As promissed, I am submitting a new portion of my experience in Ontario in my best effort to distract applicants from the worries of FSWP process.
1) Anyways, a friend on the board here made a great point about IDs and stuff. So, as long as you've dealt with housing, banking, cell phone and primary commodities acquisition you should look for the nearest Service Canada branch and go there with your passport. There you will be issued a SIN (social insurance number). It used to be a plastic card, but now Canada has gone poor and started issuing this very important document as a printout only. SIN is a must to get a job with a Canadian employer. Although it doesn't look like much, be sure to treat this document with caution as lately Canada has been facing a surge in identity theft crimes. Most banks and insurance companies would like to learn your SIN when you apply with them, but keep in mind that you are NOT requires to share it.
2) Driver's license is a more tricky issue. The important thing to get started is bringing a VALID DL issued by your home country with you to Canada. Some provinces have reciprocal agreements with first world countries recognizing each other's driving experience. If you happen to have such DL that was issued two years before the date of application - then it's your lucky day, you take the vision test and are issued an unrestricted license on site. This is where a US, UK or Australia DL will come in handy. Other recognized jurisdictions are available on the respective sections of Provincial transport ministries. In case you have a DL from India, Russia, etc - you will have to enter the licensing program. Even if you are not willing to drive, it's suggested that you should apply for a DL, because in Canada this is the most important piece of ID. If you have been driving for more than two years you can either bring a reference letter from your national DL issuing authority mentioning your total driving experience and authenticity of the document or obtain it from your Consulate in Canada. I would recommend obtaining such reference from your Diplomatic mission for it will be issued in English language and will be easy to follow up in case the DriveTest center wants to run a background check (imagine them calling a local police unit abroad with all that time difference). If they acknowledge your experience you can take the written test right away. It contains 20 questions on traffic rules and 20 questions on road signs. In order to pass you need to give 16 correct answers in each section. The written test costs 15$. If you passed (and you are likely to do so if you went through the Driver's handbook and G1 mock-up tests available online), you are issued a temporary G1 license immediately. Your permanent DL will be delivered by Canada post to your home address in 2-4 weeks. This license is basically meant for identification only as it allows to drive in a car only witn a G full license holder on the passenger seat and has many other restrictions. So you will not be able to drive with it or buy a mandatory car insurance. That's why you will have to schedule a G2(city) or G test(highway). If you pass the G test you can skip the G2. However if you fail the G test, you will have to take G2 first and then reattempt the G. G2 is 56$ and G full costs 86$. In order to take the test you need to bring your own vehicle. For that purpose you can rent a car with your foreign DL which is valid for 60 days since you land. Or you can also buy a G test package from a driving school which will provide you with an instructor giving a mock-up test for one hour and a vehicle for the day of the actual test. These packages cost around ~220$. 90% of applicants fail the first attempt as the driving in Canada differs from other countries considerably. If you make an appointment for a test an opening will usually be available in 3 weeks. So, address this issue ASAP, but don't rush as failures can get the licensing an expensive experience taking into account that you have to rent a car and pay the fee each time. Personally I would recomend doing a G2 test first as it will get you driving although with some restrictions applied.
To be continued.
