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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.

In the management of your administrative file and communications with you, Université de Montréal uses a terminology which is important for you to understand. In order to allow you to have a better understanding of the following information, you will find hereby the most frequent used terms.

Permanent code: number allotted by the Université de Montréal upon registration. It is composed of the first three letters of your name, the first of your first name and of eight numbers. The permanent code allows identifying yourself to institutional and governmental services.

UNIP: personal identification number. A temporary UNIP is allotted to you after registration. It allows you to access email services and to your UdeM portal.

UdeM Portal: Portal that allows you to access your administrative file, your emails, your library account, your personal information etc.

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.

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, at 514-343-6111, ext. 4729 or Ms. Diane Brulé-De Filippis, at 514-343-5638.

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).

In the first days after your arrival
1) You will also need to go to the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) (the provincial health insurance agency) offices to obtain your health insurance card:

RAMQ
425, De Maisonneuve West Blvd.
3rd floor, suite 300 
Montréal (Québec) H3A 3G5
Métro Place-des-Arts, exit De Bleury North St.
Métro McGill, exit Union St.

Office hours :
Monday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

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.

2) You will need to go to Immigration Canada's Montreal offices to obtain your Social Insurance Number and Card. Any additional details will be given to you once here:

Service Canada
1001, de Maisonneuve East blvd., 2nd floor
Montreal, Quebec
Métro Berri-UQAM, exit de Maisonneuve

Opening hours:
Monday to Friday, 8 h 30 à 16 h 00

Payment of your fellowship and income taxes
You will receive monthly installments from which no deductions for income taxes will be made. However, your fellowship is taxable at both the federal (Canada) and provincial (Québec) government levels and it is important to set aside an appropriate amount for their payment after the fiscal year end. Most of the foreign postdoctoral fellows arriving directly from abroad can claim an exemption of Québec (provincial) income tax. However several eligibility conditions apply.

Useful additional information
- Unfortunately, the CRM cannot help you find lodging but housing services are available on most university campuses. See Université de Montréal housing services.
- Apartment: The average monthly cost for a furnished apartment in Montreal (including heating) is about $800.00 to $1000.00 CDN. It is much cheaper to rent an unfurnished apartment. Average monthly rent in Montreal for these is around $659.00 CDN with an average of 146$ per room.

- Basic groceries: average weekly cost for a person is about $50.00 CDN.

- Transportation: A monthly pass valid for both city buses and subway system (Metro) is $70 CDN.

For any additional information please contact:
Sakina Benhima
Centre de recherches mathématiques
Pavillon André-Aisenstadt (room5357)
Université de Montréal
C.P. 6128, Centre-ville Station
Montréal, Qc H3C 3J7
benhima@CRM.Umontreal.ca

Diane Brulé-De Filippis
Centre de recherches mathématiques
Pavillon André-Aisenstadt (room 5359)
Université de Montréal
C.P. 6128, Centre-ville Station
Montréal, Qc H3C 3J7
bruledef@CRM.UMontreal.CA