I understand your desire to make this less difficult for you, but the processes are designed to make sure things work a specific way for the government and your convenience is not a factor in that policy.
Unless she has landed, she is not eligible for the settler's exemption. If she owns a home in Canada or has a lease of three years or longer on a property in Canada, she can import the goods as a "seasonal resident" (this is a once-in-a-lifetime exemption and the goods are imported permanently). If she is coming to work (or visit) in Canada for less than 36 months, she may bring them in as "temporary personal goods" and thus is exempt from paying GST/HST on them until she leaves - and in this case she can then declare them as settler goods when she lands.
But she cannot come to Canada as a temporary visitor and fill out the B4/B4A forms in advance as if she were a settler.
See: http://cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/cn-ad/cn11-003-eng.html
Oddly, I was just going over this stuff yesterday afternoon because I was discussing the landing process with someone. I previously brought my goods in as a seasonal resident (the benefits of property ownership) and the question was whether or not I needed to re-declare them at the point of landing. Seasonal resident goods are a permanent form of importation, so there is no need to re-declare them. Temporarily imported goods (e.g., on a work permit) however would require being declared at the point of landing.
So, technically, she would need to import them on a temporary basis (for a stay of less than 36 months) and then when she lands she would have to declare the goods again, this time showing them as being a permanent importation.
While you should ultimately ask CBSA, from what I've read she should present her B4/B4A at the time she gets her Visitor Record. That becomes a temporary importation. When she lands, she needs to re-declare everything on B4/B4A forms, even thought it is in Canada already. That makes the importation permanent.
We figured out that properly planned, you could actually get three permanent importations into Canada:
- When you come up as a seasonal resident (this is once-in-a-lifetime, so don't waste it!)
- When your temporary status exceeds 36 months (e.g., your work permit gets renewed)
- When you land as a permanent resident.
These cases also don't have any financial limits on amounts, although the seasonal resident exemption requires that you pay GST/HST on anything you sell or dispose of within the first year. Also, there are limitations on importation of some items (tobacco, alcohol) in all categories.
Good luck!
