If you want to take your furniture and other belongings to your new home in Canada then there’s a process you’ll need to follow laid out by Canada Border Service Agency to ship your household goods to Canada – including producing your Goods to Follow list for Canada.
The good news is that as part of your immigration process, Canada allows a one-time duty free import for all your stuff. There are certain limitations and caveats which are explained here, but in general, if you own it, you can import it duty free. I’ll explain the whole process right through, from creating your “Goods to Follow” list to receiving your items in Canada, in this article.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Shipping your household goods to Canada
Step 1: Produce your Goods to Follow list
When you’re getting ready to move to Canada you need to decide what you’re going to take with you personally the first time you enter Canada and what you’re going to send separately. This article covers the process for goods you’re sending separately (i.e. your household goods you’re shipping to Canada) – an overview of what you need to do for the items you’re carrying with you is covered in another article.
Once you’ve decided what you’re going to ship to Canada you need to produce a fairly detailed list of all the items – your Goods to Follow list. See below for what details the Goods to Follow list needs to include.
In addition to your own Goods to Follow list, if you’re using an international mover, they too will produce an inventory of what they pack. This inventory combined with your own Goods to Follow list is what you need for the one-time duty free import.
When we shipped our goods, we needed both lists (our own Goods to Follow list and the movers inventory) because our shipping inventory did not have Canadian dollar values – if yours does then you may only need the shipping inventory.
Step 2: Border agent completes from BSF186
When you arrive in Canada for the first time, as part of the immigration interview conducted by the Canada Border Services Agency, the agent will ask if you are going to be importing any goods – this is where you need your Goods to Follow list and your shipping inventory.
The agent will complete a form called BSF186 for you with the information on your lists. The BSF186 form is what you’ll need when your goods arrive in Canada.
Do I need to complete form BSF186 myself?
No, you do not.
I’ve seen conflicting guidance on the Canada Border Service Agency website about whether you should complete form BSF186 before you arrive in Canada, but we did not complete the form beforehand; the border agent completed the form for us as part of our entry interview.
Step 3: Clear your goods through customs
When your goods arrive in Canada they’ll be held in customs until you get them released.
Your moving company will tell you when your goods are ready to clear customs and email you a Customs Manifest. Print two copies of this Customs Manifest.
At this point you’re now ready to clear your goods through customs. To do so, go to your nearest Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) office which are normally located on international airport sites (you don’t need to make an appointment). You do not need to go to the port where your goods physically are – you can go to any CBSA office.
Take the following documents with you to the CBSA office in order to clear your goods through customs:
- Your stamped BSF186 form and the attached stamped list you got from the border agent when you entered the country.
- Two copies of the Customs Manifest provided by your movers.
- In our instance, the list that the border agent stamped when we entered the country was the shipping inventory so I also took our own Goods to Follow list. In the end I didn’t need this but I’d still recommend that you take it.
- Your Confirmation of Permanent Residency letter or Permanent Resident Card if you have it.
- Passport.
At the CBSA office, the border agent will look over all your paperwork and hopefully everything is in order.
If everything is fine they will stamp one of the Custom Manifests and the BSF186 form (see the big red CLOSED stamp on the BSF186 image above) and hand them back to you.
Your goods have now cleared customs and you can arrange for delivery with your movers. To do this, you need to scan and email your movers a copy of the stamped Customs Manifest – it is this form that shows the shipment has cleared customs and can be released and delivered to you.
When the movers then deliver your goods, you’ll need to give them the original copy of this stamped Customs Manifest for their records.
And you’re done, that’s how you ship your household goods to Canada! You now have all your belongings in Canada.
Keep in mind that this is a one-time allowance, you can’t send some of your belongings initially and then the rest later. If you did you might then have to pay duty on what you’re importing.
How to make your Goods to Follow list for Canada
According to IRCC your Goods to Follow list should have a line for each individual item you’re importing showing the item’s value, make, model and serial number. For the list we produced, we did not have a line item for each individual item but grouped similar items together and gave a combined value for that grouping. We also didn’t include make and model for most things – we only did this where it made sense.
You can get a copy of the Goods to Follow spreadsheet we produced, with all the categories and names, by requesting it below. We’ll send you the excel file so all you need to do is change names to match your stuff.
Here’s a sample of some of the lines from the Goods to Follow list we produced which was accepted by the border agent.
I’d really love to get your copy of the goods spreadsheet if you wouldn’t mind sharing it!
If you just enter your email address in the box in the “How to make your Goods to Follow list for Canada” section then the template you’ll receive is the goods to follow list I used with all the line items still in it. Drop me another message if you don’t get it.
Thank you- I got it now!
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences and the really useful information. I still have one question regarding the GTF list: what method do you use to determine the value of the goods? For example, is it the price you acquired the goods at or perhaps the price at which you would be able to sell/replace the goods today? Thanks!
Hi Catherine,
Sorry for the delay in replying. I personally did the cost that it would be to replace the goods – i.e. if I need to buy a new dining table of similar quality.
Hope this help.
please provide the copy of goods to follow list.
If you enter your email address in the form above the list will be emailed out to you. Cheers.
Hi I have found this very useful and wonder if you can help… We are activating our PR before the due date next week, but moving to Canada from the UK in 2023 do the immigration officers still require a list of goods being shipped eventually at a later date? We have not got that far yet. Thank you for any help.
Hi there, glad you found it useful. When you enter Canada with the declared intention of settling for the first time, as I understand it that’s when you’ll need to present your goods to follow list. Even if you’re not shipping until a later date. Hope that helps.