Day 1 in Canada: One of Us Was Ready. One of Us Really Wasn't.

The moment the wheels hit the runway, Arjun reaches for his phone. He needs to tell his mum he landed. She's been up all night.

No signal.

He fumbles through his bag, switches on international roaming — nothing. He spots a 'Pearson Guest WiFi' network but his phone won't connect. The line is already moving. His mum doesn't know he's landed.

It's fine, he tells himself. I'll text her once I'm through.

He joins the immigration queue with hundreds of other international students. The officer at the desk is serious, efficient. She asks for three things: his Passport, his Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from his university, and his Letter of Introduction (LOI) from IRCC.

Arjun nods confidently. He has all of them.

On Google Drive.

His face changes. He searches for airport WiFi again — this time he finds a signal, barely. Two bars. He opens Drive. The loading circle spins. And spins. The officer waits. The people behind Arjun wait. His palms are sweating more than they did in his visa interview.

Finally — it loads. He turns the screen toward the officer. She looks at it. Nods. Stamps his passport.

Arjun exhales. Crisis averted. He tucks his new study permit straight into his bag without checking it — relieved just to be through.

What he doesn't know is that the expiry date on that permit matches the exact month his final exams end. A detail that will cost him a lot of stress two years from now.

(More on that in the tip below.)

Next comes customs. Arjun hasn't heard of the ArriveCAN app. He joins the long declaration queue, fills out a paper form while half-asleep, and shuffles forward for 25 minutes.

He spots a Service Canada kiosk on the way out — he knows he'll need a SIN number at some point — but the line snakes around the corner and Arjun barely has the energy to stand. He walks past it. Good call, actually.

He collects his two overstuffed suitcases and wheels them into the arrivals hall. He's waiting for his friend who said he'd be there.

That's when she appears.

A woman at a carrier kiosk — warm smile, red jacket, laminated deal sheet in hand. 'Welcome to Canada! First month free, just sign here.' She sees the study permit in Arjun's hand before he can put it away. She's clearly done this before.

The deal sounds good. First month free. No payment needed today. Arjun hands over his passport and study permit. Five minutes later he has a new SIM card and a postpaid plan he doesn't fully understand.

Nobody tells him that 'first month free' is not the same as 'free.' The plan doesn't auto-cancel. When month two arrives, billing starts — silently. Students forget. Three months later the calls come. Bills piling up. Credit score affected.

Arjun doesn't know any of this yet. He slips the SIM card into his phone, satisfied.

His friend finally arrives — late, because he assumed immigration would take longer.

They load the bags into the car. The Terminal 1 doors slide open automatically. A wall of cold air hits Arjun in the face like a bucket of ice water.

It's December. It's -6°C. He's wearing a hoodie under a thin jacket he bought in Mumbai. He shivers the entire time they load the bags.

Arjun arrives at his residence at 11:30am. Four hours and forty-seven minutes from landing.

He sits on the floor of his empty room, still cold, completely drained, and stares at the ceiling.

He goes to sleep.

"Why did nobody tell me any of this? At least I made it..."

— Arjun, 11:30am, Day 1

• ✗Print your documents — LOA, LOI, Confirmation of Enrollment, proof of funds. One printed folder. Black and white is fine. Don't rely on cloud storage at a foreign airport on two bars of WiFi.
• ✗Check your study permit expiry date before you walk away from the immigration counter. The officer can extend it right there if you ask politely.
• ✗Complete ArriveCAN before you fly — 10 minutes on your phone the night before saves you a 25-minute paper queue on arrival.
• ✗Understand that "first month free" is not free — postpaid plans continue billing unless you call and cancel. Set a calendar reminder for Day 25.
• ✗Pack a winter jacket, gloves, and beanie in your carry-on — not your checked bag. Canada in December is not cold. It's a different category of cold.
• ✗Pre-book your airport pickup — if someone is collecting you, tell them immigration takes 45–90 minutes. Coordinate properly.

💡 Study Permit Expiry — Don't Skip This

💡 Skip Service Canada at the Airport

The Service Canada desk at Pearson helps you get your SIN number on arrival. After a 14-hour flight and 90-minute immigration process, that queue is the last place you want to be. Rest first. Get your SIN on Day 2 when you're rested and have your documents properly organised.

At 6:47am, before Priya even clears the jetway, her phone buzzes. Data connected.

She set up a free SIM through VFS Global before leaving Delhi. It activated the moment Air Canada Flight AC044 touched Canadian soil. Two seconds later her mum has a WhatsApp message: 'Landed safely. All good. Love you.'

She joins the immigration queue with the same crowd as Arjun. Same officer. Same questions. But Priya's folder is already open on the desk before the officer finishes her sentence — passport on top, Letter of Acceptance second, Letter of Introduction third, Confirmation of Enrollment fourth, proof of funds fifth. Clean, tabbed, printed.

The officer asks four questions. Priya answers four questions. She's through in nine minutes.

Before leaving the counter, she glances at her study permit expiry date. She checked the StudenzBit arrival guide the night before and knew to look. The date is fine — 90 days after her program ends.

She walks to customs. She pulls out her phone, taps three buttons, and walks to the ArriveCAN kiosk. Scans her passport. Done in three minutes. No queue. No paper form.

At baggage claim, she opens the Uber app — already set up with a prepaid foreign exchange card she loaded before leaving India. $68 to her residence. She'd budgeted for it. She books the ride.

While she waits for her suitcase, she reaches into her carry-on and pulls out her winter jacket. Then her gloves. Then her beanie.

She's wearing all three by the time the Uber arrives.

The same carrier saleswoman approaches her at the arrivals hall with the laminated deal sheet.

'No thank you,' says Priya, without breaking stride. 'I'm sorting my SIM next week.'

"No thank you. I'm sorting my SIM next week."

— Priya, Arrivals Hall

She climbs into the Uber at 8:04am.

She arrives at her residence at 8:22am. Same chaotic airport. Same freezing December morning. Same city.

Completely different experience.

She unpacks her essentials, checks the first item off her StudenzBit arrival checklist, pulls up the Day 2 task list, and closes her eyes.

Ready for what comes next.