Guide to importing car from Detroit to Windsor

[_neil]

Car transfer - Hope it helps someone...more to come.

Step 1.
Exporting the car in Detroit - Ambassador Bridge
This part is very simple.
I used A&A customs for getting the ITN. They were great. Cost 150 CAD.
send over the documents A&A asks for - title, license, etc…
They will send over the documents to CBP 72 hours before. So you don’t need to do that.
Day of the export, go to the CBP Office.
The CBP Office is hard to locate. Here’s the directions: http://imgur.com/a/bIViD
Park the car next to the trucks parked there - the officer who let’s you through the gates will direct you
Do not take backpack to the CBP Office - they will send you back to leave it in the car
Just take the copy of ITN that A&A (or your ITN company) sent you, original title, license, and passport.
The officer will stamp the Title
the export part is done

Optional: Before you import, fill in the RIV form on RIV site.
https://www.riv.ca/OnlineForms/Home/Login
Register and file a new form.
The Advantage of doing this is to save time at the Canada customs. You won’t have to fill this form manually - this form is called “Form 1” - but on the form it does not say “Form 1” anywhere.

Step 2.
Importing the car on the Canadian side - Ambassador Bridge
Give the PR card to customs officer and tell him that you are importing the car because you are a landed immigrant, and moving to Canada.
Officer will direct you to the customs office
Give the officer Form 1, and show them the B4 which you should have filled when you landed. It should have the VIN of the car you’re importing. This is what I had, so I am not sure if you don’t have this. You might have to tell the officer that you are moving permanently and importing the car. This basically allows you to import the car without paying any tax.

This is all I have done for now. Just waiting on my Form 2 from RIV

 

[mehtaworld]

Car transfer - Hope it helps someone...more to come.

Step 1.
Exporting the car in Detroit - Ambassador Bridge
This part is very simple.
I used A&A customs for getting the ITN. They were great. Cost 150 CAD.
send over the documents A&A asks for - title, license, etc…
They will send over the documents to CBP 72 hours before. So you don’t need to do that.
Day of the export, go to the CBP Office.
The CBP Office is hard to locate. Here’s the directions: http://imgur.com/a/bIViD
Park the car next to the trucks parked there - the officer who let’s you through the gates will direct you
Do not take backpack to the CBP Office - they will send you back to leave it in the car
Just take the copy of ITN that A&A (or your ITN company) sent you, original title, license, and passport.
The officer will stamp the Title
the export part is done

Optional: Before you import, fill in the RIV form on RIV site.
https://www.riv.ca/OnlineForms/Home/Login
Register and file a new form.
The Advantage of doing this is to save time at the Canada customs. You won’t have to fill this form manually - this form is called “Form 1” - but on the form it does not say “Form 1” anywhere.

Step 2.
Importing the car on the Canadian side - Ambassador Bridge
Give the PR card to customs officer and tell him that you are importing the car because you are a landed immigrant, and moving to Canada.
Officer will direct you to the customs office
Give the officer Form 1, and show them the B4 which you should have filled when you landed. It should have the VIN of the car you’re importing. This is what I had, so I am not sure if you don’t have this. You might have to tell the officer that you are moving permanently and importing the car. This basically allows you to import the car without paying any tax.

This is all I have done for now. Just waiting on my Form 2 from RIV

Thanks very much for sharing this information. I would be importing my car to Canada on Monday. I was struggling to find some credible source for directions to CBP office since Google Maps was making me go to Canada and come back. But now, I think I'll follow the directions you've mentioned as I read the same in a couple of other posts as well.
Let's see how it goes.

 

[kirribilliCN]

Car transfer - Hope it helps someone...more to come.

Step 1.
Exporting the car in Detroit - Ambassador Bridge
This part is very simple.
I used A&A customs for getting the ITN. They were great. Cost 150 CAD.
send over the documents A&A asks for - title, license, etc…
They will send over the documents to CBP 72 hours before. So you don’t need to do that.
Day of the export, go to the CBP Office.
The CBP Office is hard to locate. Here’s the directions: http://imgur.com/a/bIViD
Park the car next to the trucks parked there - the officer who let’s you through the gates will direct you
Do not take backpack to the CBP Office - they will send you back to leave it in the car
Just take the copy of ITN that A&A (or your ITN company) sent you, original title, license, and passport.
The officer will stamp the Title
the export part is done

Optional: Before you import, fill in the RIV form on RIV site.
https://www.riv.ca/OnlineForms/Home/Login
Register and file a new form.
The Advantage of doing this is to save time at the Canada customs. You won’t have to fill this form manually - this form is called “Form 1” - but on the form it does not say “Form 1” anywhere.

Step 2.
Importing the car on the Canadian side - Ambassador Bridge
Give the PR card to customs officer and tell him that you are importing the car because you are a landed immigrant, and moving to Canada.
Officer will direct you to the customs office
Give the officer Form 1, and show them the B4 which you should have filled when you landed. It should have the VIN of the car you’re importing. This is what I had, so I am not sure if you don’t have this. You might have to tell the officer that you are moving permanently and importing the car. This basically allows you to import the car without paying any tax.

This is all I have done for now. Just waiting on my Form 2 from RIV

Thanks for posting, it was helpful. Did you have to do any modifications to comply to Canadian standards? if you did so, did you do them in U.S or Canada? How much duty and/or GST did you pay?. Thanks in advance

 

[RoseDB]

Hi Neil,
I will be landing in Canada soon from US with my Car (I am planning to move for good at once). I called A&A, and the agent there mentioned that the first $10K of the value of the vehicle is Duty Free (Import Tax Exempt) and the amount above that is taxed at 5% for cars made in US and 6.1% for foreign made cars. So if my car's current value is 15K USD then I would be paying a 5-6.1% tax on the 5K. Do you have any further information on that or is there a way to be exempt of all taxes completely since I am moving all my possessions for the first time as a PR?

 

[DEEPCUR]

Hi Neil,
I will be landing in Canada soon from US with my Car (I am planning to move for good at once). I called A&A, and the agent there mentioned that the first $10K of the value of the vehicle is Duty Free (Import Tax Exempt) and the amount above that is taxed at 5% for cars made in US and 6.1% for foreign made cars. So if my car's current value is 15K USD then I would be paying a 5-6.1% tax on the 5K. Do you have any further information on that or is there a way to be exempt of all taxes completely since I am moving all my possessions for the first time as a PR?

I think they are wrong. 10k limit is applicable only for returning residents. If you declare the car while landing, you can take it tax free. That's my understanding from various posts in this forum. Here is CBSA website link:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/mrc-drc-eng.html

 

[RoseDB]

I think they are wrong. 10k limit is applicable only for returning residents. If you declare the car while landing, you can take it tax free. That's my understanding from various posts in this forum. Here is CBSA website link:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/mrc-drc-eng.html

Thanks @DEEPCUR , this makes sense now. All I need to worry about on the Canadian side is the Form 1 (Vehicle Import e-Form) and may be use a customs brokers like A&A for the US side of affairs.
Thanks again for a prompt response with the link.

 

[RoseDB]

Another Question kind of related to this topic. Does any one here have any experience with Self Storage in Canada? My plan is pack up everything in the US and land in Canada via Lewiston-Queenston bridge (Greater Toronto/Niagara/St. Catherine area), and after a couple of weeks, travel to home country for around 2 months. I will need to store my stuff (1.5-2 bedroom worth of furniture) and park my car at a reliable and safe place. Anyone has any suggestions on the cheapest way to store stuff and park car?

 

[_neil]

Thanks for posting, it was helpful. Did you have to do any modifications to comply to Canadian standards? if you did so, did you do them in U.S or Canada? How much duty and/or GST did you pay?. Thanks in advance

I did not pay any tax because I was moving residences from US to Canada. Your vehicle comes tax free, as long as you have owned the car for 6 months(or maybe 1 year - not sure). The only caveat is that you cannot sell the car for a year.

 

[_neil]

Hi Neil,
I will be landing in Canada soon from US with my Car (I am planning to move for good at once). I called A&A, and the agent there mentioned that the first $10K of the value of the vehicle is Duty Free (Import Tax Exempt) and the amount above that is taxed at 5% for cars made in US and 6.1% for foreign made cars. So if my car's current value is 15K USD then I would be paying a 5-6.1% tax on the 5K. Do you have any further information on that or is there a way to be exempt of all taxes completely since I am moving all my possessions for the first time as a PR?

A&A goes by their script. They don't want to advise people about CABP's prescribed rules. They also want to maximize their benefit, so ideally they want to sell you services for both the US side and Canada side. I only used them for the US side. All they do is send over the paperwork to US CBP. On Canadian side, you can clear it yourself.

 

[_neil]

I think they are wrong. 10k limit is applicable only for returning residents. If you declare the car while landing, you can take it tax free. That's my understanding from various posts in this forum. Here is CBSA website link:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/mrc-drc-eng.html

You are absolutely right

 

[DEEPCUR]

I did not pay any tax because I was moving residences from US to Canada. Your vehicle comes tax free, as long as you have owned the car for 6 months(or maybe 1 year - not sure). The only caveat is that you cannot sell the car for a year.

Oh my god. Does it need to be used for six months even during first landing?. I got a car two weeks back and I am planning to land on march third week or so. It wont be six months by then. So do i need to pay customs? I will be doing soft landing and plan to do full move only after two years or so. If i need to pay taxes, how much percent should i pay.

I checked the above link, and it says six month ownership is applicable only for returning residents. For first time landing it says one must have owned before landing in canada.

 

[_neil]

Oh my god. Does it need to be used for six months even during first landing?. I got a car two weeks back and I am planning to land on march third week or so. It wont be six months by then. So do i need to pay customs? I will be doing soft landing and plan to do full move only after two years or so. If i need to pay taxes, how much percent should i pay.

I checked the above link, and it says six month ownership is applicable only for returning residents. For first time landing it says one must have owned before landing in canada.

Soft landing should be fine. Just make sure that you have your VIN listed on your B4 at the time of landing to indicate that your car will be exported at a later date. If you have it listed and export it after 2 years, you have nothing to worry about.

 

[VOBuckeye]

Hello All,

I listed my car as goods to follow but it is still financed.

My question is; If I'm lucky enough to trade it in at a Canadian dealership that is willing to clear off my loan and finance my new Canadian car, do I still need to complete the export/import process?

 

[DEEPCUR]

Hello All,

I listed my car as goods to follow but it is still financed.

My question is; If I'm lucky enough to trade it in at a Canadian dealership that is willing to clear off my loan and finance my new Canadian car, do I still need to complete the export/import process?

I believe you cannot sell the items that you got tax free for one year after import. Trading is form of selling I guess.

 

[karthik2479]

Hello All,

I listed my car as goods to follow but it is still financed.

My question is; If I'm lucky enough to trade it in at a Canadian dealership that is willing to clear off my loan and finance my new Canadian car, do I still need to complete the export/import process?

Did you check with your lienholder if they are ok to allow you to continue paying off the loan while you are in Canada and provide you with an export clearance letter - that should allow you I guess to export the car and have it registered - I really want to explore this option rather than pay off the loan here in US - wondering if any banks/credit unions will do this