Driving a Mexican Car to Canada

Driving a Mexican Car to Canada

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We are looking at driving our Mexican car to Canada this summer to sell our house, pick up our belongings and return to the PV area. We will be gone about 4 months. My question is: Has anyone here done this while still having Residency in Canada. We are currently Canadian residents however by the time we go north we will have been out of the county for more than 186 days which by Customs says we are not residents. We have permanent resident status here in Mexico, own our own home here, have a Mexican car here as well. There is so much conflicting information from the two dept of the Canadian government ( Customs & CRA) concerning this I really don't have a clue what to believe. CRA says the if your own a home, have financial ties ( i.e.: credit card investment , employment etc.) that you are residents. I really don't want to drive all the way to the Canadian border to have some customs guy refuse to let us in. Any input from someone in a similar situation would be greatly appreciate

Aaron+

Mar 9, 2015, 12:17 PM

Post #2 of 11 (9544 views)

Re: [waynejaba] Driving a Mexican Car to Canada

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Am not Canadian, however, am curious why you believe Canadian customs would bar your or your car's entry into Canada. Presumably you still have Canadian passports, no?

Mar 16, 2015, 8:15 PM

Post #3 of 11 (9455 views)

Re: [waynejaba] Driving a Mexican Car to Canada

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This happened 3 years ago. My daughter and I (Canadians) were driving her mother-in-law’s (American) truck into Canada from the U.S. and we were refused entry. I mean, *we* would have been allowed to enter, but not the truck. I don’t think it had anything to do with our residency*, but it was because we were Canadians trying to ‘import’ a foreign vehicle, and we weren’t allowed to do that. We argued that it wasn’t our vehicle, and we had the owner’s permission (in writing) to take it into Canada, and she was soon coming to pick it up and take it back to the U.S., but all that was deemed irrelevant.
The solution to the problem was to get my daughter’s (American) husband to join us and drive his mother’s truck across the border. He had a student visa for Canada at the time. The next day we tried to cross again with him at the wheel, and they waved us through. Didn’t even ask whether the truck was his or not.
So based on our experience, you might have a problem, because several of the relevant parameters (Canadians wanting to drive a foreign vehicle into Canada) are the same. In your case, it is your car, whereas the truck didn’t belong to us, but I’m not sure whether that would make a difference.

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*But in case it matters, my daughter: resident of Canada; me: resident of Mexico (deemed non-resident of Canada).

(This post was edited by Maesonna on Mar 16, 2015, 8:26 PM)

Mar 16, 2015, 8:36 PM

Post #4 of 11 (9448 views)

Re: [waynejaba] Driving a Mexican Car to Canada

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Also, are you sure about Canadian Customs considering you non-residents because you have been out of the country more than 186 days? CRA has a different standard, according to which determining non-residency is more complex than simply time out of the country – but I don’t know whether CBSA uses the CRA criteria or has their own standard.
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Edited to add: Oh, sorry, I see you already referred to this in your post. Anyway, I think you would be non-residents by both CRA and CBSA standards. Would that make your experience different from ours, since in our case, my daughter was a resident of Canada? That’s a big unknown.

(This post was edited by Maesonna on Mar 16, 2015, 8:51 PM)

Mar 27, 2015, 4:27 PM

Post #5 of 11 (9322 views)

Re: [Maesonna] Driving a Mexican Car to Canada

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It has nothing to do with residency. A Canadian cannot drive a foreign plated car in Canada. Very illegal. There are some strange exceptions but they do not apply to you. Doesn't matter if you have been out of the country one hour or 40 years. The car would have to be imported into Canada. I don't know if the above would apply if you became a Mexican Citizen.

(This post was edited by Moisheh on Mar 27, 2015, 4:30 PM)

rvgringo

Mar 28, 2015, 10:09 AM

Post #6 of 11 (9267 views)

Re: [Moisheh] Driving a Mexican Car to Canada

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The OP might have to leave the car at a storage facility in the USA and take a bus or plane into Canada. Then might have to use a rental vehicle to transport household goods to the USA, where the car is stored. Could that work?

Mar 28, 2015, 11:52 AM

Post #7 of 11 (9256 views)

Re: [rvgringo] Driving a Mexican Car to Canada

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Of course that would work. Sure a lot of work. No wonder many people just sell their "stuff" and buy new or used in Mexico.

Moisheh

Mar 28, 2015, 4:36 PM

Post #8 of 11 (9232 views)

Re: [Moisheh] Driving a Mexican Car to Canada

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Good News:
Certain conditions must be met for the temporary importation of a non-Canadian vehicle by a Canadian resident: only for the purpose of transporting the resident’s household or personal effects into or out of Canada, or for personal transportation as a result of an emergency or unforeseen contingency. In either case, the vehicle cannot be used within Canada for leisure, personal or commercial use.

Moisheh

Mar 31, 2015, 2:34 PM

Post #9 of 11 (9138 views)

Re: [Moisheh] Driving a Mexican Car to Canada

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Interesting to know that, since in our case we were bringing the non-Canadian vehicle precisely and for the purpose of transporting the resident’s (my daughter’s) household and personal effects into Canada. And the customs authorities knew that, since we told them the whole story when they stopped us from crossing with the vehicle. But they never gave us any indication that that was a condition that would allow the vehicle to be temporarily imported.

Mar 31, 2015, 2:55 PM

Post #10 of 11 (9133 views)

Re: [Maesonna] Driving a Mexican Car to Canada

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There is a little more to this. I would not cross at a small crossing. I think you have to sign a whole bunch of papers and may even have to leave some type of deposit. Call the info line for full details.

Moisheh

Mar 31, 2015, 3:01 PM

Post #11 of 11 (9129 views)