Returning Resident? Or First Time Settlement??

[helpmeee]

So me and my spouse are in a bit of a pickle, or maybe its not that serious, I am not sure. We need some advice.
I am a Canadian Citizen who sponsored my American spouse, he became a PR in October 2022. The thing is, we are both performers that work short to long term contracts, some of it in Canada but a lot of it outside of Canada. Due to this, since he became PR, we havent spent a whole lot of time in Canada and also have not had the chance to move all of his belongings to Canada yet. We planned to do so when we have time. We have a condo we have rented out for the past couple years and decided this summer is the time to book the Uhaul with all his stuff after my tenants lease ends to move in.

Now I thought all of this would be no issue, but now I have read some things on the internet that lead me to believe that we should have filled out a goods to follow sheet one of the couple times my husband entered the country. And now I am a bit confused. We have maintained Canada as our residence tax wise and in general, because technically that is the country we claim as home despite our very weird travelling, nomadic lifestyle that we unfortunately have to live. Basically, since he became a PR he has been in Canada for:
-3 weeks after receiving PR
-7 weeks in 2023 between Germany and US contracts
-1 week October 2024 for Canadian thanksgiving
-1 week in Feb 2025 for vow renewal
-3 weeks in Sept 2025 for 2 week gig and family visit
-6 weeks March/April 2026: visit, gig and preparation for move

How should I go about this border crossing? We dont want to be on the hook for all of my husbands personal belongings
Would we be returning residents? Or would I be a returning and my husband be a settler? He has never claimed any belongings upon all of his entries to Canada, so he hasnt done the settler form yet.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated....
If I didnt love my job, I would have already found a new industry because trust me we hate all this travel. We hope to create a more lively entertainment industry within Canada in the future.

 

[armoured]

So caveats:
-I'm not an expert;
-Your text is very dense and full of extraneous information with little to do with your question. Seriously, edit. And when you talk to customs/govt - boil it down to most important facts and let them answer questions, and respond /briefly./

If I understand:
-Your husband became a PR in 2022. He has never fully settled here since then.
-You have basically not been fully resident in Canada for a long time.
-You (and he?) have been filing taxes in Canada.
-You want to bring his personal belongings - possibly including some of yours - to settle in Canada.

My read: you've not been factually resident and not had reason/occasion to bring your stuff to Canada. He is now coming to settle - as are you, basically.

I don't think customs will care about this at all but will want a summary of the info - ideally by box of stuff - and values. Again, emphasize - both of you have been living outside Canada and only visited, basically. (You've filed taxes amongst toher thigns because of Canadian income)/

That said: call customs and border services and ask. Again, boil it down to basics. If it really is personal stuff and not of high value - believe me, on top of other things, they probably will not want to deal with the paperwork.

 

[helpmeee]

So caveats:
-I'm not an expert;
-Your text is very dense and full of extraneous information with little to do with your question. Seriously, edit. And when you talk to customs/govt - boil it down to most important facts and let them answer questions, and respond /briefly./

If I understand:
-Your husband became a PR in 2022. He has never fully settled here since then.
-You have basically not been fully resident in Canada for a long time.
-You (and he?) have been filing taxes in Canada.
-You want to bring his personal belongings - possibly including some of yours - to settle in Canada.

My read: you've not been factually resident and not had reason/occasion to bring your stuff to Canada. He is now coming to settle - as are you, basically.

I don't think customs will care about this at all but will want a summary of the info - ideally by box of stuff - and values. Again, emphasize - both of you have been living outside Canada and only visited, basically. (You've filed taxes amongst toher thigns because of Canadian income)/

That said: call customs and border services and ask. Again, boil it down to basics. If it really is personal stuff and not of high value - believe me, on top of other things, they probably will not want to deal with the paperwork.

Thank you for this. Sorry for all the information, I will try to keep that in mind when I cross the border to not bore them with all the details unless asked. Would it be a smart idea to fill out the form twice with all the itemized belongings, and fill one out as a settler and one as a returning resident? Just in case the settler one is contested? I will call CBP to ask as well. Also yes, both of us have been filing taxes in Canada.

 

[armoured]

Thank you for this. Sorry for all the information, I will try to keep that in mind when I cross the border to not bore them with all the details unless asked. Would it be a smart idea to fill out the form twice with all the itemized belongings, and fill one out as a settler and one as a returning resident? Just in case the settler one is contested? I will call CBP to ask as well. Also yes, both of us have been filing taxes in Canada.

I would see how it goes with call to CBSA. (Note CBP is the USA customs service - they have no say or likely information on this, it's a Canadian customs matter)

But my inclination would be to ONLY fill out the returning resident/settler form. (I think they're the same?) After all, neither of you have been residing in Canada recently - filing taxes is a separate matter. Main thing is that you/ he are not 'importing' items as an actual current resident of Canada.

Side note I'm not sure there is a form specifically for those returning and having their items with them - I'm only familiar with the 'goods to follow' forms, which are used for those goods being sent separately (i.e. a moving company). But any form you use or just a list /table of goods that has all the info may be helpful. Point is (I believe) to make clear that these are personal items, nothing new, nothing super-expensive, etc. They don't want to assess customs on random household stuff of someone who's moving as a PR to settle. Note of course that cars are a separate matter entirely.

And to make it clear - even if he's a PR, the fact he's visited a half-dozen times, even for a month or two, does not actually mean that he 'settled' prior to this. (You would be the returning resident and probably okay to return with your personal items as well, but perhaps easier if it's just the issue of his household items)

 

[helpmeee]

Oh right! CBSA.
And yeah the returning resident form and settler form are the same ones, theres just a different box you need to check off the list. So I was wondering if we should do both for my husband just in case they contest the settler one.

As for me being the returning resident, I do have some items to bring, you think I should put it all on his form?

Also, technically we will have some goods to claim. If he is deemed a settler, we will only have one thing to claim and its something we would have bought from canada but its like $500 to ship so were going to pick up on the way to the border (the item totals a value of about $700). But if he is deemed a returning resident, there are a couple of things we have bought second-hand in the past two weeks that we are supposed to pay taxes and duties on. I guess for those goods to pay taxes on, would we need to leave them by the edge of the Uhaul so its easier for the agents to look at?

 

[armoured]

Oh right! CBSA.
And yeah the returning resident form and settler form are the same ones, theres just a different box you need to check off the list. So I was wondering if we should do both for my husband just in case they contest the settler one.

I don't think there's any functional difference - 'settler' just means someone arriving as a PR for the first time to settle. (And yes, they do make a distinction between someone arriving to 'stamp their PR ticket' and 'settling', i.e. they don't consider someone to have 'settled' as a PR until they arrive in order to reside).

So for him, I don't think it matters, really - both settlers and returning residents have the right to bring personal items.

As for me being the returning resident, I do have some items to bring, you think I should put it all on his form?

You're going to have to use your judgment. If it's a bunch of kitchen utensils you both use, no difference.

Also, technically we will have some goods to claim. If he is deemed a settler, we will only have one thing to claim and its something we would have bought from canada but its like $500 to ship so were going to pick up on the way to the border (the item totals a value of about $700). But if he is deemed a returning resident, there are a couple of things we have bought second-hand in the past two weeks that we are supposed to pay taxes and duties on. I guess for those goods to pay taxes on, would we need to leave them by the edge of the Uhaul so its easier for the agents to look at?

Again, you're going to have to use your judgment. My own /impression/ is that their interest is in not having people buy lots of expensive stuff just before they move, or even buying things to re-sell. Or in blunt terms, they probably don't care you bought a $100 used parka from your cousin - but it's your problem if they decide otherwise.

The thing you pick up on the way to the border will be (presumably) new in box and separate - not complicated, you have a receipt, easy to declare and pay (yep, we bought the camera in that box there). (It wouldn't be unheard of for them to decide that's not worth it, they've got a bunch of trucks coming through soon or whatever).

Again, your decision, use your best judgment.

 

[helpmeee]

I don't think there's any functional difference - 'settler' just means someone arriving as a PR for the first time to settle. (And yes, they do make a distinction between someone arriving to 'stamp their PR ticket' and 'settling', i.e. they don't consider someone to have 'settled' as a PR until they arrive in order to reside).

So for him, I don't think it matters, really - both settlers and returning residents have the right to bring personal items.

You're going to have to use your judgment. If it's a bunch of kitchen utensils you both use, no difference.

Again, you're going to have to use your judgment. My own /impression/ is that their interest is in not having people buy lots of expensive stuff just before they move, or even buying things to re-sell. Or in blunt terms, they probably don't care you bought a $100 used parka from your cousin - but it's your problem if they decide otherwise.

The thing you pick up on the way to the border will be (presumably) new in box and separate - not complicated, you have a receipt, easy to declare and pay (yep, we bought the camera in that box there). (It wouldn't be unheard of for them to decide that's not worth it, they've got a bunch of trucks coming through soon or whatever).

Again, your decision, use your best judgment.

Thank you for all of this. This is much clearer now.