When moving to Canada, you’ll likely take some personal belongings with you. However, it’s a good idea to plan what you want to bring with you and how much it will cost. When bringing your goods to follow and other household items to Canada, it’s important to know what you can bring in, and what items are restricted or prohibited. You need to ensure that you follow the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) guidelines. There are some fine lines you should be cautious of crossing when you bring your goods and properties to Canada. To help you plan, we’ve outlined guidelines to consider along with the process to follow and forms to complete.
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Guidelines
The CBSA provides clear guidelines on what items you can bring to Canada duty-free and what items you will have to pay a duty for. A duty is a fee that you must pay on goods that you bring to Canada. Here we discuss the CBSA guidelines and how to record goods that you will:
- Carry with you, and
- Ship at a later date as goods to follow.
Canada allows you to import your goods from your home country duty-free only one time. However, you may have to pay duty for products that you haven’t yet used. There are different criteria for settlers and tourists. In some cases, the Border Services Agent might require you to post a refundable security deposit. This is not heavily enforced and is mostly at the discretion of the border services agent. Click here to visit the CBSA site and view general guidelines.
Itemizing Your Valuables to Move to Canada
When you know what valuables you want to move to Canada, it’s a good idea to write two separate lists to itemize:
- Goods that you will carry with you, and
- Goods to follow.
List One: Goods You are Carrying with You
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This will include the goods you will carry when you land. For example:
Suitcases: 2 (approximate value of contents)
Carry-on bag: 1 (approximate value of contents)
Mobile phone: 1 (with the make, model, serial number, value)
Laptop computer: 1 (with the make, model, serial number, value)
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Engagement ring and wedding band (value).
List Two: Goods to Follow
This list includes your possessions that will arrive at a later date. It should provide the name of the items along with a description including the:
- Value (in Canadian dollars)
- Make, model and serial numbers.
TIP: Include pictures where possible of the goods that you are carrying such as jewelry or heirlooms. While it’s not mandatory to provide pictures, it will make it easier and faster to declare your goods. It also helps the Border Services Agent to cross-reference your goods.
It’s a good idea to make at least two copies of your lists so you can give one copy to the agent at the port of entry and keep one for yourself.
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Creating Your Goods to Follow List
TIP: To help you stay organized, use one page for each category. That way you can simply add items that you may have missed to the relevant page.
If you decide to use an international shipping company they will have their own list as well. You must sign and date the list. You can find a list of international movers that work in Canada here.
Items You Can Bring Duty-Free
Canada allows a one-time duty-free import for all your household goods. In instances where a resident that has used the waiver moves out of Canada and decides to move back, they will not be eligible for a duty-free waiver on goods they return with. The waiver doesn’t include those items that you’re yet to use as they will be considered as new items and you will have to pay duty on those items.
If you have married within three months before moving to Canada or will marry within three months after you arrive in Canada you will not have to pay duties on your wedding gifts.
According to the CBSA, you can bring the following goods duty and tax-free:
| Clothing and linens | Private coin, stamp, and art collections | Utility trailers |
| Furniture | Personal computers | Motor homes |
| Furnishings | Books | Private aircraft |
| Appliances | Musical instruments | Tool sheds (that do not attach to or form part of a dwelling |
| Silverware | Hobby tools and other hobby items | Family heirlooms |
| Jewellery | Personal vehicles | Mobile trailers |
| Antiques | Pleasure boats and the trailers to carry them |
Be sure to check out the CBSA site for other specifications that apply to jewellery, wedding gifts, and value limitations. For example, for personal and household items that are worth more than CAN$10,000, you must pay duty and taxes on the amount over CAN$10,000.
Items You Have to Pay Duty
For a vast majority of work tools and equipment, you will have to pay duty when you bring them to Canada. If you’re in doubt about items you are bringing with you, be sure to bring the receipt on your trip.
You will be required to pay duties for most items on this list:
- farm equipment
- equipment you plan to use in:
- contracting
- construction
- manufacturing
- vehicles you plan to use for business
- items you have bought on your way to Canada
- items you have leased or rented (as these are not items that you own).
Goods that are Restricted and Prohibited
There are some goods and items that you cannot bring to Canada. So it’s helpful to know what items are restricted before you arrive. If you bring restricted items, CBSA can seize the items, and you may have to pay penalities, or you may even be prosecuted. You can learn more details about some of the restricted items in the links below:
Health Products and Prescription Drugs
Explosives, Fireworks and Ammunition
Prohibited Consumer Products (for example baby walkers and infant self-feeding devices)
Forms to Declare Goods to Carry and Goods to Follow
A key part of declaring your belongings are these two important forms: BSF186 and BSF186A (also known ad Settler’s Effect Lists.) These forms account for all of your personal belongings that you are bringing to Canada. To save time at the border, you can fill these forms before you arrive in Canada.
1. Form BSF186: Personal Effects Accounting Document
You will use Form BSF186 (also known as Form B4) to keep track of the items you are bringing to Canada at the time of entry. You can complete Form BSF186 before you arrive in Canada. This list will help the border officer determine if you have to pay a duty tax on any of the items you are carrying.
Use this form to:
- List any items that you owned before moving to Canada that you intend to carry
- Present at the first port of entry to a CBSA officer.
2. Form BSF186A: Personal Effects Accounting Document
The BSF186A Form (also known as form B4A) is basically your “goods to follow” list to show what goods will arrive in Canada at a later date. It’s important to complete this form so that you don’t pay a duty tax on any of your belongings that you are shipping. Without this form, you will have to pay duty on items that arrive at a later date.
Your list may be several pages long. So to stay organized, use one page per category
You can also use this list for insurance purposes in case of loss or damage to your goods.
Use this form to:
- List all of your belongings that you are shipping to Canada
- Show the value of your items in Canadian dollars ($CAD).
Listing an item on your Goods to Follow list allows you the right to ship it to Canada, duty-free at any time in the future. However, when hen a customs officer stamps your Goods to Follow list, you cannot add anything to the list.
TIP: Have two copies of both forms. One for the CBSA officer, and one for your records. The CBSA officer will stamp, sign, and assign a file number. Keep the copy of the BSF186A to retrieve your goods to follow when they arrive in Canada.
Claiming Your Goods to Follow
When your goods to follow arrive in Canada, the moving company will notify you. Then you must go to a customs depot and present the original BSF186A to the Canada border services officer. Customs will cross-check your copy of the signed form with theirs to ensure all items are the same. When this is done, you can arrange for the moving company to deliver your belongings to your residence.
The CBSA guidelines can inform you about what you can bring to Canada without paying duty. With this information, you’ll also know what you can bring with you and items that are restricted. This will help you to save money, and avoid bringing any items that are not allowed into Canada.
10 Tips for Shipping Personal Effects
Choosing what personal items to bring, packing them up, and then shipping them safely can seem overwhelming. Where do you begin? Here are 10 things to consider.
1. Bring nostalgic items that are important to you emotionally (i.e., family photos, heirlooms, etc.).
2. Bring items that will be cheaper to ship than to buy new (i.e., furnishings).
3. Leave items that you can replace with new versions in Canada (i.e., appliances, electronics, and items more expensive to ship than to buy new).
4. If your household packing is done by professional movers, they will itemize and label your belongings, making it much easier to unpack at the other end. Ensure that the movers provide you with a detailed packing list as well. If you pack yourself, follow the same method.
5. Check if your freight forwarding company offers shipping only, or if it includes an unpacking service.
6. Ensure you have insurance against loss or damage of your possessions while in transit.
7. Ensure you have the shipping company’s contact details and they have yours.
8. Get recommendations from friends and relatives to find a reliable mover.
9. Bring necessities from home with you on the plane. A word of advice about packing the little things: as it could be some time before you will be in a position to buy day-to-day essential items you need.
10. When your personal effects arrive, you will be required to appear at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) office to collect them. This is a simple procedure; if your papers are in order, there should be no delay.
For more information, tools, and free webinars about living in Canada visit our Settling in Canada resource page. We’ll help you to settle in Canada successfully!
Frequently Asked Questions
Goods to Carry: As a landed immigrant, you are entitled to bring with you, free of duty and taxes, personal and household effects that you own and possess before you arrive in Canada. These may include furniture, furnishings, silverware, linen, books, musical instruments, family heirlooms, paintings etc.
Wherever possible, you should retain the receipts of such goods to prove that they are your personal items and for your personal use. Any valuable jewellery, watches, heirlooms and artwork must be assessed before you arrive.
Canada has complex requirements, restrictions and limits for the importation of meat, eggs, dairy products, honey, fresh fruits and vegetables and other food from around the world. You can avoid problems by not bringing these kinds of goods into Canada.
A wide variety of food is available in Canada, including foods sourced from international markets.
Is there a limit on the amount of personal jewellery that I can bring to Canada?
This is based on the declaration you made when you applied for immigration. You can bring in what you had declared duty-free.
Officers may ask you questions about these items during your customs interview. Make sure you describe these items on your list of goods. To avoid delays at customs when you enter Canada:
On your list of goods, use the wording from your insurance policy or jeweller’s appraisal.
Have photographs of the items.
Know how much you paid for the items or have a receipt showing how much you paid. You do not need to pay duty or tax on family heirlooms.
You can ship your goods to follow in several shipments over a period of time without having to pay duty. However, you must record the items on the “goods to follow” list that the Canada Border Services Agency will stamp when you land in Canada.
There is no time limit to import items on your goods to follow list, free of duties and taxes. As long as you include the items on your list, you can ship them over time years and even decades later. Even if you’re unsure about whether or not you want to ship something, it’s a good idea to include it on your list. You do not have to ship everything that’s on you list.
Brand Storyteller at magicbywords.com, Business Consultant. Dolapo resides in Nigeria and will be attending Centennial College in Toronto, Ontario as a graduate student. He is currently working with SMEs to help fast-track profitability and sustainability via Inspired Innovation Labs.
