Clearing Canadian Customs

Whether you are visiting for the weekend or moving for good, it’s important to understand the process of clearing customs. There is a list of rules and restrictions that you’re expected to follow when crossing over the border, and it’s up to you to remain aware of all these things before you cross over the border. Below is an overview of the process you’ll be expected to follow when crossing the border. Learn it well and you’ll have no problem getting in.

Declaring Items

There are many items that you must declare when crossing over to the Canadian border. It’s important to be aware of these items when making the transition so you don’t unknowingly avoid declaring something important.

• Gifts – You must declare any gifts that you are going to give to friends within Canada.
• For Sale items – Anything you will sell or get rid of within Canada must be declared when going through customs.
• Medicine – All medications must be declared when crossing the border into Canada, make a list before you leave.
• Cash – You must declare any cash that you bring into Canada over $10,000. There is no limit though.
• Business items – Anything you’re going to use for business purposes in Canada must be declared as well.

Items You Can’t Bring

There are plenty of items that you simply cannot bring into Canada. It’s important to know what these things are so you can avoid being held up in Customs when moving across the border.

• Any fresh fruit at all
• Weapons – Just about any weapon, including tasers, knives, pepper spray, brass knuckles, and more traditional items. It’s possible to bring certain weapons like firearms with the proper permits and licenses.
• Lude or obscene material – You cannot bring child pornography or hate propaganda into Canada. The customs agents can inspect your computer and other electronic devices for these things.
• Dirty camping gear- your gear must be free of pests and soil when dispatching it.
• Live bait – You’ll need a special permit to bring certain types of live bait over the border.

What You Can Bring for Free

In general, you can bring objects that you intend to personally use while in Canada for free without paying any duty taxes on them. This rule applies to visitors who won’t be staying forever. If you’ll be staying in Canada for good some belongings such as your vehicle will be subject to duty taxes, while things like clothing can be brought in without issue.

A Vehicle Inspection

If you say that you don’t have any items to declare to the customs agent, and the agent does not believe you, you will likely be pulled aside for an inspection. During this process, the inspector will look over your vehicle for any items that must be declared during the border crossing. Any declared items will result in a duty tax that can make your trip more expensive overall.

If you do all the following things you shouldn’t have any trouble getting into Canada. You may or may not have to pay duty taxes and fees when making the transition across the border, but for most things they’re affordable, so make sure you declare your objects and avoid any slowdowns from things like an inspection.

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