Moving household items through customs

[crna80]

I searched for this topic and came up empty. Wondering how folks move their household items into Canada. I am specifically looking for USA to Canada as we have thought about trailering. Does U-Haul allow border crossing or must you use a regular mover. Do they all go cross border? If this is answered somewhere else please direct me to a resource. Thanks so much.

 

[lunas]

Before finding out that I can't really move much of my household items before I am a resident (wihout paying taxes) I had gone to a U-Haul office and they gave me some rates to rent trailors or trucks. Basically it was around a thousand bucks to rent a truck from where I live in the Midwest and drop it off at a location in Alberta. The trailor options sooo much cheaper if you are thinking about importing your truck. I tossed the information they gave me but I think you can get rates online from U-Haul.

 

[R151NG5UN]

Biggest issue here is shipping any goods before having PR in place. You need to complete certain forms in order to bring these goods through and not be subject to tax and without PR it is impossible unless travelling with your Canadian partner who claim the goods as theirs. As for moving household item through customs, not sure the woman at the airtransat/ Air Canada desk would be too happy with me trying to board the plain with a 3 piece sofa lol

 

[crna80]

Thanks for your replies. I'm not moving anything until I get the PR as I want to make sure it is duty free. But didn't know if you could rent trailers across international borders, and just thinking ahead as to how we can work this. We have a truck we want to import as well, so considering options, and hopefully not break the bank. I'll check out U Haul. I wouldn't even want to think of the cost of moving goods via airlines, ouch! Thanks again

 

[matthew_fitzy]

Biggest issue here is shipping any goods before having PR in place. You need to complete certain forms in order to bring these goods through and not be subject to tax and without PR it is impossible unless travelling with your Canadian partner who claim the goods as theirs. As for moving household item through customs, not sure the woman at the airtransat/ Air Canada desk would be too happy with me trying to board the plain with a 3 piece sofa lol

I am in the same boat. I will be arriving in Canada in March next year on the IEC (working holiday) visa with my Canadian wife whilst my PR is in progress (currently). We will be using an international shipping company (Conroy Removals) via shared container and my wife will be claiming ownership of the goods.

Who knows, maybe I will have PR by March? Here's hoping! :-*

 

[R151NG5UN]

Given that Sydney for me seems to be the most efficient of all the VO's it is a huge possibility. Most people I see using Sydney have their visa issued within 2-4 months after 1st stage approval. It really does seem to be the best of all the VO's.

Good luck

 

[santoki]

I've spoken with a few people from the CBSA and they've said that if you are moving to Canada to wait out the rest of your PR that you would be allowed to move them across duty-free based on the fact that you INTEND to establish permanent residence for no less than 12 months. They pointed me to this memorandum - http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d2/d2-2-1-eng.pdf

So, if you are just moving your stuff over and going back to the US to live, then yes, you would incur duties and taxes. But, if you are intending to stay in Canada to wait out the rest of the process, you would not incur any fees. That's how it was laid out to me by at least two senior officials.

Now, in terms of moving everything over, we're using a company called U-Pack. They have many different options, but the one we chose was to bring our stuff to their facilities, load it up on their truck, and then they bring it to a facility near us in Canada. We then pick up the goods from there and bring it to our home. It's a little more work on our end as we have to rent moving trucks in the US and in Canada, but it's a lot more cost effective. We're paying about $700 for the service. You also have the option of them delivering door-to-door, and depending on how much you have, the cost of course does go up. In our case, it's just a 1-bedroom apartment, so the cost was about $1500. The final option you have is the facility-to-door option where you bring your goods to their facility and they bring it to your doorstep in your Canadian home. That option was only about $100 less than door-to-door. So, if you don't mind the extra work and are looking to save some money, do the facility-to-facility option. That's if this company is in the area you're in and goes to the place in Canada you're going of course!