Calgary Settlement Steps
Find a Place to Stay
The Housing Registry Network is a good place to look for affordable housing. Sometimes, you have to pay for electricity, heating, water and sewer separate from the monthly rent. Remember to ask. Most landlords in Calgary require a “damage deposit”. He or she holds the deposit, usually the amount of one month’s rent, as security to help cover the cost of any property damage that might happen while you live there.
Contact details of Housing Registry Network
Address: 128 - 7 ave se, calgary T2G 0H5, ab
Calgary Metropolitan Area, Central AB, Central Foothills
Tel: 403 206 0284
Fax: 403 221 8791
Check the following Blog link for more information
Prepare for life in your new community
To learn more about landlords and tenants in Alberta, click here.
Get a Social Insurance Number
You will need a Social Insurance Number for identification, and to work. You can apply for a Social Insurance card at any office of the Service Canada department of the federal government. For more information, contact the Regional Call Centre for Employment Insurance and Social Insurance Numbers at 1-800-206-7218
.
Get Medical Insurance
You must apply for Alberta Health Care Insurance within three months of arrival. Alberta Health Care Insurance covers free consultations with family doctors. To get a list of family doctors accepting new patients, click here.
Open a Bank Account
To open an account, you will need at least two pieces of identification, preferably with your photo. You can use your passport, permanent resident card and social insurance number card.
Plan for Your Children
The Government of Canada and the Alberta Government offer tax-free monthly payments to families who have children under the age of 18. You must apply for these payments. To order an Alberta Child Tax Benefit application form, call 1-800-959-2221
; to request more information about the Canada Child Tax Benefit, call 1-800-387-1193.
To register your child for school, you must go to the Calgary Board of Education’s Kingsland Centre. It is located at 7430 - 5 Street SW. Call (403) 777-7373
for an appointment. If you prefer to register your child with the Calgary Catholic School District, you must go to St. Angela Elementary School at 231, 6th Street NE. Call (403) 290-0647
for an appointment.
For more information, visit www.cbe.ab.ca or www.cssd.ab.ca.
Finally, the Child Care Subsidy Program helps low to middle-income families with preschool-aged children cope with daycare or family day home costs. If you need this type of financial aid, ask for an application at a daycare or family day home. For more information, visit www.childcaresubsidy.gov.ab.ca, or phone (403) 297-6100
.
Plan for English Language Training
Many organizations in Calgary offer free, government-funded Language Instruction for New Canadians (LINC) classes. To take part in LINC classes, you must first visit the Immigrant Language and Vocational Assessment Referral Centre, or ILVARC.
Phone ILVARC at (403) 262-2656
and set up a time to meet with someone who will assess your English language skills, and refer you to the right LINC class.
Decide How You Will Travel
You can travel around Calgary by car, by bicycle, by public bus, or on the light rail transit system called the “C-Train.” For bus & C-Train route and schedule information, click here.
If you need to travel outside of Calgary, you can take a Greyhound or Red Arrow bus, or rent a car. People often fly from one Canadian city to another Canadian city because there are big distances between them.
If you have an international driver’s license from another country, you can use it for up to 3 months after you arrive. After that, you must have an Alberta Driver’s License.
Winter driving tips:Take special care when driving during winter. Stopping on icy, slippery roads takes much longer than on dry pavement. Sudden stops and turns, hard braking and speeding are dangerous because you might go into a skid (lose control because the vehicle starts to slide). For more information, see Winter Driving Tips (PDF).
Validate your professional credentials
Go to the Centre for Newcomers
The first 8 steps are a good start towards a settling into a new life in Calgary. There are many other steps you will want to take and the people at the Centre can help you take them.