Before you start

Passport and immigration document
A Canadian address
Social Insurance Number, for interest-bearing and registered accounts
A deposit, if you end up with a secured credit card

Step-by-step

1
Pre-open the account from abroad if your bank allows it
Several major banks accept newcomer applications before arrival, letting you move funds ahead of the move and walk into a branch with the account already created. Doing it before you land removes a week of friction at the point you have least slack.
OnlineWho: You
2
Open on a newcomer package rather than a standard account
Newcomer programmes waive monthly fees for a promotional period, usually a year, and accept applicants with no Canadian credit file. Ask for it by name — a standard account is what you get if you do not.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
3
Consider a credit union alongside the big banks
Ontario credit unions have a real branch presence across the region and often quote better on day-to-day fees, small mortgages and personal lending than the national banks, and are more willing to look at an unusual file in person. They are less useful if you travel constantly. One quote each is twenty minutes well spent.
In personWho: You
4
Apply for a credit card in the same appointment
Newcomer cards are approved on immigration status and income rather than a Canadian score. If declined, ask for a secured card where a refundable deposit backs the limit — but ask about the unsecured newcomer card first, because branch staff often default to the secured one.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
5
Open your City utility account at the same time as the bank account
Gas, water, sewer and stormwater are billed by the City of Kitchener rather than by a private supplier, and electricity separately. A new account with no Canadian credit file usually wants a deposit or a credit check, so build it into the moving budget rather than discovering it on the day.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
6
Use the card small and clear it in full every month
Put a recurring charge on it and pay the balance in full. Low utilisation plus perfect payment history is what builds the score; carrying a balance builds nothing but interest.
Mobile appWho: You6–12 months to a usable score
7
Open a TFSA and check when your contribution room actually began
Room accrues only from the year you became a Canadian resident, not from the scheme's launch in 2009. Over-contributing on the assumption of full historic room is penalised monthly and the Canada Revenue Agency does find it.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport
PR card, Confirmation of Permanent Residence, or work permit
Social Insurance Number
Proof of a Canadian address
Employment letter, for credit products and for rental applications

Things most newcomers don’t know

An employment letter is what stands in for the credit file you do not have.

You cannot manufacture Canadian credit history in your first month, but you can arrive at a viewing with a letter confirming role, salary and start date, plus references and identification. Landlords in a market with three annual turnover points are comparing several applicants at once and want something concrete to weigh. Have the packet printed before your first viewing rather than after your third rejection.

Source: community-reported, consistently corroborated

The competitive weeks are set by the academic calendar, not the season.

Waterloo's co-op programme and the three institutions' intakes produce lease turnover in January, May and September. The fortnight before each is when the good stock lists and when you are bidding against the largest number of people; the weeks after are when the leftovers sit. Newcomers used to a single September or a single spring market misjudge this constantly.

Source: community-reported

Ask for the unsecured newcomer credit card before accepting a secured one.

Several major banks issue unsecured cards to recent immigrants on the strength of an immigration document and an employment letter, with no Canadian score required. Branch staff often reach for the secured product, which locks up a deposit unnecessarily and takes longer to turn into a usable score. One direct question is worth several months of history.

Source: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — banking for newcomers

TFSA room starts the year you became a resident, not the year the scheme did.

Canadians accumulate room every year since 2009 and the cumulative figure is large and endlessly quoted online. Newcomers accrue it only from the year of arrival, and the over-contribution penalty is charged monthly on the excess. It is one of the most common expensive newcomer mistakes in Canada precisely because online advice is written for people who have always lived here.

Source: Canada Revenue Agency

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving at a viewing with no credit file and no employment letter.
House-hunting in the two weeks immediately before a term start and concluding the market is impossible.
Opening a standard account instead of asking for the newcomer package by name.
Accepting a secured card without asking whether you qualify for an unsecured newcomer card.
Forgetting the City utility deposit in the moving budget.
Over-contributing to a TFSA on the assumption of full historic room.
Letting the newcomer fee waiver lapse into a paid monthly plan unnoticed.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.