Best method of shipping personal belongings over before you land?

[shandymoo]

I can just ship them regularly to my spouse but then he might have to pay custom taxes on them is there a way to prove there are used personal items? Anyone recommend cheap shipping methods?

 

[MandiF]

I looked into this too before I came over and from what I could tell, is that unless you have your good to follow list all stamped and completed after you land that you will have to pay import duty on them when they get through customs.

Its why I just took what I could with me when I came and will ship the rest after I land.

 

[fleo]

If you want to use taxes and duties exemption as a new settler, your personal and household belongings - if they are coming before you - will be put into storage and you have 40 days to claim them. To the best of my knowledge, they will be matched to your "Goods accompanying" list on the spot.

The following is an excerpt from Settlers' effects Tariff (http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d2/d2-2-1-eng.pdf)

22. Goods arriving in advance of the owner’s arrival will be held in storage at a sufferance warehouse for a period of 40 days, after which time they will be treated as unclaimed.

23. If goods cannot be claimed within the 40-day time limit, it is the responsibility of the owner to request an extension, prior to the expiration of the time limit, at the local CBSA office. If no extension has been granted, the local CBSA office will issue Form E44, Customs Notice – Unclaimed Goods. The goods must be claimed within 30 days from the date Form E44 is issued, or they will become forfeit to the Crown. Once the goods become forfeit to the Crown, they are subject to disposal and can no longer be claimed by the owner. Extensions can be granted for a period of up to four years. When the owner arrives in Canada to clear the goods, only those items which meet all of the criteria of tariff item No. 9807.00.00 before their shipment to Canada may be claimed under that item.

I think you can arrange with your shipping company to send your things to the CBSA warehouse, but I'm not 100% sure, you should check with... someone

 

[annabruce]

My wife is currently in Canada only on a visitors visa.

She shipped all of her belongings ahead of time via UPS. Of course, it really depends on how much you want to send, but 9 large boxes cost her about $400 in regular shipping fees and there were no other taxes or fees. She simply declared them as personal items with a value of less than $20 for each box. Talk to Canada UPS and ask them in advance what you need to do. She made one mistake and declared one box with too high a value (actually, the agent in the US made a mistake), as a result there were some high additional charges that I had to dispute. In fact, I was shocked when the box arrived at the door and they asked me for an extra $100.

I received a phone call from UPS asking what the contents were. I honestly told them that my wife was coming to Canada to wait for her immigration results, and these were her personal belongings.

We were very worried that the shipping record would show up when she crossed the border into Canada, but crossing together proved a very simple process. This does not mean the record doesn't show up. Frankly, I don't know if it does, so be careful. Clearly, if they knew she had sent all of her stuff, they would have refused her entry into Canada. Her status has since been extended and we are waiting for the immigration results.

 

[annabruce]

Also, we didn't send all of her belonging all at once. Instead, we sent a couple of boxes every few days. I don't know if this matters, but we decided that if 9 boxes all arrived at once it might raise a few eyebrows at customs.

 

[linalizzie]

Info: I have a wine collection I've been working on for years.
Question: When moving from the US to Canada (when my application is approved) will I have to pay duty on all my alcohol bottles?

I am aware of the limits on traveling to Canada; and am inquiring on the limits for my actual move. I have not been able to find the answer on cic.gc.ca.

Thanks!

 

[fleo]

Here;s what the Tariff tells us about alcohol:

49. Alcohol may qualify under tariff item No. 9807.00.00 as settler’s effects only if, the settler meets the minimum age requirements, these goods accompany the settler on arrival in Canada, and the quantity limits are not exceeded.

50. Settlers can include in their personal exemption, up to either 1.14 litres of alcohol or, 1.5 litres of wine or, a total of 1.14 litres of alcohol and wine.

51. The minimum legal ages for the importation of alcoholic beverages under the laws of the province or territory are:
(a) 18 years for Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec; and
(b) 19 years for Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

52. Settlers intending to ship alcoholic beverages to Canada (e.g., the contents of a bar or wine cellar) are advised to contact the appropriate liquor control board, prior to shipment, so that provincial fees and assessments can be paid in advance. In order to obtain release of the shipment in Canada, the settler must produce a copy of the provincial permit and pay all of the applicable CBSA assessments.

So yes, you will have to pay duties on your collection, and at least a part of it in advance so you could cross with the bottles.

 

[shandymoo]

I have a 26 inch monitor and PC that i want to ship over what should i do?

 

[aerogurl87]

My wife is currently in Canada only on a visitors visa.

She shipped all of her belongings ahead of time via UPS. Of course, it really depends on how much you want to send, but 9 large boxes cost her about $400 in regular shipping fees and there were no other taxes or fees. She simply declared them as personal items with a value of less than $20 for each box. Talk to Canada UPS and ask them in advance what you need to do. She made one mistake and declared one box with too high a value (actually, the agent in the US made a mistake), as a result there were some high additional charges that I had to dispute. In fact, I was shocked when the box arrived at the door and they asked me for an extra $100.

I received a phone call from UPS asking what the contents were. I honestly told them that my wife was coming to Canada to wait for her immigration results, and these were her personal belongings.

This is pretty much what I'm doing. Shipping all of my stuff, which should come to about 9 or 10 boxes worth of stuff, via Fedex and so far it looks like it should be about $400-500 dollars to do so. It's cheap and it'll be there in a week's time.

 

[MandiF]

I have a 26 inch monitor and PC that i want to ship over what should i do?

Its much cheaper to replace over here than ship over I would have thought.

 

[patiently_waiting]

I can just ship them regularly to my spouse but then he might have to pay custom taxes on them is there a way to prove there are used personal items? Anyone recommend cheap shipping methods?

Hi Shandymoo - I shipped my stuff through www.collectmyparcel.com - they buy space from DHL and ship it air at half the price and DHL actually come to your place, pick it up and deliver it. It goes air and arrives in Canada within 4 days. I didn't pay duty at all, didn't have to sign anything special either and had it shipped to my friends place because I wouldn't be available to receive my stuff. There were all kinds of kitchenware, wine glasses, books etc. No taxes - at all.

 

[Jurjen]

Here's a thought. I'm married to a Canadian spouse under the terms of "everything we own is now joint property". So if I can't ship my items as a not-landed-yet PR (still in proces), can my spouse import those items under her name, saying it's her property? Could that avoid annoying taxes and duties?

 

[wilson]

Here's a thought. I'm married to a Canadian spouse under the terms of "everything we own is now joint property". So if I can't ship my items as a not-landed-yet PR (still in proces), can my spouse import those items under her name, saying it's her property? Could that avoid annoying taxes and duties?

As she is already in Canada she has to pay customs duty as per the existing rules for itmes you ship to her. It is better to wait until you get your PR so that you can bring them as your personal effects.

 

[gd]

Hi guys,

I am looking to send my personal belongings from Dubai by sea. Do you guys have any idea about what sort of charges I have to bear when clearing goods say half a container load or 12 cubic meters approx.?

Regards

gd

 

[AlieW]

I have a 26 inch monitor and PC that i want to ship over what should i do?

I agree with ManiF on this - don't both shipping your PC/Monitor - try selling it before you leave and buy a new one in Canada. Not only is it cheaper but you'll have voltage issues with the power - so you will need an adaptor. I know from experience that some things (such a laptops) come with built in adaptors but I don't think this is the case with a PC. Not sure how much power they use but I fried a hair dryer and a straightener when I took them from canada to europe and I was using an adaptor.