before the SSA office, not after. Build in more time than you think you need — and do not let anyone tell you a number is required to open a bank account, because it generally is not.
Once the number exists, several things become possible at once: payroll, a secured or student credit card, and in many cases a phone contract on better terms than prepaid.
Health cover is the one not to defer. University plans usually start automatically, but confirm the start date rather than assuming it. In Canada, provincial coverage has a waiting period in some provinces and none in others, and the gap is exactly the window in which people get caught. In the US, check what your plan actually covers before you need it — the difference between in-network and out-of-network is the difference between a manageable bill and a catastrophic one.
Permanent housing is where a thin credit file bites first. Expect to be asked for a co-signer, several months' deposit, or proof of income. Offering a larger deposit up front is the most reliable substitute for a credit score, and it is a normal negotiation rather than an admission of weakness.
Find your grocery store and your community. These sound like soft items next to tax numbers, and they are the ones that decide whether the year is bearable. The first month is when introductions are easy and everyone else is also new. A month later that window narrows considerably.
Written for newly arrived Indians in the US and Canada. Immigration, tax and health rules change and vary by state and province; this is general orientation, not legal or immigration advice. Confirm anything consequential with your university's international office, your employer, or a qualified professional.
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