Ownership, possession, and use requirements

Before your goods can qualify for duty- and tax-free importation as settler's effects, you must have owned, possessed, and used them before you arrive in Canada. If you have the sales receipts and registration documents for these items, you can use them to help prove the items meet these requirements.
It is important that you meet the three requirements of ownership, possession, and use. For example, if you owned and possessed the goods without using them, the goods are subject to duties. In addition, since we do not consider you as owning leased goods, they are also subject to regular duties.

Wedding gifts

If you get married within three months of coming to Canada or if you plan to marry no later than three months after arriving in this country, you can bring in your wedding gifts free of duties. However, you must have owned and possessed them before you arrived in Canada. The requirement for you to have used the goods does not apply in this instance. These same conditions apply to household goods you bring in as part of a bride's trousseau.

Is exporting your money restricted?

Some countries limit the amount of money you can take out of the country. You should check with your banker, lawyer, or financial adviser. If you can prove that the money you wish to take out of that country has been restricted, you can claim a special provision that gives you up to three years to purchase household goods in the country from which you emigrated and to ship them to Canada duty and tax free. This provision waives the usual rule on previous ownership, possession, and use of your goods.

Items admissible for duty- and tax-free importation

Personal and household effects

Personal and household effects include goods such as:

• antiques;
• appliances;
• boats and the trailers that carry them (trailers are subject to Transport Canada requirements);
• books;
• family heirlooms;
• furnishings;
• furniture;
• hobby tools and other hobby items;
• jewellery;
• linen;
• musical instruments;
• private aircraft;
• private collections of coins, stamps, or art;
• silverware; and
• vacation trailers.

Houses, large trailers you use as residences, and any goods you use or will use commercially are not eligible as personal or household effects. These goods are subject to regular customs duties.

Items imported for commercial use

You have to pay the regular duties on any goods you import for commercial use, including:

• farm equipment;
• vehicles;
• other capital equipment you use or will use in construction, contracting, or manufacturing; or
• other goods you use or will use commercially or in a trade.

Vehicles

Personal effects can include vehicles as long as you use them for non-commercial purposes. However, you should be aware that Transport Canada has many restrictions on vehicles.
Transport Canada defines a vehicle as any vehicle that is capable of being driven or drawn on roads by means other than muscular power exclusively, but does not include a vehicle designed to run exclusively on rails. Trailers such as recreational, boat, camping, horse, and stock trailers are considered vehicles, as well as woodchippers, generators, or any other equipment mounted on rims and tires.

Transport Canada requirements

Transport Canada's requirements apply to vehicles that are less than 15 years old, and to buses manufactured on or after January 1, 1971.
Vehicles originally manufactured to meet the safety standards of countries other than the United States or Canada are usually not allowed into Canada, unless they are 15 years or older or buses manufactured before January 1, 1971.
Before importing your vehicle, you can contact Transport Canada at:

• 1-800-333-0371 (toll-free in Canada and the United States);
• (613) 998-8616 (all other countries).

Vehicles manufactured to meet United States safety standards do not meet Canadian safety standards. As the importer, you are responsible for determining if your vehicle can be modified to meet the Canadian safety standards after you import it.
The Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) is an agency Transport Canada has contracted to administer a national program to ensure that vehicles imported into Canada are brought into compliance with Canada's safety standards.
If you are considering importing a vehicle originally manufactured to meet United States safety and emission standards, contact the Registrar of Imported Vehicles by telephone at one of the following numbers to verify that your vehicle is eligible for importation into Canada:

• 1-888-848-8240 (toll free in Canada or the United States)
• (416) 626-1803 (local calls from the Toronto area)

If your vehicle does not meet Canadian safety standards but qualifies for importation, you will enter your vehicle into the RIV Program when you report to a customs office. The Program registration fee is CAN$182 in all provinces, except Quebec, where it is CAN$197. You will then have 45 days to bring your vehicle into compliance and have it inspected.
You cannot license your vehicle in Canada until the vehicle is modified and passes the federal inspection from the RIV.

Other considerations

Your vehicle may also be subject to provincial or territorial sales tax and safety requirements, so you should check with the vehicle department of the province or territory to which you are moving.
Before you export your vehicle into Canada, make sure you first check with the customs authority of the country from which you will be exporting the vehicle. Some countries have export requirements which you must meet.
For more information, see the pamphlet called Importing a Vehicle Into Canada.

Alcohol and tobacco

As long as you meet the age requirements in the province or territory where you enter Canada, you can import certain quantities of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products duty- and tax-free. These items must accompany you when you enter Canada.

Alcoholic beverages

You can bring in for your personal use, without federal, provincial, or territorial assessment, one of the following:

• up to 1.5 litres of wine;
• 1.14 litres of liquor; or
• 24 × 355 millilitre cans or bottles (8.5 litres) of beer or ale.

You cannot bring more than this free allowance of alcohol into the Northwest Territories or Nunavut. In all other provinces and the Yukon Territory, you can bring in more than the free allowance; however, the quantities have to be within the limit the province or territory sets.
If you bring in more than the free allowance, you will have to pay both federal assessments and the provincial or territorial fees on the extra amounts.
If you intend to ship alcoholic beverages to Canada (e.g., the contents of a bar or wine cellar), contact the appropriate provincial or territorial liquor board authority before you ship them, so you can pay the provincial or territorial fees and assessments in advance. To obtain release of the shipment in Canada, you have to produce a copy of the provincial or territorial receipt and pay all of the applicable federal assessments.

Tobacco products

You can bring in, without federal, provincial, or territorial assessment, up to 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars or cigarillos, 200 grams of tobacco, and 200 tobacco sticks for your personal use. You are allowed to import more, but you have to pay all federal assessments on the extra amounts. In some cases, provincial and territorial limits and assessments also apply on the extra amounts.

Restrictions

We assist other government departments in controlling the importation of certain goods into Canada, such as firearms, ammunition, fireworks, meat and dairy products, animals, plants and plant products, fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as certain food and drug products. You can get more information by contacting:
Admissibility Programs
Trade Policy and Interpretation Directorate
Ottawa ON K1A 0L5
Fax: (613) 946-1520

Animals

Since animals may harbour pests or diseases that are harmful to people, other animals, crops and forests, we help the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and other government departments control the entry of animals into this country.
You can import pet dogs and cats younger than three months old from the United States without submitting any documentation. You can also import without documentation assistance dogs, such as seeing-eye dogs, from all countries, regardless of their ages, as long as they accompany you when you arrive. However, dogs and cats must be referred to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) if animals appear unhealthy.
If dogs and cats are from the United States and are three months old or older, you can import them provided that you submit a certificate which a veterinarian has signed and dated for each pet. The certificate must show that the animal has been vaccinated against rabies within the last three years. In addition, the certificate has to identify the animal by breed, age, sex, colouring, and any distinguishing marks. Please note that we cannot accept an animal tag in place of a certificate.
For all other animals from the United States, and for animals of any kind from other countries, you should check in advance with a CFIA Import Service Centre (ISC) listed below:

Eastern ISC, Montréal

Central ISC, Toronto

Western ISC, Vancouver

Endangered species

Canada has signed an international agreement restricting the sale, trade, or movement of a large and increasing number of animals, birds, reptiles, fish, insects, and certain forms of plant life that are considered endangered. These restrictions extend to their parts and to products made from the fur, skin, feathers, and bones of these species. You should find out in advance what goods you can bring into Canada by contacting:
CITES Office
Canadian Wildlife Service
Environment Canada
Ottawa ON K1A 0H3

Firearms

Since Canada has stringent regulations on firearms, you should check with the chief firearms officer of the province or territory where you intend to enter the country, if you plan to bring a firearm into Canada. For more information and the addresses of these officials, see the pamphlet called Importing a Firearm or Weapon Into Canada. You can also get up-to-date information on the rules governing the importation, possession, and use of firearms by calling 1-800-731-4000.

Meat, dairy products, and fresh fruits and vegetables

Canada has complex requirements, restrictions, and limits that apply to importing these and other foodstuffs. You can avoid problems by not bringing such goods into Canada.

Plants

Plants are potential carriers of insects and disease. For this reason, we help the CFIA control the entry into Canada of plants, including the earth, sand, or other related matter in which they are planted or packed.
House plants from the continental United States entering this country as part of a traveller's baggage or with household effects can enter without phytosanitary certificates or import permits. House plants are defined as plants that are grown or intended to be grown indoors. These do not include bonsai plants.
House plants from Hawaii entering Canada as part of a traveller's baggage or with household effects are admissible if they are bare-root and free of soil and related growing media, and if the container bears a Department of Agriculture stamped certificate from the State of Hawaii.
All other plants from the United States require a phytosanitary certificate from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and may require an import permit that the CFIA has issued in advance.
Plants from countries other than the continental United States require a plant protection import permit issued by the CFIA. The permit must be obtained well in advance of the material being exported or shipped to Canada. The permit may require that the plant material be accompanied by a Phytosanitary Certificate issued by the phytosanitary authorities (i.e., Plant Protection/Quarantine authorities) in the country of origin.
For more information, contact a CFIA Import Service Centre.

Before coming to Canada

Before you arrive, you should prepare two copies of a list (preferably typewritten) of all the goods you intend to bring into Canada as settler's effects, showing the value, make, model, and serial number (when applicable). Divide the list into two sections: the goods you are bringing with you, and the goods to follow.
You have to present this list to the customs office when you arrive in Canada, even if you are not bringing in any goods at that time.
Since jewellery is difficult to describe accurately, it is best to use the wording from your insurance policy or jeweller's appraisal and to include photos of the items. You should describe each item of jewellery on the list of goods you submit to the customs officer when you arrive. This information makes it easier to identify your jewellery at customs when you first enter Canada, and later on, if you take it with you on a trip abroad.
When you arrive in Canada, the customs officer will prepare Form B4, Personal Effects Accounting Document, on your behalf, based on the list of goods you provided. The officer will assign your B4 form a file number and give you a receipt copy. You will need to present your receipt copy to claim duty- and tax-free entry of your "goods to follow" when they arrive later.
You can make the process easier by completing a B4 form in advance and presenting it to the officer when you arrive. You can order this form from the CCRA Distribution Centre listed on page 16 of this pamphlet.

Disposing of goods you brought in duty and tax free

If you sell or give the goods away within the first year of importing the goods duty and tax free into Canada, you immediately have to pay any duties that apply. The same condition applies to goods you begin using for commercial activities.