*Please note all vehicles imported from overseas going into Canada must be 15 years or older.
Import into Canada
To import a vehicle from overseas into Canada, the vehicle must be 15 years or older based on the month and year of manufacture at the time it lands on Canadian Soil. If the vehicle does not meet the age requirement, Canada Customs will not admit the unit into Canada. At this point, the vehicle must either be destroyed or returned to the shipper.
Prior to importing, we highly suggest you review the age requirements as well as Contact Transport Canada to confirm the admissibility of the vehicle. You can reach Transport Canada at 1.800.333.0371.
Documents Required
Once you are ready to import the vehicle, we require copies of the following documents:
1) Bill of sale OR invoice showing shipment value
The bill of sale must list the sellers and buyers full name, address and phone number.
2) Foreign Export Certificate (also known as registration or de-registration)
This document must include the year, make, model and month/year of manufacture for the vehicle
3) Fully translated English export certification
4) Bill of lading
6) A copy of your Canadian Passport or Canadian Drivers Licence
We don’t need your original documents to process your clearance but you should have your seller send all original documents to you.
Fees
If your vehicle is being imported by Container you will be subject to destuffing/drayage charges from either BorderBuddy or your delivery agent. The destuffing fee is a fee for loading or unloading product into or out of the container. These rates will vary depending on who is handling the delivery but usually range for $350.00 – $500.00 per vehicle.
You can be charged port Storage/Container Demurrage fees which are simply fees for late pick up of your vehicle from the ports warehouse area. In most cases these additional charges are avoidable by sending your paperwork prior to the arrival of the vessel. These charges can occur due to the following reasons: CBSA (Canadian Border Service Agency) related delays, port appointment or carrier availability, warehouse availability.
The Import Process
After the ship lands in Canada, the containers are discharged & CBSA does a soil exam on each vehicle. CBSA will detain vehicles that they deem dirty for washing at the Importer’s expense. Soil exams can take up to 2 weeks to complete & port storage is not uncommon if delays occur.
When the soil exam is complete next steps include (in no specific order):
- We collect all required payment and submit the file to CBSA for clearance
- The container moves to the warehouse
- The warehouse destuff’s the container (unloads)
- The paperwork goes to CBSA for final submission
Once we have received final clearance with CBSA the following will happen:
- We will notify the Port/Warehouse of release and confirm they have all their releases in order
- The port/warehouse will confirm release and we will make arrangements with either the importer or their carrier to remove the vehicle from the Port/Warehouse
- Your broker receives stamped copies of the documents from CBSA and copies are sent to the importer