SIN and first-week admin in Toronto

Land, get your permit checked, apply for your SIN, then everything else falls into line. Do it out of order and you'll spend your first week going back to the same counter.

The short version

Your work permit is issued at the airport, and you need it to apply for a Social Insurance Number (SIN). So the SIN can't happen before you land [1].
The SIN is free. Online is fastest, at about five business days. In person you can walk out with the number the same day [1][2].
Temporary residents get a SIN starting with 9 that expires with the permit. You can start work as soon as you've applied [1].
Only give your SIN to employers, banks and government. Landlords and phone companies don't need it [3].
An Ontario Photo Card costs CA$35, but you can't hold one alongside any driver's licence, including your Australian one [4].

Why the order matters

Canadian admin is a chain. Each step hands you a document or a number the next step asks for. Here's the chain for a typical Australian on an International Experience Canada (IEC) working holiday or an employer-specific permit.

Step	What you need	What it gives you	When
Work permit	Port of entry letter, passport, proof of funds, insurance	The permit itself	At Pearson, before you leave the airport
SIN	Work permit, passport	A 9-series SIN	Day 1 to 3
Phone plan	Passport, a payment card	A Canadian number	Day 1 to 3
Bank account	Passport plus a second ID or a referee	Chequing account, debit card	Day 2 to 5
Proof of address	Lease or bank statement	Something with your Toronto address	Week 1 to 2
Ontario ID	Proof of identity and Ontario residence	Photo Card or Ontario licence	Week 2 onwards

Two links catch Australians out. The first is the phone number: banks, employers and landlords all want a local one. The second is proof of address, which you won't have until you sign a lease.

Step 1: check your work permit at the airport

Your IEC or employer-specific permit doesn't exist until a border officer prints it at Pearson. Before you leave the counter, check your name, passport number, employer (for closed permits) and especially the expiry date. Your SIN, and therefore your right to be paid, expires on the same day as that permit [1]. If the officer cuts your permit short because your passport or insurance expires sooner, your SIN follows.

Service Canada won't accept the IRCC approval email or your port of entry letter as the primary document. It must be the actual permit [1].

Step 2: apply for your SIN

The SIN is Canada's version of your tax file number. Employers, banks and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) all need it.

The three ways to apply

Method	Typical timing	Notes
Online	About 5 business days	Fastest overall. Upload clear scans of your permit and passport [1]
In person at Service Canada	Same day if everything's in order	Request an appointment with Service Canada's online form. You keep your documents [2]
Mail	About 20 business days	Originals go to Bathurst, New Brunswick. Not worth the risk [1]

There's no fee for any method [2]. Service Canada no longer issues the old plastic SIN cards. You get a confirmation letter, and you can view the number in My Service Canada Account [2].

Toronto has several Service Canada Centres spread across the city and the inner suburbs. Check Service Canada's office finder for opening hours and whether your nearest one takes SIN appointments before you trek across town.

What to bring

Your work permit (primary document). Original, not a copy [1].
Your Australian passport (secondary ID) [1].
A name-change document if your permit and passport show different names, such as a marriage certificate [1].
Your Canadian address and phone number, if you have them. A short-term rental address is fine to start.

Everything must be in English or French [2], which is one place being Australian makes life easy.

The 9-series SIN

Temporary residents get a SIN that starts with 9 and carries an expiry date matching the permit [1]. When you get a new permit, for example after moving from IEC to a new work permit, apply to update your SIN record and destroy the old letter [1]. If your permit lapses while IRCC is still processing an extension (called maintained status), you can keep working until they decide [1].

You can start work the moment you've applied. You don't have to wait for the number to arrive [1]. Tell your employer the application is in, and give them the number when you get it.

Who can ask for your SIN

Australians are used to handing out a TFN only to employers and the ATO. Canada's rules are similar, and Service Canada is blunt about it. You only have to give your SIN to:

your employer, after you're hired [3]
banks and financial institutions, for reporting interest and dividends [3]
government, for tax and benefits [3]

You don't have to give it for a job application, a rental, a credit card application, a phone plan or a credit report [3]. Your SIN letter isn't an ID document either, so use your passport [3]. A Toronto landlord asking for your SIN on a rental application is common, and you can politely decline.

Step 3: a Canadian phone number

Do this on day one, ideally at the airport or the nearest mall. Canada's big three carriers are Rogers, Bell and Telus, and each runs cheaper brands (Fido, Virgin Plus, Koodo, Public Mobile and others), plus Freedom Mobile. Canadian mobile plans have a reputation for costing more than Australian ones, so compare a few before signing.

A few tips:

Go prepaid first. Prepaid plans usually need only ID and a card payment. Postpaid contracts may involve a credit check, and with no Canadian history you might be asked for a deposit.
Check your phone isn't locked to an Australian carrier before you leave, so a Canadian SIM or eSIM works.
Keep your Australian number alive on a cheap plan. Your myGov, Australian bank and ATO logins likely text codes to it.

Step 4: open a bank account

You don't need a job or a SIN to open a Canadian bank account. You do need identification. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) says banks accept either two pieces of ID (one with your name and address, one with your name and date of birth), or one piece plus confirmation of your identity from someone in good standing with the bank or community [5]. Foreign passports are on the accepted list [5]. Banks want originals, not copies [5].

The big banks (RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO and CIBC) all run newcomer packages for temporary workers, with fee waivers and credit cards that don't need a Canadian credit history. FCAC says people living outside Canada can open an account too, but you may still need to visit a branch [5]. So you can start the paperwork from Australia, then finish it in person.

Give your SIN once you have it. The bank needs it for interest reporting [3]. For the full picture on credit cards and building a credit score from zero, see our guide to banking and credit history in Canada.

Step 5: Ontario ID, and the licence trap

Carrying your passport to every bar in King West gets old fast. Ontario's answer for non-drivers is the Ontario Photo Card. It costs CA$35, lasts five years and arrives by mail in four to six weeks after you apply in person at a ServiceOntario centre [4]. You must be 16 or older and an Ontario resident, not a visitor [4].

Here's the catch. You can't hold an Ontario Photo Card and a driver's licence from any province, state or country at the same time [4]. That includes your Australian licence. If you want to drive in Ontario and keep your options open, you're usually better off exchanging your Australian licence for an Ontario one instead. That gives you photo ID and the right to drive in one card. Our guide on swapping your Australian licence for an Ontario G has the details.

Until then, your passport works fine.

What you can do from Australia before you land

You can't get a SIN from Australia, but you can line up most of the rest.

Gather originals. Passport (valid for your whole planned stay), port of entry letter, proof of funds and insurance documents.
Order a few spare passport photos and get your marriage certificate if names differ.
Start a newcomer bank application online if your chosen bank allows it, then book the branch visit.
Ask your Australian carrier to remove any network lock and pick a Canadian carrier.
Sort your Australian side. Tell your bank and super fund you're going overseas, update your address with the ATO and Services Australia, and subscribe to Smartraveller updates for Canada [6].
Book short-term accommodation with an address you can use on forms for the first few weeks.
Check your health cover. Australia has no Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Canada, and many working holiday makers won't qualify for OHIP. Read OHIP and health cover in Toronto before you cancel anything.

The Australian Consulate-General in Toronto is at 175 Bloor Street East and covers the Greater Toronto Area [6]. If your passport is lost in that first busy week, that's your first call, along with a police report. Smartraveller also reminds Australians that you may not get public health care unless you're a provincial resident, and that you should expect to pay up front [6].

Got a question about which Service Canada office is quickest this month? Ask in Cooee Canada, our Facebook group for Australians in Canada. Someone has usually just been.

Your SIN and first-week admin in Toronto: the order that actually works