After arriving in Ontario, three practical matters tend to come up early. They are getting a Social Insurance Number, sorting out health coverage, and enrolling children in school. None of these depend on having every other piece of settlement finished first.
This guide covers each of the three in general terms, including which health coverage applies depending on a person's status. It is written for someone newly arrived in Ontario, whether as a permanent resident, a protected person, or a refugee claimant.
Immigration status affects which programs a person can use, so parts of this guide will apply differently depending on that status. Where the answer is not certain, it is worth checking directly with the program in question.
Health coverage: OHIP or the federal program
Which health coverage applies also depends on status. Permanent residents and protected persons are eligible for OHIP, Ontario's public health insurance plan. Protected persons here means Convention refugees and others recognized as protected by the Immigration and Refugee Board.
OHIP requires physical presence in Ontario for 153 days in any 12-month period. It also requires presence for at least 153 of the first 183 days after beginning to live in the province. There is no waiting period: an eligible person's coverage starts as soon as they qualify.
Refugee claimants are not listed among those eligible for OHIP. While a claim is pending, health coverage instead comes from the federal Interim Federal Health Program. That program is described in a separate guide about working and health care while a claim is pending.
A person's coverage can change as their status changes. Someone who arrives as a refugee claimant and is later recognized as a protected person may move from the federal program to OHIP. Confirming that switch happens is worth doing directly with the relevant program. Do not assume it is automatic.
Enrolling children in school
Ontario school boards enrol children of school age regardless of their immigration status or that of their parents. A school can ask for documents to confirm a child's age and address. But a child's or parent's immigration status is not a reason to refuse enrolment.
Enrolment is generally handled directly with the local school board serving the family's address. Boards can advise on what documents they need to complete registration. Many boards also have settlement workers or newcomer programs that can help with the registration process itself.
Registration usually needs proof of the child's age and proof of the family's address in the school board's catchment area. A board can advise on what counts as acceptable proof when standard documents, such as a birth certificate, are not available.
Working through these three matters
These three matters do not need to be handled in a strict order. But a SIN is often needed early, because it affects both employment and some benefit applications. Health coverage is worth confirming as soon as possible after arrival, since which program applies depends on status and can change if status changes.
Eligibility rules differ by program and by status. A person's situation can also be more complicated than the general rules above. So it can be worth getting advice about how these programs apply to a specific case.
The short version
- A SIN starting with 9 belongs to a temporary resident and expires with their immigration documents; a citizen's or permanent resident's SIN does not expire.
- OHIP eligibility depends on status: permanent residents and protected persons are listed as eligible, and refugee claimants are not.
- OHIP requires meeting Ontario's physical presence rules, but there is no separate waiting period once eligible.
- Refugee claimants get health coverage through the federal Interim Federal Health Program instead of OHIP while their claim is pending.
- School enrolment in Ontario does not depend on immigration status.
Every figure on this page is cited to the government source it was read from, and was checked on September 17, 2026. Rules change, and a source is the authority where this page and the source disagree. This guide is general information about how the process works, not immigration advice about your own situation, and reading it creates no consultant-client relationship.