Soft Landing Windsor Questions - PR

[everydaydealer]

All, Got my COPR. Now planning to do the Soft landing from USA. I live in Midwest so planning to drive and cross the windsor border.

I have questions.

1. Declared car as accompanying in the future list. Still can i drive in my own car ? Car has loan and i dont have title yet
2. Jewelry - Should each item be listed separately or one entry with photos is good enough. Do we need to get it appraised for value ?
3. Any time i can cross ? or should i aim for specific day or time ?
4. Planning to apply for SIN. Should i do the Health Card as well or that i can do later ?
5. After getting SIN, can i open account online or better to do in person and come back ?

Your inputs are appreciated.

 

[VOBuckeye]

All, Got my COPR. Now planning to do the Soft landing from USA. I live in Midwest so planning to drive and cross the windsor border.

I have questions.

1. Declared car as accompanying in the future list. Still can i drive in my own car ? Car has loan and i dont have title yet
2. Jewelry - Should each item be listed separately or one entry with photos is good enough. Do we need to get it appraised for value ?
3. Any time i can cross ? or should i aim for specific day or time ?
4. Planning to apply for SIN. Should i do the Health Card as well or that i can do later ?
5. After getting SIN, can i open account online or better to do in person and come back ?

Your inputs are appreciated.

Based on my experience...
1. I declared car on goods to follow. I flew in to complete landing so I'm not sure about driving in your own car because you will need to drive back out to the US and complete export process.You will have to convert to Canada plates within 30 days I believe. You have to do some tests to get compliance to get registered. My car still had a loan so I went to the financing union and they gave me a signature loan which cleared my auto loan. obviously the rates went up but I now own the car and the title.

2. I did one entry with photos. I didn't have expensive jewelry just normal stuff that didn't need appraising.

3. You can cross anytime. I would take the tunnel which I find much more organized (my opinion). Also try to avoid rush hour time (7am-8am, and 4pm- 6pm). Aim for middle of the day when most people are at work.

4. You need to be at least a resident for 3 months before you're eligible for health card; that's the waiting time for Ontario. You can apply for SIN immediately and you get it within that same day. they just give you a piece of paper with your new SIN number.

5. you mean bank account? I think it's better to do it in person.


***If you're crossing through Windsor there's a lot you can accomplish within the same day as everything is within the downtown area within walking distance including city hall. Banks like TD, BMO, Scotia are all downtown.

 

[everydaydealer]

Based on my experience...
1. I declared car on goods to follow. I flew in to complete landing so I'm not sure about driving in your own car because you will need to drive back out to the US and complete export process.You will have to convert to Canada plates within 30 days I believe. You have to do some tests to get compliance to get registered. My car still had a loan so I went to the financing union and they gave me a signature loan which cleared my auto loan. obviously the rates went up but I now own the car and the title.

2. I did one entry with photos. I didn't have expensive jewelry just normal stuff that didn't need appraising.

3. You can cross anytime. I would take the tunnel which I find much more organized (my opinion). Also try to avoid rush hour time (7am-8am, and 4pm- 6pm). Aim for middle of the day when most people are at work.

4. You need to be at least a resident for 3 months before you're eligible for health card; that's the waiting time for Ontario. You can apply for SIN immediately and you get it within that same day. they just give you a piece of paper with your new SIN number.

5. you mean bank account? I think it's better to do it in person.


***If you're crossing through Windsor there's a lot you can accomplish within the same day as everything is within the downtown area within walking distance including city hall. Banks like TD, BMO, Scotia are all downtown.

So you had car with loan in USA and got the signature loan from bank in Canada and paid off ? And then did the import ? Can you tell me more details.

 

[VOBuckeye]

So you had car with loan in USA and got the signature loan from bank in Canada and paid off ? And then did the import ? Can you tell me more details.

I had the loan with a US institution and got the signature loan with them. It might have been easier because I still work in the US and live in Windsor so I cross the border almost daily for work.
I did the import once I got the clearance letter from the bank stating that auto loan has been cleared. In some states you will also have the paper title that states YOU as owner, and bank as Lienholder. I took these documents to complete export process in the US. Once you cross Canada side you have to complete import process. Show documents, goods to follow list with car VIN etc. they will give you paperwork and you have to complete inspection within 30 days.

 

[dumdum_yo]

All, Got my COPR. Now planning to do the Soft landing from USA. I live in Midwest so planning to drive and cross the windsor border.

I have questions.

1. Declared car as accompanying in the future list. Still can i drive in my own car ? Car has loan and i dont have title yet
2. Jewelry - Should each item be listed separately or one entry with photos is good enough. Do we need to get it appraised for value ?
3. Any time i can cross ? or should i aim for specific day or time ?
4. Planning to apply for SIN. Should i do the Health Card as well or that i can do later ?
5. After getting SIN, can i open account online or better to do in person and come back ?

Your inputs are appreciated.

Hi!

What did you end up doing with the car situation? Did you drive your own and returned after few days? I am in the same spot. Your response would help. Thanks.

 

[Cubicrootofthee]

Based on my experience...
1. I declared car on goods to follow. I flew in to complete landing so I'm not sure about driving in your own car because you will need to drive back out to the US and complete export process.You will have to convert to Canada plates within 30 days I believe. You have to do some tests to get compliance to get registered. My car still had a loan so I went to the financing union and they gave me a signature loan which cleared my auto loan. obviously the rates went up but I now own the car and the title.

2. I did one entry with photos. I didn't have expensive jewelry just normal stuff that didn't need appraising.

3. You can cross anytime. I would take the tunnel which I find much more organized (my opinion). Also try to avoid rush hour time (7am-8am, and 4pm- 6pm). Aim for middle of the day when most people are at work.

4. You need to be at least a resident for 3 months before you're eligible for health card; that's the waiting time for Ontario. You can apply for SIN immediately and you get it within that same day. they just give you a piece of paper with your new SIN number.

5. you mean bank account? I think it's better to do it in person.


***If you're crossing through Windsor there's a lot you can accomplish within the same day as everything is within the downtown area within walking distance including city hall. Banks like TD, BMO, Scotia are all downtown.

Everything this person said plus the following about banks.
You need to carry some cash in CAD to open accounts without fees. I visited Scotiabank and they had a new immigrant type of account but there was a $12/month fee if you didn't have a min balance of 2k.
You can park at the City Hall parking for a nominal hourly fee and walk to all of these places (parking is opposite the Visitor Center which I recommend visiting)

 

[canuck78]

Everything this person said plus the following about banks.
You need to carry some cash in CAD to open accounts without fees. I visited Scotiabank and they had a new immigrant type of account but there was a $12/month fee if you didn't have a min balance of 2k.
You can park at the City Hall parking for a nominal hourly fee and walk to all of these places (parking is opposite the Visitor Center which I recommend visiting)

If you are only doing a soft landing and not planning on moving soon you should not open a bank account. Best to create the least amount of ties to Canada for tax reasons.

 

[dumdum_yo]

If you are only doing a soft landing and not planning on moving soon you should not open a bank account. Best to create the least amount of ties to Canada for tax reasons.

Opening an account and possibly getting pennies in interest (assuming we deposit say $2K) will create tax implications? Is there more to it that I am missing?