Hi,
I already have my PR card and plan to move permanently from Chicago to Toronto in Jan 2021. I have a few household items like furniture, utensils, etc. that I had on my goods to follow list and I plan to bring them along with me. Will I be allowed to enter Canada with a U Haul van if I am agreeing to the quarantine requirements? I’ll be moving the stuff myself and do not plan to hire professionals. Would that be of concern to CBP in these COVID times?
I remember reading about CBSA officers asking about arrangments to return a rental vehicle. Given the U-Haul is rented on a per-day basis, you might wanna consider the cost for being stuck with the rental for 14 days if the officer suggests that you may not leave quarantine to even return your vehicle.
Understood, that’s a good point. I guess we just have to convince the officer that the drop-off wont involve meeting any person and with the keys will be dropped off at a drop-off box. I am sure the same would apply if I am just hiring a car and driving to Cananda
We moved from Chicago to Toronto in Sep 2020 and crossed the border via Sarnia (Blue Water Bridge). We did not have a U-Haul but a rental Dodge Grand Caravan.
The officers at the border did not ask any further questions when we told them that this is a renal car.
You can just do a contact less drop off (Make sure you call the drop off location before actually picking up the car/truck).
PS: Make sure you have a detailed Quarantine plan in place (take 2 print outs just in case).
Feel free to get in touch via DM if you have any further questions!
All the best!
I moved from New York to Toronto two weeks back in a car rental and I had a smooth interaction with the border agent. He actually didn’t ask any follow up questions after I told him it was a car rental. You can email IRCC at IRCC.Agent-Agent.IRCC@cic.gc.ca before you move… they typically respond in 2-3 weeks. When I emailed them, they said “Yes, you may enter Canada by private vehicle.”
Thanks a lot for sharing your experience
Hi !! I am planning to move to Canada from usa permanently in January end.I have few questions.
1.what things should I take care of before leaving US?
2.where did u stayed for quarantine period? If air bnb around Toronto or waterloo , is it possible to share its name with me?
3.what things do u suggest to bring from usa for initial 6 months? I know we get everything, but I am coming on right budget with family of 4, so just want to bring things from usa if they are cheap in usa?
4.which cellular plan u used?
5. Which bank is good for newcomer ? Where I can open account from usa ?
Thank you in advance
I can give it a try:
1.what things should I take care of before leaving US? Extremely difficult to answer.
2.where did u stayed for quarantine period? If air bnb around Toronto or waterloo , is it possible to share its name with me? AirBnb. You cannot have shared kitchen and bathroom. Let the host know that you are traveling from the USA and will need to be quarantined.
3.what things do u suggest to bring from usa for initial 6 months? I know we get everything, but I am coming on right budget with family of 4, so just want to bring things from usa if they are cheap in usa? Not sure, pretty much everything is cheaper in the USA. May be warm clothes??!!
4.which cellular plan u used? Fido- 8GB per month for 50CAD, unlimited call and text.
5. Which bank is good for newcomer ? Where I can open account from usa ? Mine is TD. The manager was pretty helpful.
We recently moved to Toronto like couple of weeks ago. My answers are going to be purely based on my own experience and some of them might not fit for your situation or might have better solution. So please make your own decision during this move.
[Actually Moving to Canada: My Experience and Things you need to do]
we stayed in our newly leased condo during our quarantine without any issues. Showed the lease agreement to the border officer. He asked a few questions about groceries and utensils. Luckily we travelled by a suburban rental carrying all our essential kitchen utensils and bedding.
I heard car is quite expensive. And Also electronics and furniture seems to be expensive too. So please plan out in case you are planning to upgrade your TV or furniture. Please do so in US itself and ship it so that you could save a lot of initial setup costs here.
we got our SIM cards delivered to our door during quarantine from Rogers and we have taken a plan with two lines for 70 CAD for one and 45 cad for another with 15GB combined data at 5G speed but regular speeds after that unlimited data, calling and texting in Canada.
I opened a Tangerine checking account online and it must be activated after quarantine. They have association with scotia bank and so can withdraw from Scotiabank Atm. I also opened RBC savings account from US and booked an appointment for opening a checking account after our quarantine.
Hope this helps.
Hi @sidmahajan. Would love to connect with you - we’re based out of Chicago too and are planning to make the move to Toronto in the next couple of months.
I use Fido mobile as well 