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kobeeh

Newbie
Apr 19, 2010
2
0
Hello All,

My situation is as follows :

My wife (U.S. citizen) and I got married about a year ago.
We got her a visitors visa right away and she has been able to come in and out of the country with relative ease.
Now we have purchased a home together and are looking to bring some of her belongings in a few weeks to Canada (bed, dining table, bookshelf, etc.)
We submitted her paper for PR in Canada recently (I know we're very late in the ballgame here)
I know to get the B4 form to fill out for her stuff but the question is :

Does she need PR status in Canada before we can move her stuff over here ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
Once she has PR status you can move her stuff duty free (either on "landing" or later if it's declared during landing). If you need to bring it before she has PR approval, you'll have to pay duty and, I believe, GST on the fair market value of it. Most things manufactured in the U.S. and Mexico should be duty-free, but you'd have to show that's where it's made.

One other issue is that used mattresses have to be professionally fumigated (I forget the details) before being imported. Mattresses brought as settler's goods are exempt from this requirement, but she can't "settle" until the PR is approved. Right now, she is only on a temporary visit.
 
You do not have to pay duties and taxes if you are are new settler, but you have to declare everything and goods to follow. You ahve to fill the form B4 and B4A, and that should do. All have to be listed and prized in Canadian dollars value equivalent. We used a company called ABF (UPACK) and believe me it was PROBLEM FREE.
 
To be more exact, a “settler” means any person who enters Canada with the intention of establishing, for the first time, a residence for a period of not less than 12 months. Usually, that takes place when you "land" after getting your PR approved. Full details of the regulations on settler's goods are here:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d2/d2-2-1-eng.pdf