Moving to Canada. B4 I go...

June 4, 2009 9:54 AM

Just married, and moving from San Diego to join my husband (non-resident, living in CA on a work visa) in Toronto, Canada. Customs forms? Tips? Advice? Help!

I have a moving company set up, but it's a "You-pack-it" kind of deal. I pack my stuff, put it in a trailer they bring to my house, and they drive it for me. Fortunately I have a few friends who worked for a moving company - all ready to help me fit my things in the trailer, tetris style. I don't have, say, a full house of stuff. I have 2 beds, 2 TVs, a dining room table/chairs, and most of the rest is boxed stuff. Lots of clothing, books, dishes, that sort of thing. Nothing sparkly and new, but the usual electronics people acquire - dvd player, computer, etc.

After booking the company, they sent me links to download a B4 customs form [pdf], and asked me to fill it out. This is where I got confused, the moving company sent me to the Canadian customs site for answers, and googling on how other people have done it made it worse. People seem to have done it in a few different ways, over the years, and either I'm super dense about this, or the Canadian customs site is written for an audience that is familiar with moving to a new country. Do I need to detail every single item? Can I say, "One box of clothes - $value"? If I do that, should I pack things in boxes of like items? That seems a bit silly - I have too many TYPES of things!

The other thing is that I am not traveling WITH the truck full of goods. I am driving two dogs*, a kid**, and myself from here to there, and will likely get there after the truck arrives. Will it sit in customs, or can my husband pick it up, or how does that work? Instead of a B4, do I fill out the other form, on goods to follow?

I realize this is cheating a bit, as I have packed a lot of questions into one. But they're all related. If someone can answer all of these at once by saying, look, call this service, or this agency***, or there are trained people to help you, please do. I'm one of those people who worry too much about things going wrong, and the more info I have about this, the better.

*Dogs have rabies vaccinations and certs of health.
**Kid does too (ha). As well as a passport.
***I tried calling Canadians Customs - they sent me to their website again, which confused me.

posted by routergirl to grab bag (9 comments total)

i moved, as an american, to canada two years ago on work permit.

let me try to answer all your questions at once:

we moved with two dogs.

we drove across the border with us, 2 dogs and a suitcase...

the truck came days later.

we filled out the list as: TV $x,xxx. mens clothes $x,xxx. kitchen appliances $x,ooo we didn't fill more than about a page an half one line per item.

please take all steps with vets and carriage permits etc for the dogs, please... otherwise lengthy quarantine is possible. specifically get this permit (its usually called a pink form. its targeted at the dogs being healthy enough to fly etc...)

you will meet the truck and go to an "inland customs office" where they will stamp the list and tell you to have a nice day.

the car can be imported or just permitted into the country. imported means you can sell it there but you have to pay gst+pst. otherwise you just pay a few bucks for the MTO licensing thingy...

all in all it was not as scary as i had built it up to be when i finally did it. we went at an off time, crossed at the queenston lewiston bridge (less busy in general) and it was a piece of cake.

feel free to email me for further conversation if you'd like.

its [e-mail]


cheers and good luck eh?
posted by chasles at 10:28 AM on June 4

crud. email is without spaces: c h a s l e s 2 2 @ g m a i l . c o m
posted by chasles at 10:32 AM on June 4

Um, are you a permanent resident of Canada? Because if you aren't, you're going to have to do some ... creative truth telling at the border in order to get in. As a non-permanent resident, you have a right to visit Canada, but you don't have a right to just move in, which appears to be what you're doing, and it the border guards won't believe you're just visiting with a truck of stuff and no work permit.

Despite the common claim, Canada isn't really just the 51st state. Who among you are citizens of where? Which non-citizens of Canada have work permits?

Once one is in Canada (which might require paying duties as if you're gifting all of this to your husband), one can apply in Canada for permanent residency via spousal sponsorship, and you're pretty much a sho-in after ~$1000 in fees (more with kids) and months (a year+ of waiting). Once you apply in Canada, you aren't supposed to leave Canada, and you have a right to overstay the implicit 6-month Canadian visitor's visa. Heck, one can even be in the country illegally and once the citizenship request is in you're good until there's an acceptance/denial.

If one applies from outside of Canada, the spousal sponsorship (so long as they believe the relationship is genuine), will also pretty much guarantee one an in, but you'll be waiting months to get approval. When you do your grand entry, I believe you get to take all of your stuff in your without issue.

I'm sorry that this isn't directly answering your question, but it seems like the cart might be before the horse.
posted by nobeagle at 10:34 AM on June 4

Chasles: Thanks for the info, and yes, I will be getting any and all forms possible for the dogs. The rabies vaccinations are filled out to match the specifications on the Canadian customs site, and the certificate of health is only good for 10 days. Since the move is about a month away, I plan on taking them in to the vet in a few weeks. I may just email you with more questions.

I'll be crossing at Sarnia, if that makes any difference.
posted by routergirl at 10:53 AM on June 4

nobeagle: I am going in on a work visa. My husband has been there 2 years and has a renewed 2 year work visa. No one involved is aware of (much less believes) any common claim that Canada is the 51st state, nor would I assume I could simply MOVE INTO another country without proper permits.
posted by routergirl at 11:32 AM on June 4

I don't have any answers, but congrats! Toronto is a great city - I hope you'll like it here
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:04 PM on June 4

My experience was pretty much the same as chasles, but here it is.

We moved to Canada in February using a u-pack-it service. Everything in the truck got put on the goods to follow list. We listed all the nice electronics separately with serial numbers and values. For other items, we said said x boxes of clothes, x boxes of books, kitchen utensils, etc. For a couple I think I just said mementos, personal items, toiletries, etc. The list is mostly just to make sure you're not bringing anything into the country that you shouldn't.

We did the regular customs form for goods that were with us when we flew in. You will need to show both lists to the customs agent when you arrive at the border and they will stamp the goods to follow form. You will need that to pick up the truck. In our case we went to the truck company, they gave us a form to verify that the truck had arrived and then we went down the street to the customs agent who checked all our forms and asked a couple of question. Then we got our truck and went home. I don't think your husband could pick up the truck.
posted by betsybetsy at 1:29 PM on June 4

I can't offer any moving advice, alas, but let me also chime in and say congrats too, and welcome! There's a real buzz about the place right now. May your move be a smooth and happy one!
posted by bicyclefish at 2:27 PM on June 4

I can't offer any moving advice per se, but I live in Toronto, it's a great, friendly city and I want to say welcome! Summer is a great time to move because there is a lot going on and there will be cool things (especially for your child) to check out. Toronto.com has an events page, updated often, that lists festivals, free events and such.

One thing about pets, my stepbrother moved to Europe and then moved back a few years later. Both times, and at both ends of the trip (i.e. to Europe and then home to Canada) the dog had to spend a few days in quarantine, in spite of the papers. There is a kennel they had to leave it at, and then go pick it up a few days later. This may or may not apply to you, so check into it becfore you come. Good luck! And welcome!
posted by JoannaC at 4:00 PM on June 4