A newly landed family (applicant, spouse, and child) had opened a bank account and received a void cheque in the husband's name, and asked whether that would be sufficient to apply for SIN for all three family members, or whether a separate account was needed. They also asked about in-person wait times for SIN, given they had a young child with them.
What the thread noted:- A shared/family bank account with a void cheque in one spouse's name was used without a stated problem in this discussion — no one flagged that separate accounts were required per family member.
- In-person wait time for SIN was reported as around 20 minutes in one respondent's experience, which is useful for planning a visit with a young child.
- Important historical/COVID-era note: mandatory 14-day quarantine had to be fully completed before visiting Service Canada or any public location — this reflects pandemic-era rules and should be checked against current requirements before relying on it today.
The practical takeaway: a shared family bank account is generally workable for SIN-related purposes, in-person visits can be relatively quick (around 20 minutes in this account), but always confirm current entry/quarantine requirements rather than relying on this COVID-era information.