Landing but not settling possessions

[BBVicar]

Hi all,

I was wondering if any one would be able to offer some advice on the possessions and goods list requied to land.

I land at the end of March on a family class visa (my wife is Canadian) but will not be officially emigrating until Sept for both business and personal reasons. She will beflying back permantly with me in Sept although it may be August.

I am a bit confused as to what we should be listing for goods and possession as essentially I will be bringing nothing at this time:
- How does this affect the landing interview?
- Should I be including stuff under my name or hers (although I guess she is returning and would have to declare anyway)
- What should I be including?
- Is the B4 form relevant?

Thanks in advance

 

[waitingintz]

My understanding is that your official landing is your one opportunity to import your personal belongings tax free.

So - as a new immigrant you need to arrive with a list of your belongings divided into things currently with you and goods to follow. In your case, everything will be goods to follow. They will examine this and do something formal like stamp it. Then, when you do bring your things over, you show that document and you don't have to pay import duty. So yes, you do still need to complete the B4 form.

If your wife has been residing out of Canada, she also has the right to bring in her personal possessions tax free. I believe she needs to have been out of the country for at least 1 year (and there are further allowances if she's been away over 5 years). When she comes, she will also need a list of her belongings.

If your wife qualifies, then i suppose you can skip the importation list on your landing and she can import everything as her own in sept...

Check the CBSA website for the forms and more details.

 

[RobsLuv]

Returning Canadians have a "cap" on the value of items they can import duty free - landing immigrants don't. So there is no benefit to putting any of you belongings into your wife's name when you come back to Canada. When you land, have your B4 filled out with your "Goods to Follow". The CBSA officer will do their thing and then attach a form to your list and hand it back to you. When you bring (or ship) you items into the country at a later date, you include that form with your shipment and anything on the form can be imported duty free.

 

[BBVicar]

That's guys that is very helpful.

Any idea how much detail we should go into? ie can we give a general topic of, say "books" or "clothes"?

I understand that for larger items we will need to be decriptive.

 

[AllisonVSC]

Yes you can categorize (books, clothes, kitchen ware, etc) typical household items and list a value for the category (resale, second-hand value). For the expensive/specialty items like jewelry, computers, electronics you should them separately and provide more detail (serial numbers, appraisals, possibly photos).