List of Goods - Landing...

[ambar]

ok sorry for sounding stupid, but just so I understand, the form that Allison provided the link for is the one my husband would have to fill it when he lands, which would have to list everything in his suitcase? So if it was just mainly clothes, he would put "clothes" and state the value of them?

Am I correct?

 

[heatherusa]

I numbered my boxes then in a word document made a table and did things lik;
Box One - [overall weight]
40 CDs - [value]
3 Stuffed Toys -[value]
5 Photo Albums - [value]

And so on and so forth I landed at the montanna(?) alberta border and the guy had no issues with it, he took a copy of all 11! pages of it and stuck a barcode on it it. Because he only had 6 barcodes he had to write the number on a lot of the pages (hehehe)
I also put the values as what i'd be able to re-sell them for as most CD's and DVD's weren't worth anything re-sale wise and my shipping companies a bit dodgy so i didnt want to risk boxes going 'missing' because they had high value. I also didn't list any serial numbers (didn't realise until i left the country and boxes were packed!) and i had a box with a cheapo necklace and a charm bracelet that i listed as jewlery with a low value, the immigration guy never mentioned it being a problem so we'll see what customs thinks..
Im now waiting on my boxes to get here from england so i can't help with if anyones opened my boxes to check, but i shall report back in about 2 months when they get here! Lol

I came across Montana/Alberta - Sweetwater/Coutts to be exact.

They really gave me no issue at all... of course I am a returning Cdn. The guy did make me write everything I had (4 page handwritten list of goods) on to the actual form and assign it a value - so make sure you know how much everything is worth.

I listed my clothes as "womens used clothes" and gave each box a value of about 25 dollars... garage sale values

 

[heatherusa]

ok sorry for sounding stupid, but just so I understand, the form that Allison provided the link for is the one my husband would have to fill it when he lands, which would have to list everything in his suitcase? So if it was just mainly clothes, he would put "clothes" and state the value of them?

Am I correct?

yes

 

[ambar]

Thanks Heather

 

[giggles1985]

Oh good there's a current thread about this. I have a question.

I am shipping a few (4-5?) boxes via a parcel carrier (DHL, FedEx?) to meet me in Canada. I understand that I will have to fill out a "goods to follow" form for customs and blah blah but I also made myself some bright green labels that gives the box a number (to correspond to the number on the form) lists a description of what is inside and the value in CAD. Sounds like a couple other people here did something similar... but I'm shipping via a parcel carrier. Do you think such a label will make it more likely to be stolen?? The values will be low, of course, but I do have a computer that I will be listing...

Opinions and input?

 

[Silver_Spirit]

I'd do it, but make sure its insured, cause you never know eh?

Oh im soooo trusting after this process lmfao

 

[ambar]

OK.. another question for you guys, the cash that you have on you, like my husband isn't bringing alot with him maybe around $500.00, I know it says you only have to declare if you have over 10, 000 CDN with you. But how do they verify that? Do they wanna see any bank statements of anything?

 

[giggles1985]

Er, also, what happens if you DO have over $10k CAD on you >.>
Do cashiers/travelers checks count or are they just concerned with cash?

 

[Kess]

Er, also, what happens if you DO have over $10k CAD on you >.>
Do cashiers/travelers checks count or are they just concerned with cash?

I'm guessing you'd probably just get asked a lot of questions. The reason for 10k and above to be declared is to keep tabs on money laundering and drug activity. Most people don't have that much cash on them unless they have a good reason (or illegal activity). If you are moving to Canada as an immigrant, that's a legitimate reason to have money. I am not sure on bank accounts, since you would only need to declare the money when it crossed the border (such as a money transfer).

Here's what i found so far:
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5052-eng.html

 

[giggles1985]

Great link, thanks!

 

[boyee6576]

I just want to make sure I got this straight. My husband is not having any goods to follow, just two suitcases and a carry on. So he has to tell whats in his luggage and value, and does he get this form on the plane?

I apologize in advance if this was asked before, I am running on not much sleep thinking my husband will be here shortly.

 

[giggles1985]

No, you have to prepare it ahead of time. Print the form from the link and fill it out. http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pbg/cf/b4a/b4a-05b.pdf Then fill out another one if you have goods to follow as well.

The customs card you are given on the plane is different. Here's an example of the customs card:
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pbg/cf/e311/e311-eng08-04.pdf


Not entirely sure about this but, I think if you have less than $50 worth of stuff on you, you don't have to fill out the other goods list at all. Just the customs card. Or maybe that only applies to returning residents, not new ones?

 

[boyee6576]

Thanks so much for the information it will really help my husband out alot and to see the form that he will get on the plane is extremely helpful. He can be well prepared in advanced with this as he might be confused with the customs form you get on the plane. That being said I have two questions about that form.
1. It says your home address. Is that his Indian address, or his new canadian address?

2. Duration of stay. What would he put there?

 

[can_usa_97]

I labeled and numbered every box and made a list as I packed. I was sure that they would want to look at my belongings at the border. My nightmare scenario had them looking at my list and saying that they wanted to see the contents of box number ## and I would have to dig through the uhaul truck looking for the box. OR they would take it all out to look at my stuff and I would have to put it all back by myself!!

I showed my 5 page (no kidding) list of boxes, bins, and furniture to the customs agent and asked for his help in filling the form. I made categories like housewares, kitchen items, clothes, books etc and basically made up the values for each category. I had no idea how to determine the value. He asked that I list "costume jewelry" separately from other accessories, but other than that he said what I wrote was fine.

When I crossed the border with my goods to follow at almost midnight at Lewiston/Queenston on a Sunday in a snowstorm. The customs agent asked if I had anything in the truck that was not on my list. He asked if there was anything else I needed to bring that was already on the list (Yes, my car). He stamped the form, and that was it. He never even opened the truck.

So if I am reading this right. All the work you did wasn't really 'needed'.
I've done exactly what it appears you did. I have around 100 boxes already done up this way. However, we have to pack up the rest of our house yet, which is really most of our things. (I packed my scrapbooking things, extra cups, baby clothes, ect) I think I'll probably do this still regardless. When we move, we'll live with SIL/MIL and SILs hubby/3 kids for a while -so it'll be nice to just reference back and store things in the same area anyhow.

I guess my question is did they look at it?
Maybe I'll do two versions.

 

[AllisonVSC]

I guess my question is did they look at it?
Maybe I'll do two versions.

I'm not sure what is meant by your question can_usa. Did they look at my list? Yes, to offer guidance in filling the form. Did they look at my actual goods? No, but it was late at night and snowing heavily...he may have just been lazy, I don't know. It was the same agent who'd helped my fill the form before and he remembered me (and probably my long list too, lol).

It was helpful when moving in to have the boxes labeled though! So I knew what could go straight into storage in the garage (craft supplies, etc) and what I wanted to open to settle in (pots and pans, etc). If you are going to be living with in laws it may be helpful for you to continue labeling the boxes. I'm sure there is a lot that will stay boxed until you settle into your own home.