Immigration & relocation catch-22s
Jun. 21st, 2013 04:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dr_whomI'm in Toronto this weekend to look for apartments. I planned to get a Canadian bank account while I'm here, so I can pay a rent deposit in Canadian currency if need be.
The border-control agent at the airport gave me an unnecessary runaround about getting a work visa—'Do you have a work permit yet?' says he. 'The department that's hiring me told me that you could give me the work permit, right here at the airport border-control desk,' says I. Says he, 'Did you check that on the immigration website for yourself? You're moving to another country and you didn't even go to the trouble to verify how to get a work permit? You don't have another job, right? It's your financial security that's on the line if you can't get a work permit, not theirs'; etc., etc. Eventually he spent 15 minutes looking up the requirements on the immigration website to eventually find that, yes, he is in fact authorized to give me a work permit, right there at the airport border-control desk.
But he didn't give me a work visa, because I'm just here to look for apartments, not yet to actually move here, so I don't need it yet.
When I went to the bank to open an account, the guy there said I couldn't open a bank account till I get a work permit.
I wonder what potential landlords will say when I tell them I can't give them a check for a rent deposit because I can't get a bank account until I already live there.
(The bank guy says, if need be, I can get a money order. So that's presumably what'll end up happening.
But still.)
The border-control agent at the airport gave me an unnecessary runaround about getting a work visa—'Do you have a work permit yet?' says he. 'The department that's hiring me told me that you could give me the work permit, right here at the airport border-control desk,' says I. Says he, 'Did you check that on the immigration website for yourself? You're moving to another country and you didn't even go to the trouble to verify how to get a work permit? You don't have another job, right? It's your financial security that's on the line if you can't get a work permit, not theirs'; etc., etc. Eventually he spent 15 minutes looking up the requirements on the immigration website to eventually find that, yes, he is in fact authorized to give me a work permit, right there at the airport border-control desk.
But he didn't give me a work visa, because I'm just here to look for apartments, not yet to actually move here, so I don't need it yet.
When I went to the bank to open an account, the guy there said I couldn't open a bank account till I get a work permit.
I wonder what potential landlords will say when I tell them I can't give them a check for a rent deposit because I can't get a bank account until I already live there.
(The bank guy says, if need be, I can get a money order. So that's presumably what'll end up happening.
But still.)
