Arriving in Canada

Before you arrive in Canada

Before you come to Canada, you’ll be eligible for free pre-arrival settlement services to help you learn about living and working in Canada. These services:

• include information about life in Canada
• include an employment skills assessment
• will refer you to resources to help you start your new life in Canada
• are available in English and French, as well as Haitian Creole and Spanish

After you arrive in Canada

Financial assistance

After you get to Canada, you'll be eligible for a one-time lump sum payment to help you cover costs to establish yourself and your family in Canada.

We’ll send you instructions on how to access this financial assistance. You’ll need to set up a bank account in Canada.

Help for new immigrants

There are many free services in Canada to help you or your family:

• learn or improve English and French
• find a job (if you don’t have one already)
• find activities in your new community

Find out about services in your area. You can also learn more about starting your life in Canada.

Make sure you keep your information up to date

Use the web form if you need to update your contact information or tell us about changes to your family situation (for example, marriage, birth, divorce or death).

Get your permanent resident card

We’ll mail your permanent resident (PR) card to your address in Canada.

If you didn’t give us your Canadian mailing address when you became a permanent resident:

• use our online address notification tool to send it to us
• you must give us your address within 180 days of the day you become a permanent resident
  • If you don’t send it within 180 days, we’ll cancel the PR card and you’ll have to apply for another one (and pay new processing fees).