Driving a U.S. Plated Car in Canada

[swiftglobemaster]

Hi All,

I went through all prior topics, however my situation seems a bit tricker. I was in US for many years on work permit and moved to Canada on work permit (I don't have a US visa issue). I drove across the border as I din't want to incur a large expense of car purchase as soon as I moved to Canada and hence got CBSA Form 1 for temporary import. I also got my US license exchanged as I'll be here for at least a year. When I went to register the car, they asked for the US title and said they would not return it. Before getting Canada(Ontario) license, I had changed my address to a friend's house, in case any letters are sent. I also got Canadian car insurance and cancelled the US one. The Canadian insurance company did not ask anything on registration and said having insurance is the first step, so they issued it based on VIN.

Now my problem is I don't want to keep the car for long term and want to sell the car back in US next year (I anyway can't keep it more than the work permit duration as its a temp import). So following questions come up

1. Can I sell the car without a US title or with a Canadian title. Generally Canadian titles mean that the cars have to be imported, but in my case it was temp import, so would there be any complication?
2. Can I keep extending the US registration online (I had changed the address to a friend's address earlier on license and in NJ it seems to be linked)?
3. Service Ontario said if I want to keep the original title, then they need some letter from NJ stating that the car belongs to me on their letterhead. I could not find any such form that NJ will accept to issue this type of letter. In most cases they will say title is sufficient and if I say I'm registering it in Canada, why do you need letter when title is there.
4. And if I'm able to sell the car in US, I would either drive back in a rental or have to take a flight. Will it get flagged by CBP if they see that I came in a non rental car and left without it?

Thanks in advance

 

[Midget]

Hi All,

I went through all prior topics, however my situation seems a bit tricker. I was in US for many years on work permit and moved to Canada on work permit (I don't have a US visa issue). I drove across the border as I din't want to incur a large expense of car purchase as soon as I moved to Canada and hence got CBSA Form 1 for temporary import. I also got my US license exchanged as I'll be here for at least a year. When I went to register the car, they asked for the US title and said they would not return it. Before getting Canada(Ontario) license, I had changed my address to a friend's house, in case any letters are sent. I also got Canadian car insurance and cancelled the US one. The Canadian insurance company did not ask anything on registration and said having insurance is the first step, so they issued it based on VIN.

Now my problem is I don't want to keep the car for long term and want to sell the car back in US next year (I anyway can't keep it more than the work permit duration as its a temp import). So following questions come up

1. Can I sell the car without a US title or with a Canadian title. Generally Canadian titles mean that the cars have to be imported, but in my case it was temp import, so would there be any complication?
2. Can I keep extending the US registration online (I had changed the address to a friend's address earlier on license and in NJ it seems to be linked)?
3. Service Ontario said if I want to keep the original title, then they need some letter from NJ stating that the car belongs to me on their letterhead. I could not find any such form that NJ will accept to issue this type of letter. In most cases they will say title is sufficient and if I say I'm registering it in Canada, why do you need letter when title is there.
4. And if I'm able to sell the car in US, I would either drive back in a rental or have to take a flight. Will it get flagged by CBP if they see that I came in a non rental car and left without it?

Thanks in advance

Finally what did you do? Is temporary import a bad decission?

 

[sabahz]

I have the same question. Car prices in canada are crazy and wondering if i should drive my car from california.

 

[astrob]

Hi! I've been looking around a lot and can't seem to find a conclusive answer.

I just finished my PhD in the US as a US citizen and resident. I have been offered a postdoc in Toronto with the initial contract for 2 years (with a possible 1 year extension afterword). My wife (also US citzen and resident) and I both have cars that we bought last year, so still have liens on them.

If I were to accept this offer, how should we go about moving to Canada with our cars? Could we keep our US plates and licenses with our home state (that we would move back to after my postdoc is done) as we would only be in Canada living for those 2 years?

 

[Alex54321]

With moving to Canada for like 3 years as temporary resident there are a lot of moving parts and the cars are just a small part of the puzzle. Like to get a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) and your work permit before leaving US. As for cars - the answer is (from Canadian point of view) - Temporary Import with licence and insurance.

https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/importing-vehicle/temporarily-importing-vehicles

My US Progressive insurance told me that I am covered in Canada, during visitor stay, but I always was not easy how to get that coverage/repair reimbursement in case of accident? The Canadian insurance would serve you better.

 

[curtispenner]

Hi, so I'm a born Canadian, but I currently am living in Mexico and have dual citizenship. If I buy an RV in the United States and get US plates, will I have a problem crossing the border into Canada for a few days?