Moving to Canada - Settler's Effects |

Moving to Canada – Settler’s Effects

Published August 12, 2010 | By C I

This post is for people moving to Canada for the first time and how to process your personal household goods. The process is relatively simple.
There is a tax exemption on all duties and taxes under tariff item 9807.

Who qualifies?
- Any person entering Canada with the intention of establishing a residence in Canada for at least 12 months,
-Any person on a work permit valid for over 36 months

What goods qualify?
-Household goods – furniture, apparel, vehicles (admissible to Canada), trailers not exceeding 2.6m and not part of a dwelling, and any goods acquired in transit from former country of residence which has met ownership, possession and use requirements. Be wary of shipping food. Especialy dairy or meat products and plants.

What goods don’t qualify?
-business and commercial goods e.g. office equipment, vehicles for commercial purposes etc.
-goods for the accomodation of others, for sale or for hire.
-live stock
-houses, dwellings, trailers that require a permit to be moved,
-company owned and lease vehicles
-goods purchased and shipped directly to canada without ownership, use and possession requirements being met. i.e. newcomer A buys a kitchen set and has it shipped from the store to Canada.

What are ownership, possession and use requirements?

Ownership – that you have legal rights to a good, purchased or acquired and can dispose of without restriction. i.e lease goods wouldnt qualify.

Possession/- Physically accepted the goods.

Use – Goods have actually been put into action or service in the manner that was intended or designed for those goods. (this requirement is waived for wedding gifts and bride’s trousseau but must have occurred 3 month prior or preceding move to Canada, and alcohol and tobacco)

*Retention Period – goods brought into Canada under this exemption must be retained for 12 months. Any goods disposed prior to the 12 months should be reported and duties and tax paid.

The process

Upon arrival to Canada you should present a list to Customs of the goods you have brought with you and that you plan on having follow you at a later date. You can write this up yourself, or use CBSA’s form B4 personal effects accounting document. download here.

You should list all your goods, in as much details as possible for high value items like jewellery, electronics, listing serial numbers and have appraisal or receipts for supporting documentation. i.e. Gemologist report.
This list should be presented when you first arrive and you should have it stamp validated by Customs. However, if you don’t have this list prepared don’t fret, just report and make your declaration as soon as possible to your nearest customs office.

* Be prepared to show proof of your status in Canada and how you qualify for this exemption i.e. landing papers, immigration docs, work permit exceeding 36 months, etc.
-Make a true and complete declaration. If you’re shipment is selected for an exam and your declaration is found to be incomplete or untrue than penalties will apply.

Once your goods arrive in Canada, you’re shipping company will notify you and you can come to customs to clear your goods. Bring the following items:

-2 copies of the cargo control document
- Your list of goods (hopefully already validated by Customs) on your own paper or on form B4A
-Any supporting documents for high value items – Note pictures will also sufficed if presented prior to arrival in Canada and validated by Customs.
- Government issued ID or passport and proof of status i.e. PR card.
- Form B15 Casual Goods Accounting Document if you have one from your initial declaration to Customs

Present all of these at the Customs office your shipping company/or freight forwarder has instructed you to go to. If the Customs officer is satisfied that all is in order and you have not been selected for an exam or inspection to verify your declaration, he/she will release stamp your cargo doc, return 1 copy to you and issue a B15 receipt if you don’t already have one. Then you can take this document to pick your goods or fax to the shipper who will pick up your goods and deliver them depending on your arrangement.

I hope this helps….any questions? post

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Posted in immigrating to Canada, importing personal goods to canada, moving to Canada, personal effects, settler's effects | Tagged moving to Canada, personal effects

23 comments on “Moving to Canada – Settler’s Effects”

Anonymous on December 3, 2010 at 4:36 pm said:

Can you tell me the origin of the Cargo Control Document? Also, the B15 document? Are these docs something that I can complete prior to arrival at the border?

Thanks for your response. This is a great site!

Customs Info on December 3, 2010 at 10:51 pm said:

The Cargo Control document, waybill or cargo manifest is should be provided by your freight forwarder or warehouse when your goods are arrive at their final destination. Usually they would contact you to let you know that your goods have arrived and that you need to take these documents to Customs to obtain a stamp release. You cannot complete this process beforehand.
The B15 is issued to you by customs at the time you make your declaration (which should be when you first arrive) as proof of report. It is a casual goods accounting document. You need to bring this back with you when your goods arrive with the cargo control document to prove that you have already reported your goods.
Basically the only form you can fill out before is the B4 form to list your personal effects.

I hope this helps and thanks for stopping by my site.

Anonymous on December 5, 2010 at 3:11 pm said:

I became citizen last year, was not aware of this kind of tax free service, wonder if I am still eligible for shipping over my used goods from home country?

Thanks!

Customs Info on December 5, 2010 at 9:21 pm said:

Hi, thanks for your question. It depends on your circumstance. How long have you been in Canada? Have you ever left? Technically this exemption is supposed to be claimed when you first arrive in Canada. The spirit of this exemption is to help new immigrants to start their life here in Canada. If you have lived here for sometime then it can be interpreted that the items were not needed.

Having said this you could still be eligible if an officer chooses to give you the benefit of the doubt and believes that you were not afforded this opportunity. However, keep in mind the caveat that if this allowed that you must have owned, possessed and used all of your personal effects to qualify for duty and tax free importation.

It doesn't hurt to try, so go to your local customs office and explain your situation and try and make a declaration by submitting a list of goods and their value. If the officer accepts this then you are ok to arrange for the shipping of these goods without being subject to duty and tax.

good luck
CI

Anonymous on December 8, 2010 at 7:51 pm said:

I am moving to Canada from the US soon – can you tell me if there will be an issue with bringing a collection of sea shells from here? I have a couple of large vases filled with them and would hate to have to throw them away..

Also, I have a wooden desk ornament that I bought at Disneyworld but I am not sure what kind of wood it is – is this something that would not be allowed to bring into Canada? There are no stickers or anything on it to indicate where it was originally made so I can't be sure.

Customs Info on December 9, 2010 at 9:47 pm said:

Hi thanks for posting your question. Sea shells are fine. Not sure what the ornament is…but it should be fine too. wood items that are untreated that can carry diease or pests are not allowed…ie.firewood.

cheers
CI

Mike on December 11, 2010 at 1:20 pm said:

I am moving to Canada from the US. My work assignment is for 36 months.
I read that people cannot bring used mattresses into Canada. Would my circumstances make me exempt from this?
If I am exempt from any of these requirements, could you tell me what section # of the code (or provide a link) would allow for it so I can reference that in case a "new" border agent is not aware of all the requirements?
Also, if I have bought something new – is it something that needs to be declared and duty.tax paid on it – even if it is for personal use? (One of my best examples is that we had to buy new winter tires for the car – the tires would only be 2 weeks old upon entry to Canada). Also, we have a few other things that are less than 6 months old as well (we had to buy winter coats and boots, etc) .

Customs Info on December 11, 2010 at 3:03 pm said:

Hi Mike,
as per customs d memorandum d9-1-7 used mattresses are inadmissble unless
" While tariff item No. 9897.00.00 prohibits the importation of used or second-hand mattresses into Canada, part (b) of this tariff item provides for the authorization to import materials from used or second-hand mattresses when accompanied by a certificate showing they have been cleaned and fumigated. A letter, or any other document which clearly demonstrates that the above requirements have been met, is acceptable if it is signed by a person having knowledge of the cleaning and fumigating."

As for the tires and the winter clothing, as you are classified as temporary residents as you are on a 36 month work permit, there is no 6 month rule of ownership, possession and use on the goods. You are entitled to bring all your household and personal goods duty and tax free as they must be documented and exported from Canada at the end of your stay.
If the Customs officer believes that there is a possibility that something will not be returned to the US after 36 months they can require a security deposit in the form of all the duties and taxes of the goods in question. This deposit would be returned to you by mail once proof of export and the documentatiom (e29b) has been acquitted by Customs. This rarely happens and is usually reserved for high value items and there is doubt that the temporary resident will comply. As you will be coming on a work permit this is highly unlikely.
I hope this helps.

Anonymous on December 29, 2010 at 1:38 am said:

Being a canadian living abroad, can I sponsor my spouse without having worked in Canada yet, but going to live with close family members?
Or must I be a resident to sponsor?

Customs Info on December 29, 2010 at 4:33 am said:

yes you need to be a resident to sponsor. You are basically responsible for whomever you sponsor for a number of years financially…and this would be difficult to enforce if you did not live in Canada.

Emad on January 8, 2011 at 11:59 pm said:

I am a Canadian citizen and resident and I have sponsored her as a permanent resident. Her files are near finalization and it is understood that she will join me very soon. I'm expecting her to be here in February but it could extend into March.

In the meantime we have been planning to purchase our appliances. Can she buy appliances from the US and have these appliances be exempt from taxes? Mind you she is not a US resident and she will not be travelling here from the US.

Customs info on January 18, 2011 at 1:14 am said:

Hi Emad,
Unfortunately she cannot buy goods in the US and bring them as part of her settler's effects exemption as she will not fulfil the requirements of ownership, possession and use. She must own the goods, take physical possession and have used the items to qualify.
Cheers,
CI

Anonymous on January 27, 2011 at 3:29 am said:

I will be moving with my family in May. I would like to send most of our personal belongings(sheets, comforters, shoes, silver and plate ware, heavy clothing and other personal effects) ahead. I already have a place to stay in Calgary.

Anonymous on June 27, 2011 at 4:11 pm said:

My husband is sending (2) pallets of boxes and some furniture to our mover in Delta BC who will then transport it to Victoria. Does my husband still have to be at Vancouver customs to clear these items, as the shipment may precede him?

Customs info on June 28, 2011 at 2:04 am said:

If your husband is claiming an exemption he would have to go to a customs office somewhere and make his declaration and present his list of goods for validation. Once that is done he can write a letter giving someone else the authority to clear his goods once they arrive in Canada. Or he can have the goods moved to a bonded warehouse and clear the goods once he arrives himself. Your movers may know of a bonded warehouse where he can temporarily store the goods…may ask them. I hope this helps.

Anonymous on July 4, 2011 at 7:57 pm said:

My family is living in Toronto since 2 years on a permanent resident status and I will be joining my family very soon. I am planning to send some of my personal effects before I come to canada in August. I had earlier sent half of my personal effects when I first landed with list of goods to follow validated by Canada customs authority. I was given to understand that 3 years is the maximum limit one can bring their personal effects to canada. Can anyone assist me and answer my query.

Customs Info on July 5, 2011 at 2:51 am said:

I'm not sure what your question is. Any goods you send that are not on the goods to follow may qualify for returning resident exemption. read my post on this. I hope this helps. And technically there is no limit on goods to follow, though you will invite more scrutiny the longer you wait.

Anonymous on July 5, 2011 at 11:59 am said:

Hi Mike,
I was not aware that I have to hand in a list of goods to the customs upon landing in 2009. My family became permanent residents and stayed on. I was back to my country of origin for work purposes. I will returning for good end 2011. Can I still ship my household goods at this point of time

CustomsInfo on July 6, 2011 at 11:49 pm said:

Yes you can. if you have never claimed your exemption you just need to explain that you did not know the procedures. Explain that you had to stay behind for work and that you are now moving to Canada with the intention of establishing your primary residence for the first time.

Anonymous on July 15, 2011 at 7:24 am said:

Hi, I have just received my PR Visa and hope to be able to arrive in Canada in the next 3 weeks. My husband is a Canadian citizen and is already in Canada. Shippers are collecting my goods to be shipped to Canada ahead of my arrival. Is that ok? Can my husband clear the items for me ? I am only shipping small items like glass ornaments, CD's, linen & clothing (no furniture or electrical items) – just personal/sentimental items. Thanks.

Customs Info on July 19, 2011 at 1:34 am said:

Yes your husband can clear the shipment for you. If it is consigned in your name then you will have to give him signed letter stating that he has the authority to clear your goods on your behalf. I would also submit a copy of your passport and Visa. If Customs does not allow your husband to claim your settler's exemption you can always submit a form B2 for a refund after you arrive.

Anonymous on July 25, 2011 at 11:16 pm said:

I have earlier posted on this site (July 5). Thanks for the info. I would like to know whether it is safer to get the list of personal effects endorsed by customs before I shipped them out or to ship first and to worry about any duties that may be impose latter. If so where am I to get this endorsed.

Customs info on July 26, 2011 at 11:34 am said:

Its always better to present your list ahead of time. There maybe items that are inadmissible to Canada and any possible items you will be charged duty or need a permit for etc…
You can go to any customs office and present your list and provide proof of your eligibility for a particular exemption. Ideally this should be done at the first point of arrival.