When you enter Canada, you will have to be inspected by customs. This is an administrative activity that many countries across the world participate in to ensure that dangerous, illegal or otherwise harmful things are not brought into Canada where they may do harm to the country or the people. As a permanent resident, when you come to Canada, you will be required to declare all items that you are bringing with you to live in Canada. People interested in becoming Permanent Residents of Canada should click here for more information.
Items that you do not have to pay a duty tax on are antiques, appliances, books, clothes, furniture, hobby items, jewelry, linens, musical instruments, hobby collections, silverware, or gifts of a value of less than 60 Canadian dollars. Personal vehicles, such as cars, mo-peds, scooters or bicycles are free of duty tax as long as they are not being used for business purposes.
Things you bring that you will have to pay a duty tax on are things that you have rented or leased, things you bought in transit to Canada and business related vehicles (including farm equipment, construction equipment, or manufacturing equipment). Tobacco and alcohol are also things that you will have to pay duty taxes on when entering Canada.
Firearms have special restrictions on them and you should look into the laws specific to your case before entering Canada.
There are also special needs regarding listing jewelry on your list of items. The name of each piece of jewelry should come from either the associated insurance policy or a jeweler’s appraisal. The items should also have photographs. A record of how much you paid for the jewelry should also be listed. Pieces of jewelry which have a history in the family do not need to be taxed for duty.
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