Anyone who entered Canada and has "goods to follow" household items?

[Matt173]

Anyone who entered Canada and has "goods to follow" household items? I entered Canada from the US for studies today and wanted to declare goods to follow that will be shipped via container ocean freight. But customs at the land-based border told me that they cannot stamp or process any documents as studies is not considered a permanent settlement but that I would not have to worry. I was told to submit my study permit to the shipping company and that they would use it to declare my goods at customs when the container arrives. However, that is contrary to everything that shipping companies and customs brokers post on the internet.

Does anyone have experience with this? Have procedures perhaps changed during covid times? I was told by the shipper to fill out a BSF186/B4E form which I did and to hand in this document along with the inventory list and valuations of each item at the first point of entry when I enter Canada. However, customs at the land-based border said there is nothing they can do which sounds odd and different from what every shipper states on their websites.

 

[Maricalero]

Anyone who entered Canada and has "goods to follow" household items? I entered Canada from the US for studies today and wanted to declare goods to follow that will be shipped via container ocean freight. But customs at the land-based border told me that they cannot stamp or process any documents as studies is not considered a permanent settlement but that I would not have to worry. I was told to submit my study permit to the shipping company and that they would use it to declare my goods at customs when the container arrives. However, that is contrary to everything that shipping companies and customs brokers post on the internet.

Does anyone have experience with this? Have procedures perhaps changed during covid times? I was told by the shipper to fill out a BSF186/B4E form which I did and to hand in this document along with the inventory list and valuations of each item at the first point of entry when I enter Canada. However, customs at the land-based border said there is nothing they can do which sounds odd and different from what every shipper states on their websites.

Hi Matt! Same happened to me. Did your container arrive? What was the procedure?
Thank you!

 

[Matt173]

Yes, everything went smoothly. I negotiated with my shipper beforehand that they would use a customs broker to clear the container on my behalf. That resulted in me not having to come to the port to clear it myself. Really helped. The container was cleared, all my effects re-loaded from the container onto a large truck and the truck delivered all my boxes and furniture to my home in Canada. The entire service was impeccable. It cost a lot (I paid over 15k cad) but it was my entire household, everything that I own and possess in a 5br household. That included packing of all my items, transport from my home in Hongkong to a Vancouver, customs clearance, transport to the final destination, and unloading of all the moving boxes and furniture (160 pieces in total). This may sound expensive to some but keep in mind container freight rates are through the roof right now and the entire process was fully insured, I paid 1.5k for insurance alone, and the final destination was about 1000km from Vancouver. So, the charges were fair imo.

My real work stated unpacking the boxes on my own and setting everything up, took me around 2 weeks of work every day.

Ask me specific questions if you think I can help.

Hi Matt! Same happened to me. Did your container arrive? What was the procedure?
Thank you!

 

[Maricalero]

Yes, everything went smoothly. I negotiated with my shipper beforehand that they would use a customs broker to clear the container on my behalf. That resulted in me not having to come to the port to clear it myself. Really helped. The container was cleared, all my effects re-loaded from the container onto a large truck and the truck delivered all my boxes and furniture to my home in Canada. The entire service was impeccable. It cost a lot (I paid over 15k cad) but it was my entire household, everything that I own and possess in a 5br household. That included packing of all my items, transport from my home in Hongkong to a Vancouver, customs clearance, transport to the final destination, and unloading of all the moving boxes and furniture (160 pieces in total). This may sound expensive to some but keep in mind container freight rates are through the roof right now and the entire process was fully insured, I paid 1.5k for insurance alone, and the final destination was about 1000km from Vancouver. So, the charges were fair imo.

My real work stated unpacking the boxes on my own and setting everything up, took me around 2 weeks of work every day.

Ask me specific questions if you think I can help.

Thank you so much for the quick reply! My goods will most probably arrive in the end of February and was just wondering how the clearing was done. I emailed the CBSA and they replied I would have to self clear the container and pay a deposit that would be reimbursed once I leave the country and bring the goods with me. I was just wondering if you had to self clear, which according to what to wrote you didn't, and if you had to pay anything for the goods. Thanks again!

 

[Matt173]

Yeah, I did not self clear because of the large distance between the port and my final destination. And I was not asked to put down any deposit. I was just advised that I was only allowed to sell any of my items in Canada if I reported it to Canada customs and potentially paid customs duty on that. But as all my items are for self use I don't think I will face this issue. The shipper wanted an extra cad 200 or so for customs brokerage and clearing which I happily paid because if I had to self clear my expenses would have been much higher as I would have had to fly all the way to Vancouver and back.

Thank you so much for the quick reply! My goods will most probably arrive in the end of February and was just wondering how the clearing was done. I emailed the CBSA and they replied I would have to self clear the container and pay a deposit that would be reimbursed once I leave the country and bring the goods with me. I was just wondering if you had to self clear, which according to what to wrote you didn't, and if you had to pay anything for the goods. Thanks again!