what is needed at the US/Canada border?

[bunny82]

My husband will coming to Canada from the US next month. What will he need to do and have at the border? Besides the papers I (his sponsor) received in the mail with his photo on it, what other documents might he need? I know he needs to declare the items he is bringing over, how does he do this? Also, he won't be charged for his vehicle or the things he is bringing, correct? (since it is his first time). Just wondering what he should expect once he makes it to the border and what he needs to have with him and prepared ahead of time, since this is all new to us and we don't know. Thank you kindly.

 

[Aquakitty]

My husband will coming to Canada from the US next month. What will he need to do and have at the border? Besides the papers I (his sponsor) received in the mail with his photo on it, what other documents might he need? I know he needs to declare the items he is bringing over, how does he do this? Also, he won't be charged for his vehicle or the things he is bringing, correct? (since it is his first time). Just wondering what he should expect once he makes it to the border and what he needs to have with him and prepared ahead of time, since this is all new to us and we don't know. Thank you kindly.

He can't just bring his car into Canada, he has to export it from the USA then import it into Canada. The good news is he doesn't have to pay taxes on the car. The bad news is he still has to follow the export/import rules which are a pain in the rear. What year and model is the car?

I assume you are mailing him the COPR?

 

[bunny82]

Thanks. He will probably be getting a new vehicle shortly before coming, so I am not sure. What will he need to do to export/import the car? And where can I get any other forms needed, like declaration forms that need to be filled out to show what his belongings are and their worth etc. We are just trying to figure this all out

 

[Aquakitty]

There's lots of info on here about the B4 form. Here's a thread on it: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/form-b4-goods-to-followaccompanying-list-how-to-t44793.0.html

Form link: http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/publications/forms-formulaires/bsf186-eng.pdf

Basically just group the goods into categories and estimate prices based on the used value, or new value if it's new and you have a receipt. You can list large items on their own.

The import/export process depends on the year of the car. If less than 15 years old you must follow the RIV process. No matter what car he exports he has to inform the US border 72 hours before the export, and the car can't have any liens, leases or payments due on it, unless you have express permission from the lending or leasing institution (which is rare).

Start by reading this: https://www.riv.ca/ImportingAVehicle.aspx

 

[bunny82]

Ok thank you very much. I am going to check out these links. When you say that the car cannot have any payments due on it, what exactly does that mean.. because most people have monthly bills they pay for their car payment, which he does and will have, and there are many more payments due.

 

[Aquakitty]

Ok thank you very much. I am going to check out these links. When you say that the car cannot have any payments due on it, what exactly does that mean.. because most people have monthly bills they pay for their car payment, which he does and will have, and there are many more payments due.

It means you can't export that car without permission from that lending institution. You have to outright own the car. Some banks and lending institutions have operations in Canada so it might be possible to transfer it. But you can't export a car otherwise with any money owed on it.

 

[bunny82]

Oh wow, I have never heard about any of this. I thought you could bring over any vehicle you have. I have no idea what we are going to do then. He is still owing on his current vehicle, he pays monthly. It will be the same if he trades it in for another vehicle, which he was planning to do. So I am at a loss right now. He also has to be here by early Sept, no later.

 

[bunny82]

I am also reading that he needs to have a license for the province he will be living in 60 days before coming? Ok we are already too late for that. How does one obtain a license for a country they are not even living in? Also when reading thru, I see that people have brought over cars that they still owed money on, so hopefully it is not as difficult as you are describing?

 

[Aquakitty]

I am also reading that he needs to have a license for the province he will be living in 60 days before coming? Ok we are already too late for that. How does one obtain a license for a country they are not even living in? Also when reading thru, I see that people have brought over cars that they still owed money on, so hopefully it is not as difficult as you are describing?

Not sure where you read that license bit, but it's not true. There is a time limit (supposedly) once you are in Canada, I think BC is 90 days, Ontario 60 days, to trade in your license. Not before you enter Canada though, lol.

Contact the bank or lending institution about the car and ask if they allow transfers to Canada. Most won't do this because the buyer could "escape" to Canada and stop paying, and it's nearly impossible for the lender to get their money back. What you need is the title for the car. The US side won't let him export it without a title or certified copy, and express proof of permission.

Where title evidences third-party ownership/claims. If the used, self-propelled vehicle is leased or a recorded lien exists in the U.S., in addition to complying with paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section, the provisional owner must provide to Customs a separate writing from the third-party-in interest which expressly provides that the subject vehicle may be exported. This writing must be on the third-party's letterhead paper and contain a complete description of the vehicle including the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), the name of the owner or lienholder of the leased vehicle, and the telephone numbers at which that owner or lienholder may be contacted and must bear an original signature of the third-party and state the date it was signed.

I assume since you owe money on it, they don't give you the car title, or the car title has a recorded lien on it.


You'll need to talk to your lender and see if they can transfer it.

Also, another thing to consider is insurance, make sure your insurance will cover him in Canada.

 

[bunny82]

Ok, thanks so much for all of your help. I will tell my husband all of this and hopefully he will get the permission from the lender or it will be able to be transferred. As for getting him covered on my insurance, I don't have insurance. I don't have a vehicle. So I guess he will have to look into getting insurance here pretty soon. Should he be insured before he comes or is it ok for him to figure that out once he is here? Thank you again for your help!

 

[CDNPR2014]

he can't get insurance until the car has finished being imported. he won't be able to get insurance until he has a canadian driver's license. so the steps are: land as a pr, either import car first then get driver's license or vise versa, get insurance, register car.

he doesn't have to import the car when he lands as a pr. you can add the car to the "Conveyance" section on a b4 (recently renumbered) "goods to follow" form to avoid being taxed at a later date. generally us insurance companies will insure a car in canada for 6 months before they'll cancel the policy. when they find out the car is in canada full time, they will start the process to cancel the insurance.

as the other poster mentioned, your first step right now is to figure out if his lender will allow him to export it to canada.

 

[Aquakitty]

Well, by insurance I meant the US insurance you have on it until you get your car fully imported and RIV approved. You have to make sure it's usable in Canada.

The hassle with not export/importing it when you land/move is you have to bring it back to the US for 72 hours before you can then export it. I remember one person last year parked the car in a parking lot on the US side for 3 days and returned to Canada, lol.

 

[bunny82]

Ok so my husband is encountering some issues.... his lender (Wells Fargo) told him they would give him permission to take the car out of the country. He sent in all necessary documents to get the permission. Then he gets a call today telling him that they do not give permanent permission to take vehicles out of the country, and only give a two month permission for him to bring the car here. We now do not know what to do. He will not be able to import the vehicle I guess, as we originally planned. And it is only supposed to be here for 2 months. We are at a loss. I guess they also don't transfer to a Canadian lender by the sound of it. They told him his only options were to sell the car or refinance the car with a Canadian lender. How would we do that and would a Canadian lender even take it on? Wells Fargo doesn't operate in NS (they do in other provinces). He wouldn't have any credit in Canada. Could someone help us out. Next thing you know his due date will be here (the expiration date) and we don't know what to do about this car situation. Thanks!

 

[scylla]

Based on what I've seen lenders typically refuse to give permission to import a car - so I'm not surprised that has been your experience. I've never heard of someone being successful in transferring their loan from the US to Canada. I would look at selling the lease to someone else.

 

[bunny82]

He just got the newer vehicle less than a month ago he needs a vehicle to bring all of his stuff over for his work. So you don't think there is a Canadian car loan company that would take over a US one?