Landing in Canada as a permanent resident is the milestone everyone talks about. What nobody prepares you for is the week you actually arrive, standing in a new apartment in North York, Scarborough, Mississauga, or Brampton with a suitcase and a list of things you don't fully understand. I've been that person. This is the condensed guide I wish someone had handed me on day one.
The GTA is one of Canada's most common landing zones for good reason: jobs, schools, transit, and a deep support network. But the same complexity that makes it welcoming also makes it easy to miss the steps that quietly matter most. Here's what your first month actually requires.
Five essentials, in the order that matters
1. Social Insurance Number (SIN). Apply through Service Canada within days of landing. It's free, and it's required before you can legally work, file taxes, or open certain accounts. If anyone offers to get one for a fee, walk away, nobody charges for a SIN.
2. Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). Apply in person at a ServiceOntario centre with proof of identity, Ontario residency, and immigration status. Since 2020 there's no three-month wait, so coverage can begin from your arrival date if you meet the 153-day residency requirement. Don't sit on this. A single ER visit without coverage can cost thousands of dollars.
3. Newcomer bank account. RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, and CIBC all offer newcomer packages with first-year fee waivers and a no-annual-fee credit card. You can usually open one with just your passport and PR documents, no Canadian credit history required. This is where your pay gets deposited, and it's where your Canadian credit history starts, the foundation for a phone plan, a car loan, or eventually a mortgage.
4. Local phone number. Major carriers (Rogers, Bell, Telus) and their lower-cost brands (Fido, Koodo, Public Mobile) all work. If credit is still thin, a prepaid plan avoids a credit check and gets you a working number the same day. Switch to a cheaper monthly plan once you're settled. Don't overpay for a premium contract you've never tested.
5. School registration. Public school in Ontario is free for ages 4 to 18, regardless of immigration status. In Toronto and North York, that's the TDSB or TCDSB; in Peel Region (Mississauga, Brampton), it's the Peel District School Board. Bring proof of age, address, and immunization records. Register early, spots and ESL assessments fill up quickly, especially at the start of a term in Scarborough and other high-demand areas.
Getting around the GTA
The TTC runs subways, streetcars, and buses across Toronto, including Line 1 through North York. A single fare includes two hours of unlimited transfers, most newcomers don't realize this and end up overpaying. A Presto card is the cleanest option, and it's the same card that works on GO Transit, MiWay (Mississauga), and Brampton Transit, so one card covers your commute across the region.
Starting September 1, 2026, the TTC introduces monthly fare capping: once you've taken 47 paid trips in a calendar month, every additional ride is free for the rest of that month. If you commute daily, which most newcomers do, this meaningfully changes how you plan your transit budget.
Use the free settlement services, while you can
Canada funds newcomer settlement agencies through IRCC, and services are free for permanent residents: housing help, school enrolment, job search, credential recognition, language assessment. The LINC program will assess your English for free and place you in a class at your level, which matters if you're heading toward citizenship and need to meet the language benchmark.
Here's the part most people miss: starting April 1, 2026, economic class permanent residents can only access IRCC-funded settlement services for up to six years after becoming a PR. That's a meaningful window, but it's not unlimited. Connecting with a settlement agency in your first weeks, not your first years, is one of the most leveraged moves you'll make in the GTA.
Look for a Newcomer Information Centre near you. COSTI Immigrant Services, Agincourt Community Services Association in Scarborough, and Peel-based organizations serving Mississauga and Brampton are all IRCC-funded and free to access.
Common pitfalls
The mistake isn't that any single step is complicated. It's doing them out of order, or missing them entirely: starting a job before your SIN is sorted; paying out-of-pocket for healthcare because OHIP wasn't applied for; opening a basic account instead of a newcomer package and losing a year of fee waivers; signing a 24-month phone contract without first exploring prepaid alternatives; arriving in September and missing school registration deadlines.
Most of these cost you money or time. None of them takes more than a few hours to fix if you know about them.
Your first 30 days, condensed
- Days 1 to 3: SIN + phone number
- Week 1: OHIP + newcomer bank account
- Week 2: School registration + Presto card
- Weeks 3 to 4: Connect with a settlement agency, language assessment if needed, begin job search
Book a consultation
If you've just landed anywhere in the GTA, North York, Scarborough, Mississauga, Brampton, or downtown Toronto, and want a personal walkthrough of your first month, book a consultation with Scholar Acha, RCIC-IRB. Same honest guidance, no guesswork, from someone who has actually made the move.
This article is for general information and does not constitute legal advice. Program rules, fees, and eligibility windows for settlement services change over time, so always confirm current details with the relevant agency or government source before acting on them.
