Visiting a Canadian port - then returning to US...flying back to Canada

[Yukonbear]

I will be travelling on the Caribbean Princess next month on the NY to Halifax, back to NY 7 day cruise. When we arrive in Saint John, NB do we have to declare what we have purchased in the US? The second part of the question is when I return to Canada after the cruise is over how long of en exemption can I claim? The obvious answer would be 2 days (we have 1 sea day after leaving Halifax) but it is really a 7 day cruise starting from NY so I would like to say I have been away for a week.

 

Thanks for the help

 

Graham

[maryann ns]

I hope someone with experience replies. So you are Canadian, flying to New York and then cruising from there to Canada and back. Do i have that right?

 

Since you are not leaving the ship in Saint John (only for a day trip) you will not be bringing goods into Canada at this point.

 

As for the time you have been out of Canada, they will probably count the nights away and not the nights in Canadian ports. However this is just a quess and if it were me and I wondered what my duty free allowance was going to be I would contact the government with my itineray all listed for them.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/contact/general-generaux-eng.html

 

Good luck!

[Twickenham]

Well... isn't that a bloody good question?????:confused:

 

Seriously? I wouldn't trust any answer (including mine :) ) that didn't come straight from Canada Customs... and whatever it is, get it in writing!

[Twickenham]

Since you are not leaving the ship in Saint John (only for a day trip) you will not be bringing goods into Canada at this point.

 

See, that's the problem: you are leaving the ship, if only for a day, and you can bring goods into Canada, regardless of whether you will or not...

 

And, as the difference in exemptions for 48hr-trips and 7-day ones is pretty big, it is a major issue...

[Putterdude]

Your situation is much the same a Canadian going to Alaska out of Seattle and stopping in Victoria and then returning to Seattle ... when you stop any goods you have are staying aboard a foreign flagged ship and you are going on a closed jaw cruise that begins and ends in the US...I seriously doubt that you are going to have any problems with your 7 day exemption.

[Yukonbear]

Thank you for your advice. Not that I am planning on doing this but I could go to a post office in Halifax and ship any goods back to London (Ontario) without going though Canadian customs. I am a bit reluctant to contact customs as they may just flag me when I come back across the border.

 

I am going to take the position that I have been on a cruise out of NY for 1 week - so out of Canada for a week. Hopefully I have a nice agent.

 

Thanks again everyone for your help

[Twickenham]

So... this question really piqued my curiosity. So I mosied on to the CBSA website, found an e-mail address via which to send a question, and figured, hey, what the heck.

 

Here is the response I got:

 

Thank you for your inquiry regarding personal exemptions and the length of absence from Canada.

 

Please note that in order to qualify for the 7-day exemption, a traveller must have been absent from Canada continuously during the prescribed period.

 

If a traveller re-enters Canada at any time during their trip, they would no longer be considered absent from Canada and would be entitled only to the exemption based on the time they actually spent abroad.

 

Once a traveller exits Canada to continue their trip, a new absence period will start, and the traveller would then be eligible for another exemption based on that absence.

 

So, it is as I suspected: you could only take the 48-hour exemption, but you can take it twice! Which means, you are allowed $400 twice, for a total of $800, instead of $750, the 7-day exemption.

[Yukonbear]

This is very interesting - so I could double my limit of alcohol coming back. I just don't know if I have the moxie to do that at the border. Somehow I see be added to a special list for extra attention for future visits.

 

Thank you for sending a note

[KENANDPAT]

Last year we did a cruise from LA to Vancouver 7 days. Our first Canadian port was in Victoria and there was no customs stop, no declaration forms. The next day we disembarked in Vancouver and were treated as if we had just re-entered Canada for the first time.

 

I don't know about the east coast, don't know if you have to go through customs when you port in St. John or Halifax.

[LeftcoastBC]

Interesting Question. I agree the technical answer is you lose your longer time exemption. But how would they know or care ? :)

 

That being said if you were interested in just booze you could indeed try the TWO (2) 48's. Just make sure your receipt for one set of them predates your landing in NB.

[Ephraim]

I called customs (and waiting 30 minutes for them to actually answer the phone).

 

Officially, you aren't out of the country 7 days, just 48 hours, but it's up to the agent on his/her/its discretion to make that call. Unofficially... they have twits answer the phones who have no real-life experience but are just told to answer questions and don't know how to transfer it to an agent who could really answer the question.

[Yukonbear]

Thanks for all the digging your guys did. I did send an email to CRA and got the usual response. I think they just copy and paste.

 

I think I can bag the double alcohol exemption but then I would have to arrange for shipping in Halifax...is it really worth it. I don't think so.

 

Thank you for your inquiry regarding personal exemptions and the length of absence from Canada.

Please be advised that in order to qualify for the 7 day exemption, you must be absent from Canada continuously during the prescribed period.

If at any time during your trip to the United States, you re-enter Canada, you will no longer be considered absent from Canada and you will be entitled only to the exemption based on the time you actually spent abroad, i.e. 48-hours. Please see the publication "I Declare" for additional information on exemption periods:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5056-eng.html#s2x8

Once you exit Canada to continue your trip in the United States, a new absence period will start and you may then be eligible for another exemption based on that absence.

Please note that in order to avail yourself of the first applicable exemption, any purchases you plan on bringing into Canada under this exemption must accompany you upon your re-entry to Canada. You then have the option of shipping those goods back to your home in Canada or bringing them back to the United States temporarily in order to continue your trip.

If you are planning on taking the declared goods back to the United States, please ensure that you obtain a written proof of your declaration for those goods from the border services officer. This is necessary in order for you to be able to re-import these goods back into Canada duty and tax free. The officer may document your goods on Form E24-Personal Exemption CBSA Declaration or Form B15-Casual Goods Accounting Document indicating the applicable exemption. Both documents will have to list your declared goods in detail for adequate identification upon your subsequent return into Canada. To assist the officer in identifying the declared items, it is advisable that you prepare a detailed list of all the goods imported under the first exemption that you intend to bring back into Canada at the end of your trip. At that time, those goods would be considered to be Canadian goods returning and no duty and taxes will apply. Once the first set of goods is declared and documented, you may also obtain form Y38-Identification of Articles for Temporary Exportation for items that have serial numbers or other identifying marks. Please note that the officer may also choose to mark some of your declared items with a sticker or a stamp for identification purposes.

Should you have additional questions, you may contact the Border Information Service (BIS) line. You can access BIS free of charge throughout Canada by calling 1-800-461-9999. If you are calling from outside Canada, you can access BIS by calling 204-983-3500 or 506-636-5064 (long-distance charges will apply). If you call during regular business hours (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.. local time, Monday to Friday), you can speak directly to an agent by pressing "0" at any time.

Thank you for contacting the Canada Border Services Agency.

[PennyAgain]

If you want to mail things home from a Canadian port, do not take the things off the ship packed in a shipping box! Take them off it a backpack or tote bag.

[Putterdude]

Last year we did a cruise from LA to Vancouver 7 days. Our first Canadian port was in Victoria and there was no customs stop, no declaration forms. The next day we disembarked in Vancouver and were treated as if we had just re-entered Canada for the first time.

 

The reason you weren't checked by Canadian Customs is because they have had a manifest of who is on that ship from the moment it left California. But if you think about that for a moment they also know who got off the ship in Vancouver. What comes into play here is it really worth Canada Customs effort to collect the few dollars duty on a bottle of liquor or what might be the duty on a few hundred dollars of purchases....the answer is no. There main interest is keeping undesirables out of the country and of course drugs.

[LeftcoastBC]

Y Bear...

 

So now we all know.

 

Thks