Urgent: Need help with BSF186

[michibong]

I have posted this on the relevant thread (the famous thread by qorax - https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/form-b4-goods-to-follow-accompanying-list-how-to.44793/) but posting it in a new thread here for better visibility. I have very less time before planned landing so I am trying to get these answered desperately.
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Hi All,
I have read the initial post and as much as I can from subsequent pages (reading all 68 pages is almost impossible!). I have some questions. I am planning to make initial landing on June 9 through Blue Water Bridge in Michigan so I really need to get these queries answered ASAP. I am an Indian citizen working in US in L1A visa. Thank you all.

1. Is this the main form to be filled up (https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/forms-formulaires/bsf186-eng.html)?
2. In what case BSF186A is required? I'm guessing when 8 line items of BSF186 are not sufficient?
3. What should be importer's address? I don't have an address in Canada obviously. Can I use my US address?
4. Country of Origin - For most of my items will be US but for jwelery it would be India. What should I write then?
5. Country of Export - US?
6. What should be the Classification type? Settler?
7. How do you determine the value of the used items? For example, how do I calculate the value of a TV that costed $600 in 2015? How do you calculate values of items like clothes, cutleries, crockeries, books etc.?
8. My car is in lease which will end in Dec 2019. I'll be moving permanently to Canada before that. I'm not sure what to show / how to show in the form. I don't know if I can take a leased vehicle to Canada and return it later. What should be the valuation if I need to show this? P.S. - I got a permission letter from my car leasor to drive it in Canada for the planned dates.
9. I understand this list will be stamped and next time I land my goods will be checked against it. Does that mean that whenever I land in future (be it my 2nd/3rd/nth landing) if I carry anything which is not in the list I have to pay duties? My wife may decide to bring some jweleries after a year or two when we're settled which are stored right now in lockers in India. Do I have to ask our parents to go to bank and take snaps because we may bring those to Canada in 2020? What kind of crazy rule is this?
10. I also read somewhere that jweler's certificate is also required and photos are not enough. No way I can get those certificates now. Are these mandatory?
11. I'm going there for the weekend with almost nothing other than clothes and babyfood... Do I even need to show anything or everything should go to 'Goods to Follow' list? For GtF should I fill in another BSF186 and check the 'Goods to follow' checkbox?
12. Custom declaration card - I am assuming no good I have shown in BSF186 has to be shown here again. As I'll be there for the weekend, should I fill this as Visitor rather than resident?

Thanks again in anticipation.

 

[michibong]

Will a kind soul reply please? I'm running out of time... thanks in advance

 

[michibong]

I have posted this on the relevant thread (the famous thread by qorax - https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/form-b4-goods-to-follow-accompanying-list-how-to.44793/) but posting it in a new thread here for better visibility. I have very less time before planned landing so I am trying to get these answered desperately.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Hi All,
I have read the initial post and as much as I can from subsequent pages (reading all 68 pages is almost impossible!). I have some questions. I am planning to make initial landing on June 9 through Blue Water Bridge in Michigan so I really need to get these queries answered ASAP. I am an Indian citizen working in US in L1A visa. Thank you all.

1. Is this the main form to be filled up (https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/forms-formulaires/bsf186-eng.html)?
2. In what case BSF186A is required? I'm guessing when 8 line items of BSF186 are not sufficient?
3. What should be importer's address? I don't have an address in Canada obviously. Can I use my US address?
4. Country of Origin - For most of my items will be US but for jwelery it would be India. What should I write then?
5. Country of Export - US?
6. What should be the Classification type? Settler?
7. How do you determine the value of the used items? For example, how do I calculate the value of a TV that costed $600 in 2015? How do you calculate values of items like clothes, cutleries, crockeries, books etc.?
8. My car is in lease which will end in Dec 2019. I'll be moving permanently to Canada before that. I'm not sure what to show / how to show in the form. I don't know if I can take a leased vehicle to Canada and return it later. What should be the valuation if I need to show this? P.S. - I got a permission letter from my car leasor to drive it in Canada for the planned dates.
9. I understand this list will be stamped and next time I land my goods will be checked against it. Does that mean that whenever I land in future (be it my 2nd/3rd/nth landing) if I carry anything which is not in the list I have to pay duties? My wife may decide to bring some jweleries after a year or two when we're settled which are stored right now in lockers in India. Do I have to ask our parents to go to bank and take snaps because we may bring those to Canada in 2020? What kind of crazy rule is this?
10. I also read somewhere that jweler's certificate is also required and photos are not enough. No way I can get those certificates now. Are these mandatory?
11. I'm going there for the weekend with almost nothing other than clothes and babyfood... Do I even need to show anything or everything should go to 'Goods to Follow' list? For GtF should I fill in another BSF186 and check the 'Goods to follow' checkbox?
12. Custom declaration card - I am assuming no good I have shown in BSF186 has to be shown here again. As I'll be there for the weekend, should I fill this as Visitor rather than resident?

Thanks again in anticipation.

Well I read almost half of the huge thread and I have answers to some of the questions (I changed them to GREEN) but still looking for answers for other questions.

 

[michibong]

No answers in three days? Come on you'll can be a little more helpful. I am still concerned about what address I should put in BSF186. I am going to Toronto to a relative's place but for PR card address I am going to use one of my friend's address in vancouver. I am not sure what address to put. Suggestions? Also, any idea about question 12?

 

[rickysaldanha]

Hi,

I wanted to check, if you eventually found answers to your questions. If you could find the time, to write down your experience, it will be helpful to future immigrants like us.

 

[itsmervv]

Hi, Did you get responses ?My case is exactly like you and getting to know your experience it very helpful for me. I am soft landing on saturday and my questions and situations are just like yours. I am in US right now. Please help me by responding.

 

[michibong]

What questions do you have?

 

[itsmervv]

What questions do you have?

I am on L1A in US planning to soft land on sat morning.
1) I have leased car which i plan to drive there on Saturday, finish my formalities and come back next day. Will I be asked to import the car ? I will take my lease documents but wondering if i will have issues.
2) I plan to move for good after 2 to 3 years. My car lease will be over after 15 months and i dont know after that i will have another leased car or my own car. in such case how do I even mention details of my future car in Goods to Follow for me to be able to import it.
3) I am thoroughly confused about Goods to accompany and Follow list. Do i have to mention every clothing item that i may bring when i move? how do i know its value.
4) My wife has some jewelry here in US and some in India but we have no way to get pictures of what is in India. And for what we have here we can take picture and describe but they say it should have jewelers description /invoice etc which i dont have.
5) We have so many utensils and kitchen appliance , am i supposed to count how many plates, bowls, spoons etc and describe things?
6) What if i buy things in US over years before i go to Canada for good, does that mean i cant take it there or end up paying duty. It can be clothes, things, utensils, toys etc. how can someone make this task possible.
7) right now i am not carrying money but later i will have money which is in the bank in US and company shares which i dont plan to liquidate but still there will be something that can allow easy transfer from US bank to Canada bank unless there is Bank of america there too.
8) DO i have to get a SIN mandatory in the current visit. Are they open on Saturday.
9) i plan to give address of someone i know in Mississauga for PR cards to be posted, can that person courier me them later?
10) Some say COPR can be used multiple times to enter via road and some say its good only for one time, and if you leave Canada without PR then you should have either PR or PR Travel Document to enter again when you plan to come for good.
11) I heard somewhere that COPR is not entertained in some bridge except Tue to Thur. They allow you to enter but PR application will have to be done in CIC office later.
12) I have At&T in USA, will it give network and internet in Canada. I will check with AT&T tomorrow.
13) Which is the best bridge to enter from New Jersey to Canada. I have 2 kids with me so have to be well planned unfortunately I am going through things last minute and its adding stress.

Can we talk over a phone please. Can you share your number with me on charmerrits@gmail.com

 

[michibong]

answered in-line

I am on L1A in US planning to soft land on sat morning.
1) I have leased car which i plan to drive there on Saturday, finish my formalities and come back next day. Will I be asked to import the car ? I will take my lease documents but wondering if i will have issues. - no you won't be asked to import but you must show car in GTF list even if you don't import it later
2) I plan to move for good after 2 to 3 years. My car lease will be over after 15 months and i dont know after that i will have another leased car or my own car. in such case how do I even mention details of my future car in Goods to Follow for me to be able to import it. - show current car in GTF that's it
3) I am thoroughly confused about Goods to accompany and Follow list. Do i have to mention every clothing item that i may bring when i move? how do i know its value. - create categories and put approx value. This question has been answered in one of the thread in very great detail
4) My wife has some jewelry here in US and some in India but we have no way to get pictures of what is in India. And for what we have here we can take picture and describe but they say it should have jewelers description /invoice etc which i dont have. - for my case they didn't check the photos actually they laughed that I brought photo but it varies person to person if you can't bring photo then try to put clear description and value
5) We have so many utensils and kitchen appliance , am i supposed to count how many plates, bowls, spoons etc and describe things? - same as question 3. Create categories and put approx values.
6) What if i buy things in US over years before i go to Canada for good, does that mean i cant take it there or end up paying duty. It can be clothes, things, utensils, toys etc. how can someone make this task possible. - these type of questions have no clear answer. As per rule you pay duty for what you didn't show but none really bothers about low value domestic items, apply your judgement
7) right now i am not carrying money but later i will have money which is in the bank in US and company shares which i dont plan to liquidate but still there will be something that can allow easy transfer from US bank to Canada bank unless there is Bank of america there too. - I don't think money is considered as goods
8) DO i have to get a SIN mandatory in the current visit. Are they open on Saturday. - not mandatory. not open on saturday
9) i plan to give address of someone i know in Mississauga for PR cards to be posted, can that person courier me them later? - again it depends on the officer. I have read cases where officer didn't accept someone else's adress but in most cases they do. I got it delivered to a friend in Vancouver and he couriered me
10) Some say COPR can be used multiple times to enter via road and some say its good only for one time, and if you leave Canada without PR then you should have either PR or PR Travel Document to enter again when you plan to come for good. - COPR is good if you are crossing border on personal vehicle. For commerical vehicle you need PR or travel doc
11) I heard somewhere that COPR is not entertained in some bridge except Tue to Thur. They allow you to enter but PR application will have to be done in CIC office later. - never heard of such thing I myself crossed with COPR after first landing
12) I have At&T in USA, will it give network and internet in Canada. I will check with AT&T tomorrow. - no idea I have T-Mobile which works across North America as same country
13) Which is the best bridge to enter from New Jersey to Canada. I have 2 kids with me so have to be well planned unfortunately I am going through things last minute and its adding stress. - no idea I crossed in Michigan

Can we talk over a phone please. Can you share your number with me on charmerrits@gmail.com

 

[cansha]

I am on L1A in US planning to soft land on sat morning.
1) I have leased car which i plan to drive there on Saturday, finish my formalities and come back next day. Will I be asked to import the car ? I will take my lease documents but wondering if i will have issues.
2) I plan to move for good after 2 to 3 years. My car lease will be over after 15 months and i dont know after that i will have another leased car or my own car. in such case how do I even mention details of my future car in Goods to Follow for me to be able to import it.
3) I am thoroughly confused about Goods to accompany and Follow list. Do i have to mention every clothing item that i may bring when i move? how do i know its value.
4) My wife has some jewelry here in US and some in India but we have no way to get pictures of what is in India. And for what we have here we can take picture and describe but they say it should have jewelers description /invoice etc which i dont have.
5) We have so many utensils and kitchen appliance , am i supposed to count how many plates, bowls, spoons etc and describe things?
6) What if i buy things in US over years before i go to Canada for good, does that mean i cant take it there or end up paying duty. It can be clothes, things, utensils, toys etc. how can someone make this task possible.
7) right now i am not carrying money but later i will have money which is in the bank in US and company shares which i dont plan to liquidate but still there will be something that can allow easy transfer from US bank to Canada bank unless there is Bank of america there too.
8) DO i have to get a SIN mandatory in the current visit. Are they open on Saturday.
9) i plan to give address of someone i know in Mississauga for PR cards to be posted, can that person courier me them later?
10) Some say COPR can be used multiple times to enter via road and some say its good only for one time, and if you leave Canada without PR then you should have either PR or PR Travel Document to enter again when you plan to come for good.
11) I heard somewhere that COPR is not entertained in some bridge except Tue to Thur. They allow you to enter but PR application will have to be done in CIC office later.
12) I have At&T in USA, will it give network and internet in Canada. I will check with AT&T tomorrow.
13) Which is the best bridge to enter from New Jersey to Canada. I have 2 kids with me so have to be well planned unfortunately I am going through things last minute and its adding stress.

Can we talk over a phone please. Can you share your number with me on charmerrits@gmail.com

Your points 1-7 are not an issue at all. CBSA makes a distinction between soft landing and landing done with an intention to setup permanent residence. Check here https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/cbsa-things-to-follow.551493/#post-6828725
CBSA link below. Check point 9 and 10.
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/dm-md/d2/d2-2-1-eng.html

8. Not mandatory.
9. Yes
10. Multiple times via road border

 

[itsmervv]

So i completed by landing process. Below is my not so good experience.
1) I went via rainbow bridge.
2) The officer at the toll gate asked couple of questions regarding what i was carrying and then gave me a yellow slip and asked me to enter the building with it.
3) Then i went to meet the immigration officer who asked me papers and asked me canadian address which i gave and he asked me if it was where i will be physically. I told its my relatives address and that i have come to complete my landing formalities only and heading back to US. He then said that my relative can send me the PR card but then he also asked his fellow officer who said it cant be couriered across border. SO then i said my relative will visit me in US and bring cards or i will come back to collect cards. He then said he wont process cards and that once i have decided to move finally i can give my address and have the card sent. I then told him that i will be stay at the same address so he can use that address to send the card. He asked me if i had job i told him I can work from remote location with mu current job so i plan to be there. He said when the cards come i have to personally sign them. He said they dont want to issue cards just so that people can have it when they have no intention to stay there. When i said i will continue to stay there he said i was confusing him and that he was going to mention my US address and the Canadian address that i gave him but then gave me a form which is address change form and said when my address is known i have to fill that form online or call the PR card call center. It looks like the cards wont be processed but not sure. I am trying to call the PR card call center but that number is not reachable from US. The only other option is to fill online the address change. He also said that he will cancel my I-94 as they dont want people to hold dual status. But i told him it was L1A visa and why would he want to cancel it. I am not sure what he did in the system and whether cards will be processed but I decided not to argue with him as he seemed not knowledgeable.
4) I asked him what about goods to follow and he pointed me to another officer who took the list and gave both the list back to me after asking if they were identical. I asked him wouldn't he stamp them. So he stamped first page of both copies and gave them both back to me. I asked him that they would have to keep one of the copy but he said not needed. I again told him that each page would be needed to stamp which he then asked someone else and that officer said yes that each page has to be stamped and one copy to be kept by them. SO then this guy stamps each page and keeps one copy. This guy too was not knowledgable.
5) no one was smiling or welcomed.
right now i dont know if the card is being processed or no. anyone has any comments on this or similar experience.

 

[AK11503]

So i completed by landing process. Below is my not so good experience.
1) I went via rainbow bridge.
2) The officer at the toll gate asked couple of questions regarding what i was carrying and then gave me a yellow slip and asked me to enter the building with it.
3) Then i went to meet the immigration officer who asked me papers and asked me canadian address which i gave and he asked me if it was where i will be physically. I told its my relatives address and that i have come to complete my landing formalities only and heading back to US. He then said that my relative can send me the PR card but then he also asked his fellow officer who said it cant be couriered across border. SO then i said my relative will visit me in US and bring cards or i will come back to collect cards. He then said he wont process cards and that once i have decided to move finally i can give my address and have the card sent. I then told him that i will be stay at the same address so he can use that address to send the card. He asked me if i had job i told him I can work from remote location with mu current job so i plan to be there. He said when the cards come i have to personally sign them. He said they dont want to issue cards just so that people can have it when they have no intention to stay there. When i said i will continue to stay there he said i was confusing him and that he was going to mention my US address and the Canadian address that i gave him but then gave me a form which is address change form and said when my address is known i have to fill that form online or call the PR card call center. It looks like the cards wont be processed but not sure. I am trying to call the PR card call center but that number is not reachable from US. The only other option is to fill online the address change. He also said that he will cancel my I-94 as they dont want people to hold dual status. But i told him it was L1A visa and why would he want to cancel it. I am not sure what he did in the system and whether cards will be processed but I decided not to argue with him as he seemed not knowledgeable.
4) I asked him what about goods to follow and he pointed me to another officer who took the list and gave both the list back to me after asking if they were identical. I asked him wouldn't he stamp them. So he stamped first page of both copies and gave them both back to me. I asked him that they would have to keep one of the copy but he said not needed. I again told him that each page would be needed to stamp which he then asked someone else and that officer said yes that each page has to be stamped and one copy to be kept by them. SO then this guy stamps each page and keeps one copy. This guy too was not knowledgable.
5) no one was smiling or welcomed.
right now i dont know if the card is being processed or no. anyone has any comments on this or similar experience.

Hello,
Do you got your PR Cards. Thanks!