If you plan to go to Canada without being a French citizen, the procedure is a bit (or more) different and complicated :).
All I know for French citizens is that if they want to go to Canada for a visit, they just need an electronic travel authorization. If it is for work, then I don't know more.
In this section, we'll talk about procedures for a foreigner applying for a work permit, precisely for a postdoctoral work permit. Procedure and requirements may differ depending on the job you are applying for.
Create an account on the Canadian government website.
You can log in to https://onlineservices-servicesenligne.cic.gc.ca/ and start the application.
The Work Permit Application Guide pdf gives you answers to all questions asked in the application.
After that, you should upload all required documents:
appointment letter
imm1295e
imm5257b
imm5645e
PhD diploma
The next step is the appointment for biometrics at https://www.vfsglobal.ca/IRCC-AppointmentWave1/Account/RegisterUser?Length=7. You need to bring your passport on the appointment day, but the latter will not be kept until your application is approved.
Because the process takes a while, this ensures that you can still travel and use your passport during all this long waiting time. All information about what you need for this appointment will be provided on the website, and you will receive an email notification at each step. This takes up to 8 to 16 weeks, depending on the type of visa you are applying for. Typically, it was 8 weeks for me.
At the approval notification, you need to send your passport to the visa center by post mail or in person; especially if you are in Lyon, the visa fees cover all these expenses (the visa center will send your documents to the embassy in Paris on your behalf, receive it back on approval, and notify your by call when it is available for collection). It is important you wait for the call before going to the visa center because there will be a delay between the email notification from the embassy and the effective shipping of your passport at the visa center.
A visa will be delivered with your passport. This is only the first step of the immigration process. The most important document is the work permit that you will receive at the airport on the day of your arrival. In Canada, the visa is not proof of legal immigration, only the permit does. And the only way to obtain it is at the airport from the immigration service agent.
I had a very sad experience because I spent more than 3 hours at the airport to obtain my work permit. I traveled during the Easter weekend, there were a lot of people and not enough agents.
Do you think this is complicated? haha, you are not halfway through your painful journey! Once landed, start the beautiful part of new arrival procedures.
First, you must obtain your SIN (Social Insurance Number). This is simple as going to a Service Canada center in your city.
This number is necessary for any, I say any other procedure you are about to initiate (obtaining a SIM, opening a bank account, proceeding with your hiring process, etc.). All procedures in Canada require the SIN number.
Second, apply for the RAMQ (Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec) to obtain the health insurance number. Yes, these are different things in Canada.
You can only apply online (https://www.ramq.gouv.qc.ca/fr/citoyens/assurance-maladie/inscrire), unlike the SIN.
Once the application is completed, you need to wait for the RAMQ mail informing you about the decision of your application.
You will typically have a 3-month delay period during which you need to purchase personal insurance while waiting for the health insurance card.
If you come from a country (France is one of those countries) that has signed an agreement with the Canadian government, you can be exempted from this delay. To benefit from this, download the form se401-q207 and address it to RAMQ.
Opening a bank account is also relatively simple. Relatively because there is a lot you will need to learn from their banking functioning if you come from Europe.
Difference between credit and debit cards: the American system differentiates these two types of cards. Debit cards do not have CVV security numbers that allow online shopping/purchases. Credit cards are loan cards. It is comparable to the "découvert" in France and works almost similarly (e.g., you have a credit authorization of a certain amount for a certain period of time, after which you start paying interest). You can more or less do without it, but some (or many) operations require credit investigation/check: obtaining a loan, renting an apartment, buying a house, etc. Nevertheless, do not hesitate to ask the bank agent for all information about this, even if it takes an hour it is their job to answer these questions and to advise you to the best.
Prices shown without taxes
Busse's direction and stop not indicated
etc.
The same war of accommodation... yes, the same!
I don't teach you anything, in view of our modest travel experiences, we all know that housing is always a thorny issue, especially when we have no one to put us up for a while. As for the UK, the first thing is to ask for our famous LeBoncoin equivalence.
The solution that comes up the most is Facebook MarketPlace. But I found it not convivial at all nor intuitive. And you cannot even reach out to people
who make announcements because of geographic location that prevents you from sending messages to Canada from out of the country (or the continent, I don't know how it works).
Apart from that, we also had the Kijiji website, where you can find ads from both individuals and professionals. On Kijiji, I found an announcement that was a scam! Tips: Never send money for something you have never seen or visited! So, as I was saying, the guy didn't know I was a Cameroonian from the continent! (hahaha, find out about this expression in Cameroon). To be more serious:
The guy oddly quickly accepted my application
Asked for the deposit using a very strange email address (this is the first thing that made me tick)
Once I accepted the offer and asked for a visit, he never answered again: as I said, always ask for a visit/tour. Even if you are not physically in the country, ask someone to make it for you (the person can, for example, make a video call so that you can see the apartment).
After this mishap, I finally opted for a real estate agency (as for YATE-UK1) because it is safer. So, I had the chance to find a concrete ad with Keller William Urbain. The agent and the owner kindly agreed to proceed with the leasing remotely. After signing the lease electronically, I paid for the first month's rent and should pay for the deposit upon key reception. I asked some friends of mind to get the keys for me, which made things easier.
I'll now share my very sad personal experience with McGill HR...
3 weeks after my arrival, I was still not hired by the HR service of McGill because of administrative slowness. They made me fill in the same documents a dozen times, again and again. I had no onboarding support, no directive on how to proceed with new immigrant procedures, etc. I had to pay my rent, and until the end of the first month, I still had no idea when I could have even hoped to receive my first salary, and they didn't seem the least bit moved by it.
More to come...