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Returning to Canada with husband as new PR

snj

Star Member
Dec 6, 2010
103
5
Hey All, i am returning to Canada after good 15 years or so. I sponsored my husband and he will be landing for the first time. My 2 kids are Canadian citizens as well but never visited canada.
  1. i would like to know how will it be at the airport?? Do we go to immigration together. I believe he will have to go through bunch of officers . I just want an idea.

  2. do i get a chance to declare jewellery, goods accompanied or good to follow?
  3. how much cash can we carry?? Can we carry cash on account of each member like on behalf of kids???
  4. Can we carry herbal medications with prescription s
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,969
12,768
Hey All, i am returning to Canada after good 15 years or so. I sponsored my husband and he will be landing for the first time. My 2 kids are Canadian citizens as well but never visited canada.
  1. i would like to know how will it be at the airport?? Do we go to immigration together. I believe he will have to go through bunch of officers . I just want an idea.

  2. do i get a chance to declare jewellery, goods accompanied or good to follow?
  3. how much cash can we carry?? Can we carry cash on account of each member like on behalf of kids???
  4. Can we carry herbal medications with prescription s
1. Your spouse needs to land as a new PR. Time that takes depends on who else is landing from PRs to those on WPs and study permits.
2. If you are a citizen then you can’t declare goods to follow like a new resident. Your spouse can declare their own goods. He couldn’t declare your jewelry for example.
3. You can carry as much as you want but need to declare over 10k. If you carry more I would have proof of where the money came from like bank records with proof of withdrawal. If the kids are young and it isn’t their cash then I would not have them carrying 10k. Adults can carry more of it is declared and you can prove where the money came from.
4. That is a risk. Will it be sealed and be in its original packaging with all the ingredients listed? If not, I would not bring the herbal medicines. If professionally packaged and sealed make sure all ingredients are permitted in Canada .
 

snj

Star Member
Dec 6, 2010
103
5
Hi thank you for your reply..
what about my jewellery? As a returning citizen can i carry it and declare it. Does it has to be limited in value or weight? I am going back after 15 years.
 

steaky

VIP Member
Nov 11, 2008
14,305
1,628
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Hi thank you for your reply..
what about my jewellery? As a returning citizen can i carry it and declare it. Does it has to be limited in value or weight? I am going back after 15 years.
Value. Please read the CBSA website for more details.
 
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armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
15,422
7,853
1. Your spouse needs to land as a new PR. Time that takes depends on who else is landing from PRs to those on WPs and study permits.
2. If you are a citizen then you can’t declare goods to follow like a new resident. Your spouse can declare their own goods. He couldn’t declare your jewelry for example.
3. You can carry as much as you want but need to declare over 10k. If you carry more I would have proof of where the money came from like bank records with proof of withdrawal. If the kids are young and it isn’t their cash then I would not have them carrying 10k. Adults can carry more of it is declared and you can prove where the money came from.
4. That is a risk. Will it be sealed and be in its original packaging with all the ingredients listed? If not, I would not bring the herbal medicines. If professionally packaged and sealed make sure all ingredients are permitted in Canada .
Citizens returning after residing abroad certainly can declare goods to follow.
 
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Buletruck

VIP Member
May 18, 2015
6,686
2,531
1. Your spouse needs to land as a new PR. Time that takes depends on who else is landing from PRs to those on WPs and study permits.
2. If you are a citizen then you can’t declare goods to follow like a new resident. Your spouse can declare their own goods. He couldn’t declare your jewelry for example.
3. You can carry as much as you want but need to declare over 10k. If you carry more I would have proof of where the money came from like bank records with proof of withdrawal. If the kids are young and it isn’t their cash then I would not have them carrying 10k. Adults can carry more of it is declared and you can prove where the money came from.
4. That is a risk. Will it be sealed and be in its original packaging with all the ingredients listed? If not, I would not bring the herbal medicines. If professionally packaged and sealed make sure all ingredients are permitted in Canada .
You most certainly can declare goods to follow. Anything you have coming in a shipment that isn't in your personal possession at entry is "goods to follow". Try getting your dinning room set on a plane!
 

Buletruck

VIP Member
May 18, 2015
6,686
2,531
Hey All, i am returning to Canada after good 15 years or so. I sponsored my husband and he will be landing for the first time. My 2 kids are Canadian citizens as well but never visited canada.
  1. i would like to know how will it be at the airport?? Do we go to immigration together. I believe he will have to go through bunch of officers . I just want an idea.

  2. do i get a chance to declare jewellery, goods accompanied or good to follow?
  3. how much cash can we carry?? Can we carry cash on account of each member like on behalf of kids???
  4. Can we carry herbal medications with prescription s
Fill out the BSF186 (or whatever the new form number is) in advance and have it ready. Otherwise you'll be there for hours filling it out.
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
15,422
7,853
  1. would like to know how will it be at the airport?? Do we go to immigration together. I believe he will have to go through bunch of officers . I just want an idea.

  2. do i get a chance to declare jewellery, goods accompanied or good to follow?
1. Families travelling together can go to the passport booth together, or you could go separately if you had some reason. As a new PR landing first time, your spouse will be sent to secondary, where the admin parts will be done. The process itself might take 20-30 minutes, the number of people in front of you can vary quite a lot. Total of an hour would be pretty normal, but can be more if busy.

2. You MUST go to customs before departing the customs zone (this all occurs after the 'landing'). You'll take your goods-to-follow list and get it stamped there. At least at pearson airport, this is the same 'zone' as where you get your luggage, so you can get your luggage, then go to the customs counter.

When we did this, we put all of it on one form for my spouse (the new PR) although all of our household stuff including kids was in one shipment. The customs guys didn't care which of us, I don't recall whether they formally said they just looked at it as household or what exactly. At any rate, didn't seem to make any difference whatsoever to the customs guys. (I think I had a version prepared with me as the primary just in case and was prepared to add all names to the form - but there was no way we could have logically 'split' anything).

It sounds like a lot and it perhaps is at end of a long travelling day (with kids!) but overall it was pretty easy to understand and the various airport/govt people were nice enough.

At the end the only mistake we made was mixing up one piece of our luggage for someone else's. My fault entirely but a huge hassle because this was shortly after travel opened and we were doing quarantine. Advice: don't do that.
 
Last edited:

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,969
12,768
You most certainly can declare goods to follow. Anything you have coming in a shipment that isn't in your personal possession at entry is "goods to follow". Try getting your dinning room set on a plane!
Assume they meant goods to follow as a newcomer that isn’t taxable based on the context.
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,969
12,768
1. Families travelling together can go to the passport booth together, or you could go separately if you had some reason. As a new PR landing first time, your spouse will be sent to secondary, where the admin parts will be done. The process itself might take 20-30 minutes, the number of people in front of you can vary quite a lot. Total of an hour would be pretty normal, but can be more if busy.

2. You MUST go to customs before departing the customs zone (this all occurs after the 'landing'). You'll take your goods-to-follow list and get it stamped there. At least at pearson airport, this is the same 'zone' as where you get your luggage, so you can get your luggage, then go to the customs counter.

When we did this, we put all of it on one form for my spouse (the new PR) although all of our household stuff including kids was in one shipment. The customs guys didn't care which of us, I don't recall whether they formally said they just looked at it as household or what exactly. At any rate, didn't seem to make any difference whatsoever to the customs guys. (I think I had a version prepared with me as the primary just in case and was prepared to add all names to the form - but there was no way we could have logically 'split' anything).

It sounds like a lot and it perhaps is at end of a long travelling day (with kids!) but overall it was pretty easy to understand and the various airport/govt people were nice enough.

At the end the only mistake we made was mixing up one piece of our luggage for someone else's. My fault entirely but a huge hassle because this was shortly after travel opened and we were doing quarantine. Advice: don't do that.
Declaring the wife‘s jewelry in the goods to follow declaration of the husband is not something I would recommend. It is clearly the wife’s not shared goods.
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
15,422
7,853
Declaring the wife‘s jewelry in the goods to follow declaration of the husband is not something I would recommend. It is clearly the wife’s not shared goods.
I have no opinion on that - apart from actual experience, which is that when asked about the shipment containing all family goods under one name, CBSA specifically said it did not matter. YMMV.

Now, is it possible your point on this is perhaps influenced by your (completely mistaken) belief that Canadians returning cannot do goods to follow?