Customs duties on furniture and personal items when moving to Canada

If you are thinking about getting a personal residence and setting up a home in Canada or even just moving to Canada, you should consider some facts before you start making your list of items to pack and ship to Canada, as with moving anywhere in the world, there Some things to think about Before you arrive in Canada, you should think about the items you will take with you and the items you will leave behind so that the customs duties and taxes you pay are not large.

Moving personal items and furniture from the UAE to Canada:

If you are a permanent resident of Canada, whether you are an immigrant or a Canadian citizen, you do not need to pay any customs duties on your household and personal effects and furniture, all of which are exempt from taxes and duties, provided that such baggage and furniture were in your possession when you were You live abroad and have been using it for six months prior to arriving in Canada and it cannot be sold or disposed of within 12 months of your arrival in Canada, and if you sell any of these items that you imported within one year of your arrival, you will be required to pay the fee and taxes on items sold.

As for personal items that do not meet the previous condition, they will cost you import duties, such as personal items intended for commercial use or those you purchased on your way to Canada, and there is an assessment limit for these items that are not included in the customs exemption, as the exemption limit for these purposes is $10,000 each, including cars, and any item that exceeds this limit will be subject to duties and taxes.

Antiques that are exempt from duties and taxes, must be more than 100 years old and you must not sell artwork.

Whereas if you are moving to Canada temporarily, your items will only be eligible for duty- and tax-free entry for the period you will remain in Canadian territory until the end of your residence permit.

Tips when shipping personal items and furniture to Canada:

1- "Don't ship more than you need", as volume is one of the main components of shipping costs, so the fewer boxes and furniture you ship, the lower the shipping cost, if you are shipping a full container, it makes sense to fill it because the main cost It is the shipping space and it will not change regardless of the space of the items inside the container, but if your items and furniture need less space than a container, then shared containers are the best solution for you where you pay for the space you occupy only, so the more you use, the more you pay.

2- When importing electrical appliances to Canada, you should only import 110-volt appliances because the power source in Canada is 110 volts, for example, leave behind your main appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, and other appliances that operate with a voltage higher than 110 volts and you can buy what you need from the devices inside Canada to be compatible with the power source there.

3- Prohibited and restricted goods from entering Canada, like any other country, Canada has certain rules and regulations for entering the country, therefore, there are specific items that are prohibited and restricted entry into Canadian territory and it is very important to know about those items, and those items are as follows:

• drugs
• Firearms and Ammunition
• Explosives, including fireworks
• Goods made from endangered species
• live plants

Documents required for customs clearance operations:

• passport
• Proof of residence and duration of stay outside Canada (foreign work permit, a letter from employer, rent receipts, Canadian consulate statement of origin, foreign driver’s license, etc.)
• A complete and detailed inventory of items for import written in either English or French
• Receipts for items purchased outside Canada; proof of ownership requires that items have been used and owned for at least 6 months before returning to Canada, and any personal item valued at less than $10,000 can be imported and is duty-free.
• List of items whose value exceeds $10,000, including vehicles

Advantages of Moving your personal items and furniture to Canada with Al Fares Cargo Services:

• Al Fares Cargo Services provides its customers with distinguished services in shipping and moving furniture, household, and personal items to most cities in Canada, Montreal, Toronto, Quebec, Vancouver, ... and other cities in Canada
• Al-Fares also provides a service of shipping and transporting furniture via sea freight with an independent container or by assembling several shipments in a common container, in addition to air freight for personal items to ensure their speedy arrival.
• A specialized team of technicians in Al-Fares handles all the packing and packaging of home furniture, electrical appliances, and other glass, antiques, and decorations with appropriate and shock-resistant packaging materials that suit the process of cross-border transportation with care and professionalism to ensure safety and full protection of all transported contents.
• Al Fares shipping services to Canada also include organizing the transportation process with the customer in all its steps to ensure that the shipping process runs in all flexibility and correctly, in addition to speed in implementation, competitiveness, and safety while providing insurance services for shipments as requested by the customer.