Canadians Returning From The USA Now Should Know
Canadians returning from the USA, after living there, expect a return to familiarity. They now face challenges that differ from those encountered by Americans immigrating to Canada for the first time. It isn’t automatically easier just because you’re Canadian.
• Both Americans and returning Canadians must declare their belongings at the border. Returning Canadians benefit from the Settler’s Effects exemption, if they’ve been out of the country for more than a year. Americans moving to Canada may also be eligible for similar exemptions, but only under the right immigration class. However, returning Canadians often get flagged more often for inspection. It is based on the assumption that they “should know the rules.” Be prepared to show proof of how long you’ve been out of Canada, such as a lease agreement or tax filings. Those proofs can have other implications. Canadians moving back from the U.S. must complete a “Personal Effects Accounting Document” (Form BSF186 – see example here) declaring all household goods being6 brought back and provide proof of living outside of Canada for at least one full year. Alternately, GST/HST and duties on goods brought into the country are due.
• Clearing U.S. customs can be one of the most complicated and stressful parts of the move. When you’re leaving the U.S., you’ll need to file forms that declare what you’re taking with you. This includes electronics, furniture, and even personal items, all need to be listed in detail. Missing a single item or failing to follow the proper steps can delay your departure or even cause border problems. The lack of clear guidance on exemptions or reduced duties can present issues. US customs inspection can be lengthy inspections, when officials meticulously check everything. The U.S. side of the border can often be backed up, leading to long wait times, making the process frustrating.
• Bringing a car into Canada from the U.S. is more complex for returning Canadians than it is for Americans moving under permanent residency. Canadians must import their vehicle under Transport Canada regulations, which include:
– Registering the vehicle with the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV)
– Modifying the vehicle to meet Canadian standards (daytime running lights, metric speedometer, etc.), Canadian safety and emissions standards, can be stricter than U.S. regulations.
– Paying import fees and taxes, unless exempt under the returning resident clause
– Americans moving to Canada as new immigrants may be able to import one personal vehicle duty-free under specific conditions. Canadians, there’s often the added wrinkle of having to show that the car was used personally while living abroad to avoid duties.
• Unlike new immigrants, returning Canadians often assume immediate access to provincial health care, but for example, BC requires a wait period of up to 3 months before MSP (Medical Services Plan) kicks in.
Americans moving to Canada are usually more prepared to purchase private insurance, while returning Canadians sometimes overlook this need, assuming their old MSP account reactivates right away (it doesn’t).
• Returning Canadians must re-establish residency to access services like health care, driver’s licensing, and provincial benefits. This can be tricky if you don’t have; a Canadian job lined up, a permanent address, or local utility bills. Americans immigrating usually arrive with formal paperwork and processes guiding them. There are also tax residency complications. Canadian citizens are taxed based on residency, not citizenship. Upon returning, they must re-establish their tax ties (such as a home, healthcare, and provincial driver’s license), and may be subject to deemed residency rules. This can affect income earned while abroad and requires careful coordination with both the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and potentially the IRS to avoid double taxation. Americans immigrating, on the other hand, simply become Canadian tax residents upon arrival.
Moving back, as a Canadian, involves navigating nuanced bureaucratic hurdles that are subtly but significantly different from those faced by Americans immigrating to Canada. Being proactive about customs declarations, health care gaps, and vehicle compliance will help make your return home smoother.
Canadians often fall into a gray area, that is not quite newcomers and not not current residents, making their transition uniquely complex. Bekins Worldwide staff is dedicated to the unique needs of moving between countries all managed from and in Canada. We are here to help your move arrive.
Start Your FREE Destination Report & Quote Now
Canada is a multiculturalism country. When you move to Canada from the USA this difference is key. It is about including the best of each culture, as opposed to melting in. Sharing voices, that respect each other, even in the face of disagreement is the norm. Canada’s size, variety of geography, many time zones and climate, are everyday differences its people accept. Awareness of differences while working together to grow a better future is a work in progress, just as in other countries. Accepting differences, is a Canadian cultural characteristic.
Canada’s population concentrations are typically near the US border. It borders on three oceans, has a variety of mountain ranges and vast parries, so it is truly a super natural place to live. Wilderness tranquility with snowy winters in its far north to its world class cosmopolitan busy cities in its south, are more dimensions to its differences. Vancouver, because of the Pacific Gulf Stream, has a year long mild life style, with communities that will see maybe a week of snow or less many years. Still short daily trips to nearby mountains allow world class skiing or US shopping in Seattle. Toronto and Calgary on another hand, have the full four predictable seasons.
Canada has lakes. More than half the worlds fresh water lakes are in Canada. According to the Canadian government there are over 2 million lakes. Those at McGill University say there are 879,800 lakes, compared to just over 200,000 in Russia or just over 100,000 in the USA. Almost 32,000 of Canada’s lakes are over 3 sq miles in size. Just the Great Lakes alone have a little below 20% of the worlds fresh water (that includes Lake Michigan which is entirely in the USA). The Great Bear lake has about 8% covering in its 31,000 sq km of Canada’s north.
Canada has the third largest oil reserves (behind Venezuela’s three hundred billion barrels, Saudi Arabia’s and over twice Russia’s or five times the US oil reserves).
With just over forty million people and an enormous land mass, Canada features options for opportunities, equality and a natural life style. Living in past grievances or wrongs and fellow humans with problems still exist. Compared to countries where false promises, greed, bullying or violence and corrosion dominate, working together, by accepting, differences is far more the norm in Canada.