Canadian vehicle re-import from US to Canada

[Schumi1978]

Hello,

My family and I moved from Ontario to California back in August 2013. I have an L1-A Visa and my wife and kids have an L2. Our visa's were for 3-years and now that they are coming to an end, we will be moving back to Canada this July as the project my company brought me down for is complete.

My question is about re-importing our personal vehicle into Canada. When we moved to the US, I had it shipped through a vehicle import/export company and all our personal belongings were sent through another company. All I did was fill out and sign a bunch of vehicle documents the vehicle shipping company had me do, got a letter from the manufacturer saying there were no recalls, that it met US safety standards and it confirmed to California emission standards. Shortly after it arrived, I had it titled in California, paid the registration fees, got California license plates and a US insurance policy.

Now I will be re-importing the same vehicle back into Canada where it was originally purchased in 2009. Instead of having it shipped, I will be taking a few weeks off work and taking a cross-country trip and personally driving it home. My question is what do I need to do to re-import the vehicle, what paperwork is required and who do I need to deal with? I would hope the process is fairly simple and straight-forward since it's the same vehicle that I purchased in Canada and drove there for 4 years before exporting/importing to the US. Therefore it already meets all Transport Canada safety regulations, etc.

Any assistance and guidance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Alurra71]

Hello,

My family and I moved from Ontario to California back in August 2013. I have an L1-A Visa and my wife and kids have an L2. Our visa's were for 3-years and now that they are coming to an end, we will be moving back to Canada this July as the project my company brought me down for is complete.

My question is about re-importing our personal vehicle into Canada. When we moved to the US, I had it shipped through a vehicle import/export company and all our personal belongings were sent through another company. All I did was fill out and sign a bunch of vehicle documents the vehicle shipping company had me do, got a letter from the manufacturer saying there were no recalls, that it met US safety standards and it confirmed to California emission standards. Shortly after it arrived, I had it titled in California, paid the registration fees, got California license plates and a US insurance policy.

Now I will be re-importing the same vehicle back into Canada where it was originally purchased in 2009. Instead of having it shipped, I will be taking a few weeks off work and taking a cross-country trip and personally driving it home. My question is what do I need to do to re-import the vehicle, what paperwork is required and who do I need to deal with? I would hope the process is fairly simple and straight-forward since it's the same vehicle that I purchased in Canada and drove there for 4 years before exporting/importing to the US. Therefore it already meets all Transport Canada safety regulations, etc.

Any assistance and guidance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Same process you used to get it into the US, only in reverse this time. Since you're the one doing the exporting/importing I suggest you start by reading here.

 

[adk9015]

Hi Schumi78. I am in the same position as you with regards to re importing my canadian car back to Canada. I bought the car in Ontario in 2009, was in the USA for 3 yrs ( 2013-2016) where I got US title, registration and insurance for my car. Now I am going back to Canada and want to take my car back with me. I had a question about the need to file export information for the vehicle with US customs. Since the car was bought in Canada and not here, am I still required to file for ITN (internal transaction number)?

 

[HelloCanada1234]

Hi Schumi78, adk9015, I am in same situation as yours, I moved to US before 4 months and after 2 months i am going back to canada for good. Since my car was brought in Canada and imported to US. So not sure whats the current process to follow. Any suggestion, please let me know.

 

[rjkboyle]

I will do my best to explain the process as it applied to me as it will help others who are trying to go through this.

I also had a car from Canada which I imported into the US and registered in WA state. To re-import to Canada the process was as follows.

1. The car has to first be exported from the US. File for export with www.autoexports.us and once your export has been fully processed, you will receive your Shipper Export Declaration (SED). The SED will contain an Internal Transaction Number (ITN). You will need this to export the car.
2. 72-hours before driving through the border you must send the paperwork, including the ITN and Vehicle Title to the border crossing for their preparation.
3. After the car is exported proceed to the Canadian border to import the car.
4. You will need to fill out Vehicle Import Form 1 which contains an exemption for returning a car to Canada by the original owner. This means you will not have to go through the RIV process (or have to pay the fee) and there is no need for the car to be inspected.

Hope this helps or is a start.

 

[Adil_94]

I will do my best to explain the process as it applied to me as it will help others who are trying to go through this.

I also had a car from Canada which I imported into the US and registered in WA state. To re-import to Canada the process was as follows.

1. The car has to first be exported from the US. File for export with www.autoexports.us and once your export has been fully processed, you will receive your Shipper Export Declaration (SED). The SED will contain an Internal Transaction Number (ITN). You will need this to export the car.
2. 72-hours before driving through the border you must send the paperwork, including the ITN and Vehicle Title to the border crossing for their preparation.
3. After the car is exported proceed to the Canadian border to import the car.
4. You will need to fill out Vehicle Import Form 1 which contains an exemption for returning a car to Canada by the original owner. This means you will not have to go through the RIV process (or have to pay the fee) and there is no need for the car to be inspected.

Hope this helps or is a start.

Hey
Thanks a lot for this info. It’s really informative.
2 quick questions,
1. After we receive our ITN number and send it to the border crossing, do we just drive up to the border and fill out the Vehicle Import Form 1? Or is there some other procedure?
2. At the border once the car is imported, do I need to visit Service Ontario to get some other details or is everything done at the border?

Appreciate your help.

 

[Adil_94]

Hello,

My family and I moved from Ontario to California back in August 2013. I have an L1-A Visa and my wife and kids have an L2. Our visa's were for 3-years and now that they are coming to an end, we will be moving back to Canada this July as the project my company brought me down for is complete.

My question is about re-importing our personal vehicle into Canada. When we moved to the US, I had it shipped through a vehicle import/export company and all our personal belongings were sent through another company. All I did was fill out and sign a bunch of vehicle documents the vehicle shipping company had me do, got a letter from the manufacturer saying there were no recalls, that it met US safety standards and it confirmed to California emission standards. Shortly after it arrived, I had it titled in California, paid the registration fees, got California license plates and a US insurance policy.

Now I will be re-importing the same vehicle back into Canada where it was originally purchased in 2009. Instead of having it shipped, I will be taking a few weeks off work and taking a cross-country trip and personally driving it home. My question is what do I need to do to re-import the vehicle, what paperwork is required and who do I need to deal with? I would hope the process is fairly simple and straight-forward since it's the same vehicle that I purchased in Canada and drove there for 4 years before exporting/importing to the US. Therefore it already meets all Transport Canada safety regulations, etc.

Any assistance and guidance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Hey were you able to get your car exported and imported back to Canada?
Can you please let me know how that went? I will be doing it this upcoming Feb.
Thank you

 

[rjkboyle]

Hey Adil sorry for the slow reply.
1) Pretty much - Nothing special needed to be done on the Canadian side. I drove up to the border if I was going to enter Canada and told the guy that I was there to import my car. He sent me inside with a pink slip. Once inside there was a table where I filled out the Vehicle Import Form 1, I selected the exemption to not require the inspection, and then stood in Line B. The guy took the form, checked my passport, and went out to have a look at the car. Then came back stamped all the paperwork and I was on my way to ICBC to get the car registered/insured.

2) I imported back to BC so I'm not positive. But since we have privatized insurance in BC, I visited ICBC for getting the car registered/plates/insurance. I would assume you would likely go to Service Ontario for your registration and plates.

A couple other details that may be useful is once you've submitted the paperwork to the US Border to export the car, you cannot leave the US with the car. If you do they warned of the car being seized and fines, this may not apply in your situation but a good FYI.
I'm also not sure how it will be for your border crossing but when driving to go through the Canadian border, there was a slip road off the left of the NEXUS lane to a parking area for the US side. This is where I parked the car and went inside to have the car exported from the US (they also went out to inspect the car). Just be mindful that you'll have to figure out where to drive to get to the US Border from the US side.

Happy to help answer any other questions you may have!

 

[Tanya8291]

Hello everyone... me and my husband are coming to Canada from USA, with our car ,paid in full.I would like to ask, for USA cars do required any fee or taxes to be paid, and it is the same process or is different. Our destination is New Brunswick.

 

[rjkboyle]

There will likely be fees and taxes along with an inspection and requirements that the car must meet. IE. Daytime running lights, etc.
It is possible there are going to be federal requirements as well as provincial ones.

As a start I would go here: http://www.riv.ca/
I would then check with the licensing department of New Brunswick to gather additional details for how to register the car once it is imported.

Good luck!

 

[Tanya8291]

There will likely be fees and taxes along with an inspection and requirements that the car must meet. IE. Daytime running lights, etc.
It is possible there are going to be federal requirements as well as provincial ones.

As a start I would go here: http://www.riv.ca/
I would then check with the licensing department of New Brunswick to gather additional details for how to register the car once it is imported.

Good luck!

Thank you!

 

[Canckcanuck]

Hi guys

. .. do you have to pay taxes and again (gst/hst) and duty for re importing the car (even though you already initially paid gst/hst when you first purchased the car in Canada) ?
@rjkboyle

 

[Engo10]

HI there. I'm considering buying a 1999 Mercedes that was originally a Canadian car, exported from Canada into the US. My question is this. There's GST/HST as well as other fees, including a 6% tarrif of the purchase price because the vehicle was manufactured outside of USA. I know the vehicle is exempt from the RIV process but is it exempt from taxes, specifically that 6% tariff because it was originally sold and registered as a Canadian car? Thanks in advance.

 

[Engo10]

Apologies if I wasn't clear. I want to import the Mercedes from US into Ontario. The vehicle was first registered and sold in 1998 in Canada before being exported into the US in 2012.