car: export from US / import into Canada

[darxider]

i will be moving from the US to Canada with a work permit (which is initially valid for two years) -- i will be driving and will be crossing the border in Detroit. i am NOT a US citizen though (been in the US with a student visa). i know i need to export my car from the US and import it into Canada. but apparently, since my work permit is for two years, i don't need to register my car in Canada, am i right? does it mean that i don't need to pay the RIV fees? how about performing the required modifications to the car?

 

[darxider]

i'm confused about the the necessity of importing my car into Canada. my current work permit is valid for one year. i have exported my car from the US, but have not yet imported it into Canada. the officer at the Canadian customs office in Montreal told me that since i'm currently scheduled to stay in Canada for less than three years, i don't need to import my car into Canada. is that true? do i need to import it or not? and if i don't import it, i don't think i can register it in Canada, and i can't get insurance for it to drive.

can anybody shed some light unto this mess? any help/info is greatly appreciated.

 

[PMM]

Hi

i'm confused about the the necessity of importing my car into Canada. my current work permit is valid for one year. i have exported my car from the US, but have not yet imported it into Canada. the officer at the Canadian customs office in Montreal told me that since i'm currently scheduled to stay in Canada for less than three years, i don't need to import my car into Canada. is that true? do i need to import it or not? and if i don't import it, i don't think i can register it in Canada, and i can't get insurance for it to drive.

can anybody shed some light unto this mess? any help/info is greatly appreciated.

1. It is not necessary to export/import your car if your work permit is for less than 3 years.

Temporary Importation

The vehicles are entering temporarily with:

visitors, for a period of 12 months or less; temporary residents such as students studying at an institution for their studies in Canada; or individuals with valid work permits for a period of 36 months or less;
diplomats, if authorization has been granted in writing from Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, for the duration of the posting in Canada;
visiting forces personnel, for the duration of their assignment in Canada; and
U.S. pre-clearance personnel and their dependents for the duration of the U.S. officer’s posting in Canada.

Note: A vehicle imported temporarily under one of these conditions cannot be sold or otherwise disposed of while in Canada, and cannot remain in Canada longer than the time limit listed on the person’s work permit, student visa, or other Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) or immigration documents. Once the time limit has passed, the vehicle no longer qualifies for temporary entry and must be exported. If the temporary status of the person importing the vehicle changes while in Canada, the vehicle must be permanently imported, if it qualifies, or exported.

 

[darxider]

thanks for the reply. i have seen/read that information on the RIV website, and i understand it. however, since i don't have a permanent US address anymore, i can't extend my US insurance (if they realize i am not living in the US anymore, they will cancel my car insurance automatically!). so to be able to drive my car legally, i need to register my car in Canada to get a Canadian car insurance.

i know i am exempt from the RIV importation process, but i still need Form 1 to register my car in Canada. kind of a weird situation, i know! so now i have to go back to a border crossing to obtain Form 1. ah...

 

[Alurra71]

thanks for the reply. i have seen/read that information on the RIV website, and i understand it. however, since i don't have a permanent US address anymore, i can't extend my US insurance (if they realize i am not living in the US anymore, they will cancel my car insurance automatically!). so to be able to drive my car legally, i need to register my car in Canada to get a Canadian car insurance.

i know i am exempt from the RIV importation process, but i still need Form 1 to register my car in Canada. kind of a weird situation, i know! so now i have to go back to a border crossing to obtain Form 1. ah...

before you can get form 1 and form 2 from riv you must export your car from the us which will require you to present some forms on that side. until you actually export the car from the us, you can't fully import/insure your car on the Canadian side.

you should look into getting 'travel' insurance from your insurance agent for using the car in Canada until your work permit expires. It will likely be pricier, however i wouldn't think it would be any pricier than importing a car into Canada and doing all the things it needs to become legal here then exporting it back to the us at a later date when you go back

 

[darxider]

although it's been a while, i thought maybe i should update this thread with the details of what i did, in case someone else needed it.

i had already exported my car from the US when i moved to Canada. at the border in Canada, however, the immigration officer did not give me the Form 1 (the reason being that my work permit was for under 3 years). for that matter, i had to drive back to the border again and to explain the situation to get Form 1 (along with another very small form called E-99). i didn't have to pay any RIV fees because i have temporarily imported my car into Canada (see above), so i was exempt from registering my car with RIV and paying the fees. registering cars in Quebec has a tax, but because my car is imported temporarily into Canada, i was exempt from paying that tax as well. to prove that, i had to go to Revenu Quebec, show them Form 1 and my work permit, and get the form VDE-23. i then took my car to a certified mechanic to get it inspected (i think the fee was $106 or so), and then went to SAAQ to register my car in Quebec. they took my American title and gave me the Quebec registration.

 

[tiygjhyu]

although it's been a while, i thought maybe i should update this thread with the details of what i did, in case someone else needed it.

i had already exported my car from the US when i moved to Canada. at the border in Canada, however, the immigration officer did not give me the Form 1 (the reason being that my work permit was for under 3 years). for that matter, i had to drive back to the border again and to explain the situation to get Form 1 (along with another very small form called E-99). i didn't have to pay any RIV fees because i have temporarily imported my car into Canada (see above), so i was exempt from registering my car with RIV and paying the fees. registering cars in Quebec has a tax, but because my car is imported temporarily into Canada, i was exempt from paying that tax as well. to prove that, i had to go to Revenu Quebec, show them Form 1 and my work permit, and get the form VDE-23. i then took my car to a certified mechanic to get it inspected (i think the fee was $106 or so), and then went to SAAQ to register my car in Quebec. they took my American title and gave me the Quebec registration.

(Sorry for digging up this conversation. I just came across this thread and have some more questions on this topic.)

darxider's experiences have been especially informative to me. I'm in the similar situation as his/hers: having a CA work permit and about to move there with my car from US. On the RIV site, it said that I need to first export it at CBP on the American side before importing it into Canada. And because I'm not a US person I need to hire a broker to carry out the export process. I'm just wondering if anyone else had experience exporting a car like this? And, if I'm only temporarily going to work in Canada and will be back to America in the future (maybe in less than a year or so), do I still need to export it? (I find regulations on this subject totally fuzzy.)

Many thanks in advance.

 

[PMM]

HI

(Sorry for digging up this conversation. I just came across this thread and have some more questions on this topic.)

darxider's experiences have been especially informative to me. I'm in the similar situation as his/hers: having a CA work permit and about to move there with my car from US. On the RIV site, it said that I need to first export it at CBP on the American side before importing it into Canada. And because I'm not a US person I need to hire a broker to carry out the export process. I'm just wondering if anyone else had experience exporting a car like this? And, if I'm only temporarily going to work in Canada and will be back to America in the future (maybe in less than a year or so), do I still need to export it? (I find regulations on this subject totally fuzzy.)

Many thanks in advance.

1. IF your work permit/stay is less than 3 years, you don't have to import/export your car.

 

[links18]

HI

1. IF your work permit/stay is less than 3 years, you don't have to import/export your car.

Right, although there is no customs requirement to import the car to Canada your US insurer (assuming you are importing from the US) will likely drop your coverage, if they find out you are living in Canada (even temporarily) or will likely refuse to pay a claim if one arises. Essentially one would be paying for potentially worthless coverage or worse committing insurance fraud. Try getting Canadian insurance on a non-imported car registered in the United States--not easy.

Moreover, even though there is no customs requirement to import the car, one could run up against provincial law requiring registration and insurance of said vehicle in that province after a certain period of physical presence. Vehicles temporarily imported into the US/Canada from the other country by non-resident tourists are PROBABLY exempt from provincial/state registration requirements under the Multilateral Road Traffic Convention (1949) for a period of up to one year, but its not clear if this would apply to someone on a work permit (probably not). See the following blog by an American post-doc in Canada:

http://looniechemist.blogspot.com/2011/03/importing-car-to-canada-ontario-groan.html

 

[kateg]

i will be moving from the US to Canada with a work permit (which is initially valid for two years) -- i will be driving and will be crossing the border in Detroit. i am NOT a US citizen though (been in the US with a student visa). i know i need to export my car from the US and import it into Canada. but apparently, since my work permit is for two years, i don't need to register my car in Canada, am i right? does it mean that i don't need to pay the RIV fees? how about performing the required modifications to the car?

Maybe.

As a student in BC, I was permitted to keep my US insurance and license. The license was not a problem, but the insurance was.

My insurance company would pay claims in Canada. Some won't, but mine was reasonably good. Unfortunately, if one is exempt from the insurance requirements in BC, you need to get a sticker that proves it (so you don't get in trouble for lack of proof of insurance). To do this, the insurance company would need to fill out some forms that proves they will cover Canadian claims. The insurance company would not do this.

Without this, I could not get the sticker, and without the sticker, I could not legally drive my car (as my US proof of insurance was not valid). This forced me to register my car in Canada, so that ICBC would cover me. I couldn't do that without the title, however, and I couldn't get that until I paid off the loan on my car.

So, while "theoretically" I was "free" to "keep my insurance", it worked about as well for me as it did for ObamaCare.

Step one for you is to contact the insurance company and see if they will insure you. If they won't, you won't be able to get new US insurance if you are not a US resident (since those are regulated by the states), and you may have to import the vehicle to get coverage.

 

[kateg]

i know i am exempt from the RIV importation process, but i still need Form 1 to register my car in Canada. kind of a weird situation, i know! so now i have to go back to a border crossing to obtain Form 1. ah...

Temporary import. It doesn't require the RIV, but you do still need the Form 1. It's a little bit of a pain, but not too bad. Just be sure that the border agent knows it's a temporary/non-RIV import. Ours marked the form wrong the first time, and it meant we had to go back and do it again.

 

[darxider]

just saw my old post...

1) you don't need to export your car from the US and import it into Canada if you're going to live in Canada temporarily, but the insurance issue will definitely will be difficult to handle. that's the reason i did the import/export and got a Canadian license plate and drivers license.

2) given that you're going to live in Canada temporarily for less than 3 years, you can temporarily import your car into Canada and not pay the RIV fees, which is what i did.

3) you definitely do not need a broker to do export/import. i exported my car in person from the US (had to stop at the US Customs office, get out of the car, do the paperwork, and exit the US), and imported the car into Canada when i crossed the border -- don't forget to get Form 1 from the Canadian border officer who does your paperwork.

 

[amitix]

Hi,

I am running up against a similar situation as darxider's. I am on a work permit in the US and will be moving Canada next month on a work visa. I expect to be in Canada for about a year and a half, after which I will be back in the US on the same work visa.

1. Has anyone been able to find a solution/work around to handle the insurance issue that darxider is alluding to in his #1 of his last post?

2. If I do go with exporting my car from the US and getting it licensed temporarily in Canada, is there an uncomplicated procedure to import the car back into the US?

Thank you.

 

[APPNOV2014NY]

2. If I do go with exporting my car from the US and getting it licensed temporarily in Canada, is there an uncomplicated procedure to import the car back into the US?

I was in Canada for 13 months on 2 year ICT work permit. I did not export my car out of USA and I imported my car temporarily in Canada for registration and insurance. When moving car back to USA I showed proof of purchase of Car in USA ( document was 6 years old).

Only mistake I did was that I did not keep copy of my title from USA and was nervous about it while returning to USA however "Proof of Purchase" worked. FYI , there is no concept of title in Canada and SAAQ ( Quebec equivalent of USA DMV) kept Car title. Please ensure you keep a copy of title with you.

 

[amitix]

Thank you APPNOV2014NY.

Does this mean that there is no "proof of export" required for a temporary import in Canada? That is to say that I wouldn't need to declare my car on the US side before crossing the border?

Also CBP allows using exemption 30.37(q) if the vehicle is going to be out of US for less than a year. But since you were out for more than a year and weren't questioned upon return, I assume they didn't have a way to track the duration?