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Your first 30 days in Canada: a simple checklist

Landing in Canada is exciting — and it can feel like a hundred things need to happen at once. Most of the important tasks fit into your first month and follow a natural order. Here's a simple week-by-week checklist to get you set up, calm, and ready.

Published
July 30, 2026
Read
5 min
By
Passage Team
Topic
Guides

Landing in Canada for the first time is exciting. It can also feel like a hundred things need to happen at once. Where do you sleep? How do you get paid? What do you do first?

The good news is that most of the important tasks fit into your first month, and they follow a natural order. Here is a simple checklist to help you feel set up, calm, and ready to start your studies or your job.

Your first month, week by week

1
Week 1 · The basics
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Find a safe place to stay. Student housing, a shared apartment, or a temporary room while you look. Try not to sign a long lease on your first day — learn the area first.
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Open a bank account. Big banks offer newcomer accounts with no monthly fee for the first year — usually just your passport and study or work permit to open one.
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Get a phone number. Start with a prepaid SIM (no contract); switch to a monthly plan later once you know how much data you use.
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Apply for your SIN. The free, nine-digit Social Insurance Number you need to work and get paid. Apply through Service Canada — never pay anyone for it.
2
Week 2 · Money and health
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Check your health coverage. It works differently in each province. Some let international students join the public plan (sometimes after a waiting period); others, like Ontario, enrol you in a private student plan through your school instead. Find out what you have, what it covers, and when it starts — one clinic visit without coverage can cost hundreds of dollars.
3
Week 3 · Get connected
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Learn how to get around. Find your local buses and trains. If you travel every day, a monthly transit pass is usually much cheaper than paying each time, and trip-planning apps show you the fastest route.
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Start finding your community. Look for student clubs, cultural groups, or events run by your settlement agency. Meeting people who understand your situation makes everything easier — and often leads to job tips and referrals.
4
Week 4 · Build good habits
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Make your first budget. Write your income at the top, then list fixed costs like rent and phone, and everyday costs like food and transport. Seeing your numbers on paper removes a lot of stress and helps you plan.

Two travelers with luggage arriving at the airport, planes visible through the windows

A note on documents

Keep your passport, permit, offer letter, and SIN confirmation together in one folder. Take clear photos of each and save them in a secure cloud account. Also write down the expiry date of your study or work permit, and set a reminder three months before it ends so you have time to renew.

You don't have to do it all alone

Your first month is a big adjustment, and it is normal to feel unsure. Take it one week at a time. Each small task you finish makes the next one easier, and before long, Canada will start to feel like home.

Passage helps international students study in Canada. We fund tuition and first-year living costs for students in high-demand programs like healthcare, skilled trades, tech, and early childhood education, working with partner schools. Want to see if you qualify? Check your eligibility in a few minutes at go.passage.com.

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