Will be landing by car/uhaul in May from the US. how do I do this?

[rhcohen2014]

Per http://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/export-docs/motor-vehicle it looks like you need one either way. While you're there, take a look into AES Direct (option 1 at the top left of the page) too as it would save you the need for a freight forwarder. You can see info on AES Direct at http://aesdirect.census.gov/ too.

are you recommending this person to do the AES Direct system part themselves? you do realize this requires a person to take a certification quiz in order to be "authorized" to do this? from my experience and what others have reported, it's not worth the time or energy to do this when you can simply get someone who's already registered to do it for you. this is why people go to freight forwarders/shippers, so they can bypass the need to learn about the shipping business just to export their car. if they go to a freight forwarder/shipper, that part is taken care for them and they will be able to receive the ITN for a small amount and little effort.

 

[OhCanadiana]

you do realize this requires a person to take a certification quiz in order to be "authorized" to do this?

Yes, I do realize a short quiz is required to complete registration with AESDirect. The details are in the second link I provided to the OP (in the post you quoted) so she could review her options. Reading a 34 page user manual and then doing 30 multiple choice and T/F questions doesn't scare me away, especially knowing that you can take it as many times as you wish/need to in 30 days and that it's 'open book.' After all, I'd read many more than 30 pages in guides by the time I had submitted an application to CIC to make sure that was done correctly. LOL!

 

[moonandtheriver]

Hope this helps someone else out there- just got off the phone with a very nice woman at the Census Bureau who helped me navigate the EIN process. You choose "Sole Proprietor", then the reason is "Starting a Business." I then chose "Other" as what my business does and wrote "exporting a car into Canada" as the 'other' option. She said that's the closest choice they have for exporting a car. Even she said the wording on the website is very confusing (I'm thinking they get alot of calls about this) and said she hoped they were able to update the wording soon to make it clearer. I now have my EIN to start this whole process. Now onto finding a freight forwarder...I'm on my 5th attempt with that. Several on the list were out of business, 2 haven't gotten back to me. Filing with AES myself would mean I need to read/study up on their literature and then take a quiz you have to pass to be able to use the software correctly apparently.

 

[FSW_Applicant]

This is helpful! Thanks for sharing.
Doesn't UPS also provide documents for freight forwarding for a small fee? Have you checked with them?

Hope this helps someone else out there- just got off the phone with a very nice woman at the Census Bureau who helped me navigate the EIN process. You choose "Sole Proprietor", then the reason is "Starting a Business." I then chose "Other" as what my business does and wrote "exporting a car into Canada" as the 'other' option. She said that's the closest choice they have for exporting a car. Even she said the wording on the website is very confusing (I'm thinking they get alot of calls about this) and said she hoped they were able to update the wording soon to make it clearer. I now have my EIN to start this whole process. Now onto finding a freight forwarder...I'm on my 5th attempt with that. Several on the list were out of business, 2 haven't gotten back to me. Filing with AES myself would mean I need to read/study up on their literature and then take a quiz you have to pass to be able to use the software correctly apparently.

 

[moonandtheriver]

I finally found and used a freight forwarder to get my ITN number and file my info with AES. I used Simplified Trade Solutions LLC (http://simplifiedtradesolutions.com/) for a $35 fee and they were easy to use. Hope that helps someone else...I felt like I had a hard time finding a freight forwarder. Everything went thru very quickly. I got the run around with UPS...they don't seem to understand about the filing of info to AES for car export and got told they don't do that after being transferred several times.
I'm now filing Form 1 (E Form) online at RIV.ca...I appear to be at the point of hitting submit for everything and then having to pay. I assume I will be charged both the $195 fee plus tax and/or duty at this point? I had read the tax rate would be 0 due to having the car listed on my B4...so do I pay for all that online now and get reimbursed for tax/duty later somehow/somewhere? Or do I still have to pay a tax/duty on it no matter what? This part was a bit confusing.
My next step is then to fax everything needed to the border for export I believe and then call the make sure they got it. I think thats all I have left to do...am I missing anything? I have everything ready for insurance and have got my title, old bill of sale and any paperwork or receipts in a folder at the ready for the crossing if needed.

I have a couple questions unrelated to my car, if anyone can answer I would be grateful.
I'd like to bring up some grocery items we can't get where we are located in Canada that both me and my husband like. I just declare these items I assume, and pay tax (or tax and duty if applicable) on them? It looks to me like if they are made in the US, Canada or Mexico that you only pay tax based on the province you are importing into and not duty because of NAFTA. I am not bring any meats or refridgerated items. Does this seem correct?
Are there any restrictions on dry dog food/dog treats? I couldn't find info on this. There is a ban of some sort on poultry due to the bird flu but I believe in raw form. I'm hoping to bring up an extra bag of dog food so we don't have to make the 2 hour drive to the city right off the bat after the trip up to get her more. If its unopened I declare it, otherwise it goes on the B4 form under dog supplies? (They don't carry her brand in town and shes sensitive to food so switching brands isn't easy.)
How many months of medication can I bring up? I have a couple prescriptions for simple, non restricted meds that I have about 4 months worth of that I haven't used yet. (They refill monthly but I don't need it every day.) Any restrictions on bringing up prescription meds? For me or the dog for that matter...shes got 11 months of heartworm pills left as we just did her yearly vet check.

Thanks for getting me this far everyone...the move is coming in a hurry now! May 3rd!

 

[OhCanadiana]

I finally found and used a freight forwarder to get my ITN number and file my info with AES. I used Simplified Trade Solutions LLC (http://simplifiedtradesolutions.com/) for a $35 fee and they were easy to use. Hope that helps someone else...I felt like I had a hard time finding a freight forwarder. Everything went thru very quickly. I got the run around with UPS...they don't seem to understand about the filing of info to AES for car export and got told they don't do that after being transferred several times.
I'm now filing Form 1 (E Form) online at RIV.ca...I appear to be at the point of hitting submit for everything and then having to pay. I assume I will be charged both the $195 fee plus tax and/or duty at this point? I had read the tax rate would be 0 due to having the car listed on my B4...so do I pay for all that online now and get reimbursed for tax/duty later somehow/somewhere? Or do I still have to pay a tax/duty on it no matter what? This part was a bit confusing.
My next step is then to fax everything needed to the border for export I believe and then call the make sure they got it. I think thats all I have left to do...am I missing anything? I have everything ready for insurance and have got my title, old bill of sale and any paperwork or receipts in a folder at the ready for the crossing if needed.

Great! Hopefully that helps someone else who chooses to have a third party to the registration for them.

You pay the RIV their fee only. The taxes/duty are payable to CBSA when you cross the border.
At the border, you will also fill out a form to import the vehicle. After the officer processes your B4/B4A, they will have you go to the cashier to pay duties and will get a receipt for that albeit at 0% rate (for the car and all the other goods on your Personal Effects Accounting Document - B4). They will also fax a copy of the stamped form to the RIV so they know the vehicle has been imported.

I have a couple questions unrelated to my car, if anyone can answer I would be grateful.
I'd like to bring up some grocery items we can't get where we are located in Canada that both me and my husband like. I just declare these items I assume, and pay tax (or tax and duty if applicable) on them? It looks to me like if they are made in the US, Canada or Mexico that you only pay tax based on the province you are importing into and not duty because of NAFTA. I am not bring any meats or refridgerated items. Does this seem correct?

See http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/information-for-consumers/travellers/what-can-i-bring-into-canada-/eng/1389648337546/1389648516990

Are there any restrictions on dry dog food/dog treats? I couldn't find info on this. There is a ban of some sort on poultry due to the bird flu but I believe in raw form. I'm hoping to bring up an extra bag of dog food so we don't have to make the 2 hour drive to the city right off the bat after the trip up to get her more. If its unopened I declare it, otherwise it goes on the B4 form under dog supplies? (They don't carry her brand in town and shes sensitive to food so switching brands isn't easy.)

Personal Imports

Travellers may bring into Canada a personal import of pet food (limit of 20 kg), if the import meets all of the following requirements:

    The pet food or product must be of United States origin and be commercially packaged.
    The pet food or product must be in the possession of the traveller at the time of entry from the U.S.
    The animal that will eat the imported product must accompany the traveller at the time of entry.
    The imported product is fed only to the animal that accompanied the traveller into Canada.

See http://www.inspection.gc.ca/animals/terrestrial-animals/imports/policies/pet-food/eng/1321129023397/1321129556426

How many months of medication can I bring up? I have a couple prescriptions for simple, non restricted meds that I have about 4 months worth of that I haven't used yet. (They refill monthly but I don't need it every day.) Any restrictions on bringing up prescription meds? For me or the dog for that matter...shes got 11 months of heartworm pills left as we just did her yearly vet check.

Thanks for getting me this far everyone...the move is coming in a hurry now! May 3rd!

In most cases, you should be ok with carrying a 90 day supply but take a look at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/compli-conform/import-export/gui-0084_biu-uif-eng.php#a6 to make sure as the specific medication makes a difference.

The same page further down has info on veterinary drugs too.

Thanks for getting me this far everyone...the move is coming in a hurry now! May 3rd!

Enjoy it!!!

 

[moonandtheriver]

"I have the required evidence of the vehicle's conformity with Environment Canada's emission standards."

Do you happen to know what this means and what I'm supposed to have? Its part of Form1 E Form, before you hit submit your info and pay, it asks you to check a box and agree to the following:

I am the owner or agent of the owner of the vehicle described herein and certify that the information submitted is true and accurate. I acknowledge that any errors or misrepresentations on this form will result in delays at the border and/or refusal of importation into Canada. I have the required evidence of the vehicle's conformity with Environment Canada's emission standards. This vehicle shall be modified to Transport Canada standards within the prescribed time of 45 days (or 1 year if vehicle is declared as salvage) and the current owner shall be responsible for any penalties prescribed for failure to do so. I acknowledge that receipt of this Vehicle Import Form and payment of fees are not warranty that the vehicle is necessarily capable of being brought into conformity with applicable law. The vehicle shall be taken to an authorized inspection centre and otherwise processed in accordance with the requirements of the Registrar of Imported Vehicles. I authorize the required service payment.

The form is valid for 90 days from the date of submission.

A refund of the vehicle import fee minus a $25 administrative fee may be issued at any time if the vehicle has not crossed the border.

 

[OhCanadiana]

What form are you filling out?

If it's the payment form, I would call and pay over the phone (the agent told us it was faster because she could immediately post it into the record; you can also confirm they've posted your recall letter clearance). I don't recall that being on the Form 1 version you complete at the border when you import the car so you could just wait and fill it out there (it's just one page).

You could also call the RIV - I found them to be very customer service focused.

 

[FSW_Applicant]

Found this site, it might have some of the information that you seek: http://www.importcartocanada.info/

 

[moonandtheriver]

Major issues.
After trying and failing in the US to add some kind of daytime running lights to my car BEFORE I tried to export/import the car (I got nowhere with KIA or dealerships that worked on KIAs in the states, was told anything from they don't make that for the car, to it would void my warranty if I used some aftermarket part even though I didn't have one, or they had no idea why I would need that since my car has lights that come on when you turn the car on if its in the "on" position when you turn it off ...and they generally didn't seem to understand the entire daytime running lights question.) I was given advice on this forum that the DTR lights were something I didn't even need to worry about until I got to Canada and was one of the LAST things I needed to deal with- and if it needed them, Canadian Tire would be able to make any modifications needed to get the car to pass the RIV inspection. This was wrong information, at least for my car it was. Canadian Tire CANNOT add or modify daytime running lights to my car. They are passing me back off to KIA here. KIA says they have a module, but cannot guarantee it will work (and would cost ALOT of $ to find out and if it doesn't- I'm still out the cost.) Do NOT expect Canadian Tire to be able to make all modifications to your car. Do not expect your dealer will be able to add them. ALSO- it says clearly on the RIV inspection form that I got only from RIV after my car was imported, that to pass a DTR light inspection that lights have to be ON, even in the OFF position.
So we are now stuck trying to figure out some kind of rigged up modification to either make my fog lights be my DTRs, or buy something off ebay or an auto parts store to try and add them someway ourselves. Its a bit of a panic now, as Canadian Tire could only get us in on fridays, and our first appt. try we discovered that they did not fax the correct paperwork to RIV at the border, so we had to resolve that first- 2nd appt another week later and we are now dealing with this issue. I only have till June 19th to get it in compliance with everything. AND the guy who does inspection at our C. Tire won't be here anymore after this friday...so we will have to go elsewhere to try again...in our case 2 hours away. Its way more than I bargained for.
So MY advice having gone through it now is: Get any modifications that you can done BEFORE you get here, or you will risk having to take your car back out of the country.
I haven't even made it to the out of province inspection which is apparently entails ALOT more.

I need a drink.

 

[OhCanadiana]

I'm sorry to hear you ran into snags at this late stage. Given the current situation, here's a few paths that may be worth exploring:

1. Call Kia US and Kia Canada. Make sure you explain you moved (so they don't think you just went to buy a car in the US as they really don't like that) and ask them for guidance. Cars these days are often made for multiple regions with fuses that need to be changed out, etc for different geographies ... hopefully it's that simple for you.

2. Call various Kia dealerships to get help. Some dealerships reportedly try to actively not help people they think bought the car abroad. Again, make it clear you just moved. Remember, you aren't the first person to import the car so you just need to find someone who is willing to help (and ideally who has done it before).

3. Do a web search for your Kia model and daytime running lights. From doing this myself for generic kia, there are many reports of a variety of quick fixes people reportedly have done on Kia forums. I would check these out with a mechanic, etc (and Kia if still under warranty) but it may give you a jumping ground for discussion.


For others reading this: please listen to moonandtheriver. It's really easy to push items off until later (and, unfortunately, you'll get that type of advice every so often in this forum) but checking for RIV eligibility and making plans for modifications that are necessary is item #1 in the the step-by-step process import your car I put together precisely to help avoid this type of headache. And, if you plan to do the modifications in Canada, make arrangements with the dealership (or other service provider) BEFORE you move to make sure they can do what you want them to do (and they will often give you a better price too when you are debating whether to do it in the US or Canada...).

 

[moonandtheriver]

Unfortunately, there was no planning that could have accounted for all that we've encountered with this experience. We do have an appt. with a company a couple hours from here monday who says they can do the DTR lights for alot less than KIA and seem confident they won't have an issue making them work. We will see how it goes and cross our fingers at this point.
KIA US and Canada were useless to us.
Canadian Tire here was inept.
We are not mechanics, and buying something ourselves and installing it just hoping we got the wiring correct was a scary thought as we would have to depend on something getting shipped here on time and us doing it right. If we didn't get it right, we'd be out of time to order another part and try again.

Plan that the border will not get your paperwork correctly faxed to RIV, even when they tell you they have it covered and that will cost you a few days.
Plan on Canadian Tire not being able to make modifications. Maybe they can, maybe they can't...spin the wheel.
Plan that if you are in a small town you will have to drive hours away to take it elsewhere to get modifications done.
Plan there might be a shortage of people at your Canadian Tire who will be able to do the RIV OR Out of Province Inspection. (or none, which will be our case in a week.)
Plan that if you need something corrected or modified you might not get back in for another appt. for a week at a time.
Plan that the out of province inspection will be alot more than you bargained for (my lightly tinted back windows, the rear wiper that sometimes works a bit wonky and my remote start might ALL be issues.)

Hopefully we will have some luck here soon and be able to continue the process. I miss driving my car!

 

[moonandtheriver]

I now have my car all inspected, insured & registered. Yay!
Canadian Tire did the RIV. They almost failed the car because the mechanic didn't know that I did NOT need the french label for airbags that require periodic maintenance and told me to go back to KIA to get it (yet another 2 hour trip.) We had to INSIST he call RIV for clarification on it, and then he had to pass me, as we were correct that my car has never required routine maintenance or replacement on the air bags. Basically, the mechanic at CT didn't know exactly what he was doing in regards to the inspection. And was not trained to install modules or do programming for DTR lights.

We took the car elsewhere for the provincial inspection and the car was passed with no issues. The list of things they check for was immense though.

Thankfully this is past us and we are now just waiting for my PR card to come in the mail so I can get health insurance.

The border crossing to land was EASY. They never even looked in the UHaul or my car! Despite a bit of paperwork and waiting, it was almost a non event.

 

[Amalthea]

Wow, I'm so glad you're through this mess.

Landing this week and counting my blessings that my car is from 1997 and therefore exempt from RIV :-\ this sounds insane. You did it, though!!! Haha. You're finally free! Thanks for all the wonderful information, I have learned much reading your post.

 

[moonandtheriver]

Good luck on your landing! I hope it goes well You're so lucky to not have to go through the RIV process. I am SO glad its behind me. I hope this thread helps others out who are going thru the export/import process. I'm now trying to get an Alberta drivers license (I was turned away on the first try because I didn't have my PR card yet... but upon researching it a bit, it appears I only need to have my landing paperwork in place of that. hmm.) Then health care and I think I'm done with all the paperwork and processes.