Hey folks! Here we are to talk about what you need to do to survive your first days in a new country. In this post we will share a bit of our experiences immigrating to 3 different countries.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
You arrived, you are here! Once you set foot (literally) in your new country of destination, the first challenge you will face is immigration. If you’re entering a new country with a work visa, study visa or permanent residency, the customs officers will automatically tell you to move to the immigration area to process all your paperwork. It’s a bit scary, but be confident if you done your homework and have all the documents sorted out for everything they will ask you.
CANADA vs SPAIN vs SWEDEN
For us, both in Spain and in Canada it was a little long waiting time.
In Spain, the immigration officers checked our student visas, made a few basic questions and stamped our passports. after that, we were good to go. We had to register for IDs and all, but basically, it was pretty simple. (read our post about our year in Spain)
In Canada, it was a bit different: they took us to an office inside the airport for all arriving immigrants. We had to wait for an officer that took all our documents to review. After a few minutes, the officer came back, asked questions on what we we would be doing in Canada, where we would stay and in which school I was going to study and the starting dates. Once officer was satisfied with our answers, a paper (landing in Canada) was attached to our passports stating the kind of visa we were in and the things we can and cannot do while on that specific visa. (here's our journey to move to Canada)
In Sweden, we did immigration once we set foot in the first point of contact in Europe - Amsterdam in our case. But it was a smooth and painless process. The officers at customs asked for the visas and pour daughter’s birth certificate. Once documents were all confirmed, we got passports stamps and were good to go. Arriving in Sweden we entered as any other European citizen, no one asked anything. (read about our move to Sweden).
After this first important step and once the immigration officers “set you free”, you are on your own. The second step you take is to get to the place you previously booked, unless you are staying with friends. If you don't have anyone waiting for you ate the arrivals exit, the best option would be to get a cab. You will probably have some luggage with you and carrying on all that on public transportation isn’t ideal. PRO TIP: travel light. Depending from where you’re coming from, our winter clothes won’t make a difference in Canada or Sweden. Leave all the unessential behind. (Get more inspiration on how to pack light here and how to pack light with kids here)
Ok, so let’s get to that checklist of things you should do on your first days:
Get to know the city. That might sound kind of obvious here, but knowing the new place you will live, the public transit, the main streets, the supermarket and other services near you are key to your survival. If you’re studying, go to your school and find the best way to arrive there before the first day of class. The same goes for work.
Get your ID: Depending on the country you go to and the visa type you have, you are eligible for an ID and a social security number. Those things are important for you to soon open a bank account, register for government services, enrol on any public services that the city may offer to you, get a job and so on. Here’s a brief checklist of documents you should have in hand for these situations.
Open a bank account: Once you have your ID and social number, find a bank that meets your needs and open an account. Make sure to have proof of ID, residence, and potentially your visa and passport with you. And obviously, some money to deposit in your new account. (brief example/struggle of opening a bank account in Spain).
At school: Go to the registration centre of your college, or university or if it’s for your kids, talk to the dean or the management team to get a tour and know the place. Also, ask them if they need any extra paperwork from you. They probably will ask for your bank account…now you have it that so that’s done!
Public transportation: Inform yourself how to get to your school, if there’s any student discount and what you need to do to obtain it, if you’re a student. If you have kids, in some places it may be for free. Learn the routes to get to your work, and how long will that be. Commuting can be a beast, so don’t underestimate it.
If you're in a new country for work, it’s the same, you just need to introduce yourself to your managers, and ask if they need any paperwork from you. TIP if you are looking for work: learn how to format a resume the way they do in your new country. It takes time, but the results will show.
If you have kids with you, make sure they have everything they need before starting school, such as uniforms, books, snacks, lunch and materials. (get some inspiration on how to travel "stress-free" with kids) and (how to mentally prepare the family for a big move)
Go do your groceries and get a grasp of the real cost of living. (here's a link to numbeo website, where you can get an idea of the cost of living in the biggest cities in the world).
Read our post about the Cost of living where we talk about groceries.
Final thoughts: Just wrapping up here, those are the main points we find the key to your success in a new country. Once you have all this sort it out, it’s just a matter of navigating on cruise mode.
What do you think about this checklist? Useful or have we missed something? Leave a comment.
Ciao!
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