Allie73

If you are going on a short landing trip to Canada, without yet having an actual moving date (though it will be later this year), do you have to provide a Goods to follow list? And if your house hasn't sold yet, how did you account for funds you will eventually be bringing into Canada, and did you do this when you landed or when you arrived for good?

Any tips would be appreciated.
Thanks!

singingringingtree

We took GTF list and the immo officer didn't want to see it. She said to bring it over when we move over in two years. She was only interested in how much we had on us in cash/travellers cheques - was it under the allowance.

chobert

We took our GTF list and it was processed although we were only staying for a short time (approx 10 days). I guess this all may depend on where you land and the immigration team you get? ...

Allie73

Thanks for the replies. It sounds like many things in this process and it all depends on who you get when you get there. I guess we'd better do the list.

TheCanary

A goods to follow list is essential, it will be stamped at customs and this is the list you will show when you eventually arrive. I know it is really hard to judge what you will be taking but i advise you include everything, even if you dont end up taking it. If you dont include things in this list and eventually take them then they may tax you on them.

From my experience it was the list of goods i had on me that they were not too interested in because they knew i was not staying for good on this trip.

I hope that helps.

Allie73

The good news is that we've already decluttered the house in preparation to sell, so most of what's left will be coming with us. So I guess we will just go room by room and make lists.

For things like photo albums and handmade items, how do you put a value on them?

Binty

Hi Allie73

We landed at Halifax last October, stayed a week then returned home until the house sells.
We listed everything in the house, even the items we were unsure about taking. This was stamped and photocopied at customs.
Regarding funds from your house: we had a valuation done, and this along with a mortgage statement was previously submitted with our application.
No one at the airport asked how much money we were carrying and to our surprise no one asked to see our bank statement for proof of landing funds either.

This was our experience at Halifax airport but as you will see; everyones experience differs at different airports. Hope this helps a little.

Binty

singingringingtree

It's good to have a goods to follow list when you land, just in case, but the removal companies we spoke to say they do all that as part of the package anyway.

britsnake

We did our goods to follow when we landed and put on it anything that we could possibly be taking and even had a few boxes listed as Misc household items.

Because I and my wife landed on separate trips, we even had separate goods to follow list.

When we cleared our items through customs, they asked us if this was everything, when we said it was, they closed off our list.

Zoe Bell

With regard to the photo albums and stuff

We put NCV - no commercial value

Allie73

All very helpful. Thank you!

The Scotts

We arrived in Halifax last week. It was only three weeks ago that we found out our passports had been requested, so we had no time to waste as our meds ran out on the 10th March and we had to land by then. We are only over for a couple of weeks so we can go back to sort out our affairs in the UK.

Anyway, we were in the position of having to prepare a 'goods to follow' and 'goods accompanying' list.

It doesn't have to be a comprehensive list - just 'x boxes of kitchen utensils' etc., with an approximate value.

I made sure the list was typewritten with sub-totals and a grand total and I made two copies. The customs officer was delighted that it was easy to understand. She stamped it and took her copy. I also took photographs of high value items, but she said we should keep this for insurance purposes - all she was interested in was whether there was any one item valued at over $10,000.

Our money is being transferred to our NS bank accounts, so this was not an issue either.

Good luck - I don't know where you are heading for, but I would like to think all Provinces are similar.

Stonedog

We landed in Vancouver in 2009 and the Officer wouldn't look at our GTF list at all.

When my goods arrived in Halifax the Immigration Officer there was disgusted that they hadn't properly processed the list when we landed. He was very grumpy and proceeded to go over the whole list with a fine toothed comb, grumbling the whole time

Allie73

I think the most frustrating part of the whole immigration experience is the huge variations in people's experiences. It would be so much easier if there was a set list of rules, regulations and expectations that every immigration officer followed to the letter. Thanks again for your replies.

singingringingtree

I think Vancouver is the most hit and miss place to land. Not only are they inconsistent on goods to follow and proof of funds, some people have had their 'Canadian' addresses for PR cards refused as they are returning home after a landing. The immo officers at the airport seem to differ wildly from each other. As I said, ours wasn't interested in GTF or POF, but was very interested in whether we had criminal records. Or perhaps we just look shifty.