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Information

for foreign postdoctoral fellows

You have received an offer for a postdoctoral fellowship at the CRM and you will therefore be registered as a postdoctoral fellow at the Université de Montréal. Before you begin your fellowship there are documents to be obtained and administrative formalities to be undertaken.

Prior to your arrival in Canada

1) Immigration

In addition to your valid passport, you may need a visa to enter Canada. Please contact the nearest Canadian embassy or consulate to obtain a list of documents to prepare and formalities to complete in order to obtain a Canada Employment Authorization. In most cases you will need to personally visit the embassy or consulate. We strongly suggest you make an appointment.

2) Employment Authorization

The Employment Authorization will only be delivered upon presentation of an official letter of job offer from the CRM. The cost of the authorization is CND$150. It is essential that this document state the exact period (with start and end dates) of your stay in Canada (usually 12 or 24 months). In addition, please pay special attention to the " Employer " section of your Employment Authorization: If your fellowship entails research activity at the CRM the " Employer " section should show " Université de Montréal ". This will not prevent you from doing research at other institutions. But if you have an invitation to teach at another Québec university, for example as a teaching assistant or lecturer at McGill or Concordia, then the " Employer " section must also give the names of the other institution(s). It is therefore very important to have a letter of job offer from the CRM that states the correct period of the fellowship and correct institutions at which you will be working. If these conditions change between the initial offer and the time when you undertake to obtain the Employment Authorization, then please do request a new letter of offer from us with the corrected information.

3) Health Insurance

Postdoctoral fellows are entitled to the benefits of the Quebec provincial health insurance three months after their arrival. Provincial health insurance is provided by the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ). The three-month delay is a " waiting period ".

Is the RAMQ health insurance coverage sufficient?

We advise that you obtain information on the RAMQ basic health coverage from the Canadian embassy or consulate. You may decide that you need to purchase additional coverage. The RAMQ website also contains official documentation in French and in English.

What happens during the first three months?

In principle, it is the responsibility of the postdoctoral fellow to obtain private insurance for this period of time. In some cases, an agreement may exist between Québec and your country which would permit you to benefit from RAMQ coverage from the time of your arrival. Please check with the Canadian authorities if there is an agreement. If there is no such agreement, please note that some universities, including the Université de Montréal and McGill University, will cover your health insurance expenses during the first three months.

4) Documents you will need to provide

• Certified copy of your PhD diploma. (Or a letter from the university where you are completing your doctoral degree certifying that you have satisfied all the requirements and indicating the date of your dissertation defence or examination.)
• Curriculum vitae.
  
• Canada Employment Authorization.
  
• Passport.
  
• Visa (when necessary).
  

Once in Canada

You will need to come to the CRM secretariat (Pavillon André-Aisenstadt Building, suite 5357) as soon as possible after your arrival in order to complete and sign a series of documents. Please bring the documents listed above as we will need to submit copies of these with the university forms. It is necessary to complete these formalities in order to release the payment of your fellowship. The first payment may take up to a month from the time of your arrival. Please contact Ms. Sakina Benhima to make an appointment 514-343-6111, ext. 4729.

In the first days after your arrival

• you will also need to go to the provincial health insurance agency (RAMQ) offices to obtain your health insurance card
• to Immigration Canada's Montreal offices to obtain your a Social Insurance Number and Card. Any additional details will be given to you once here.

For any additional information please contact:

Sakina Benhima
Centre de recherches mathématiques
Université de Montréal
Pavillon André-Aisenstadt, Suite 5357
P.O. Box 6128, Station Centre-Ville
Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7

benhima@crm.umontreal.ca

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January 2007,
webmaster