Moving from Canada to the UK (2026): Complete Guide

Canada to the United Kingdom is one of the most travelled relocation corridors in the world, built on family ties, work transfers, study and returning UK citizens. But a move is really two customs journeys stitched together: the export/departure side in Canada, governed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), and the import/arrival side in Great Britain, governed by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and Border Force. This guide walks through both halves in order, plus a short note on the reverse move. It is written for a resident of Canada — a citizen, permanent resident or long-term visa holder — shipping a household of used personal effects to England, Scotland or Wales.

Key takeaways

• Your UK immigration status (visa, settled status or British citizenship) is what unlocks duty-and-VAT-free import through Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief — you must have lived outside the UK for at least 12 consecutive months to qualify (GOV.UK).
• On the Canadian side, exports are handled by the CBSA through the Canadian Export Reporting System (CERS); a declaration is generally required for non-restricted goods valued at CAD $2,000 or more going to a non-US destination (CBSA).
• Household effects of an emigrant are specifically excluded from the standard "no declaration required" personal-effects exemption, so your mover may need to file a CERS export declaration for your shipment (CBSA Memorandum D20-1-1).
• Leaving Canada can trigger a departure tax (deemed disposition of certain assets) once you sever residential ties and become a non-resident for income-tax purposes (CRA).
• You must apply on the ToR1 form before your goods arrive and quote customs procedure code 40 00 C01 on the UK import declaration (GOV.UK ToR1).
• Pets from Canada travel on a Great Britain pet health certificate (GBHC) and must enter within 10 days of it being issued, after microchip, rabies vaccination (min. 21 days wait) and — for dogs — tapeworm treatment (GOV.UK).
• Carrying CAD $10,000 or more out of Canada must be declared to the CBSA before you leave (CBSA); carrying £10,000 or more into Great Britain must be declared to Border Force (GOV.UK).
• A car imported into the UK must be notified to HMRC through NOVA within 14 days of arrival before it can be registered with the DVLA (GOV.UK).

1. Your UK status decides your customs treatment

Before any container is booked, settle one question: on what basis will you be resident in the UK? The answer determines whether your household goods enter duty- and VAT-free. HMRC’s Transfer of Residence relief is available to people transferring their normal place of residence to Great Britain who have lived outside the UK for at least 12 consecutive months before the move, and who bring their goods in within 12 months of arriving (GOV.UK). This covers British citizens returning home, and foreign nationals relocating for work or family with a valid visa or settled status.

The relief applies to genuine used household and personal effects — furniture, clothing, books, appliances — plus private vehicles and pleasure craft, provided most items have been owned and used for at least six months. Brand-new goods, and alcohol and tobacco, are excluded (GOV.UK). Without approved ToR relief, the same shipment is treated as a standard import and exposed to UK import VAT (20%) and any duty — so the immigration paperwork and the customs paperwork must move together.

2. The Canada export side

The authority. Exports from Canada are administered by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). There is no municipal "population register" to deregister from in Canada as there is in the Nordics — the leaving process is a tax matter with the CRA, not a registration matter.

Export declaration. Commercial goods leaving Canada are reported through the Canadian Export Reporting System (CERS), which replaced the old paper B13A form. A declaration is generally required for non-restricted goods valued at CAD $2,000 or more destined for any country other than the United States (CBSA). Household moves sit in a grey area worth understanding: CBSA Memorandum D20-1-1 exempts non-restricted personal and household effects other than those of an emigrant that are not for resale or commercial use from reporting — meaning the effects of someone leaving Canada permanently are carved out of that exemption and can require a declaration (CBSA D20-1-1). In practice your international mover or freight forwarder files any required CERS declaration on your behalf; confirm they are doing so rather than assuming your shipment is exempt.

Tax-residency exit. This is the step most people underestimate. When you leave Canada to settle abroad and sever your residential ties, you become an emigrant — a non-resident for income-tax purposes — on the latest of the date you leave, the date your family leaves, or the date you become resident in the new country (CRA). On departure the CRA can apply a deemed disposition, or departure tax: you are treated as having sold certain property at fair-market value, and taxable gains are reported in your final part-year return. Registered accounts such as RRSPs and TFSAs, Canadian real estate and some other assets are excluded from the deemed disposition (CRA). File your final return marking your date of departure, and take professional advice if you hold investments — this is where surprise bills come from.

Currency. If you physically carry CAD $10,000 or more (cash or monetary instruments) out of the country, you must report it to the CBSA before you leave, using form E677 for personal funds; non-declaration can lead to seizure (CBSA).

3. Ports and transit times

Most Canada-to-UK household shipments leave from the Port of Montreal or the Port of Halifax on the Atlantic coast; West-coast households often route through the Port of Vancouver, though that adds a longer ocean leg. Air freight and accompanied excess baggage typically move through Toronto Pearson (YYZ), Montréal-Trudeau (YUL) or Vancouver (YVR). On the UK side, sea containers usually arrive at Felixstowe, Southampton or London Gateway, and air freight at Heathrow.

The following transit times are freight-industry estimates, not official government figures, and they exclude packing, customs clearance and final delivery:

• Sea freight (East-coast Canada → UK): roughly 2–4 weeks port-to-port, plus 1–3 weeks either side for collection, consolidation, clearance and delivery.
• Sea freight (West-coast Canada → UK): typically longer, often 5–7 weeks port-to-port.
• Air freight: commonly a few days to about a week in transit, plus handling and clearance.

Treat any single quoted number with caution — sailing schedules, container availability and customs queues all move the real date.

4. The UK import side

The gateway document is the ToR1 application. You apply online to HMRC before your goods arrive, submitting a list of items (grouped by category), your passport photo page, proof of your new UK address, proof of your previous overseas address, and — if relevant — vehicle or pet details (GOV.UK ToR1). HMRC reviews the claim and, when approved, issues a ToR approval reference. That approval feeds the customs entry: you or your agent declare the goods using customs procedure code 40 00 C01, which is how the relief is actually claimed and duty and VAT relieved at the border (GOV.UK ToR1).

Because ToR approval takes time and is required before clearance, apply as early as possible — well before your container sails, not after it lands. Your removals company or a customs broker normally lodges the import declaration against your ToR reference; alcohol and tobacco are excluded and are handled separately from the relief (GOV.UK).

5. Pets

Canada → Great Britain. Dogs, cats and ferrets can enter GB without quarantine only if every step is completed in the right order and to the right timing (GOV.UK):

1. Microchip first — it must be implanted before the rabies vaccination.
2. Rabies vaccination — you must then wait at least 21 full days after the (first) vaccination before travelling.
3. Great Britain pet health certificate (GBHC) — because Canada is not on the EU pet-passport scheme, your pet travels on a GBHC signed by an official veterinarian, and must enter Great Britain within 10 days of it being issued (GOV.UK).
4. Tapeworm treatment (dogs only) — administered by a vet no less than 24 hours and no more than 5 days before arrival.
5. Approved route and carrier — most pets from Canada must arrive as manifest air cargo on an approved route; banned breeds cannot enter without a valid Certificate of Exemption (GOV.UK).

Get the sequence wrong and your animal can be held in quarantine for up to four months, so book the vet timeline backwards from your flight.

Reverse (UK → Canada). The UK is treated by Canada as a rabies-free country, which changes what the CFIA asks for at the Canadian border; requirements differ by animal type and age, and CFIA publishes an interactive tool to confirm the exact paperwork (CFIA).

6. Vehicles, money and things people forget

Vehicles. Bringing a car into the UK is not just shipping metal. You must tell HMRC about the imported vehicle through the Notification of Vehicle Arrivals (NOVA) service within 14 days of it arriving; until NOVA is complete you cannot register or licence the vehicle with the DVLA and will not receive a V5C or plates (GOV.UK). A private car can be listed on your ToR1 so that import VAT and duty are relieved, but it still has to meet UK registration and roadworthiness requirements afterwards. A Canadian-spec vehicle may need approval testing before it can be registered.

Money. Two separate rules apply at the two borders: declare CAD $10,000+ to the CBSA when leaving Canada (CBSA), and declare £10,000+ to Border Force when entering Great Britain, which can be done online up to 72 hours before travel (GOV.UK).

Commonly forgotten. File your final CRA departure-year return and note the exact departure date; close or update provincial health cover; keep proof you owned and used goods for six months (for ToR); separate out any brand-new purchases, which do not qualify for relief; and keep alcohol and tobacco off the household inventory. Building the ToR item list and photographing serial numbers before the packers arrive saves days at the UK end.

How Flyto handles your Canada to the UK move

Flyto runs strong in-house European operations — our own offices, warehouses, teams and vehicles across Northern, Central and Southern Europe — which means the UK-side delivery, storage and final-mile can be handled by people who work for us. For the ocean and air leg out of Canada we combine that with a carefully chosen partner and subcontractor network and trusted local partners in the UK, so your shipment moves through vetted hands from Montreal or Halifax to your new door. We coordinate the ToR1 timing, customs clearance and delivery as one plan — we do not pretend to own every truck on both continents.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay UK import VAT and duty on my household goods?
Not if you qualify for and are granted Transfer of Residence relief, apply on ToR1 before the goods arrive, and declare under code 40 00 C01. The relief covers used personal and household effects but excludes new goods, alcohol and tobacco (GOV.UK).

How long before the move should I apply for ToR1?
As early as you can. ToR approval is required before customs clearance, so apply well before your container sails rather than waiting until it lands, to avoid your goods sitting at the port (GOV.UK ToR1).

Will I owe tax to Canada just for leaving?
Possibly. When you become a non-resident, the CRA can apply a departure tax through a deemed disposition of certain assets at fair-market value; RRSPs, TFSAs and Canadian real estate are among the exclusions. File a departure-year return and take advice if you hold investments (CRA).

Does my mover file a Canadian export declaration for my things?
They may need to. Emigrants’ household effects are excluded from CBSA’s standard personal-effects reporting exemption, so a CERS declaration can be required for shipments valued at CAD $2,000+ to the UK. Confirm your forwarder is handling it (CBSA D20-1-1).

Can my dog fly with me in the cabin to the UK?
Generally no — most dogs and cats from Canada must arrive as manifest air cargo on an approved route, after microchip, rabies vaccination (21-day wait), a GBHC used within 10 days, and tapeworm treatment for dogs (GOV.UK).

How much cash can I move without paperwork?
You can move any amount, but you must declare CAD $10,000+ leaving Canada (CBSA) and £10,000+ entering Great Britain (GOV.UK). Non-declaration risks seizure and penalties.

Sources

• CBSA — Exporters’ guide to reporting
• CBSA — Memorandum D20-1-1, Exporter Reporting
• CBSA — Travelling with CAN$10,000 or more
• CBSA — Form E677, Cross-Border Currency Report (Individual)
• CRA — Leaving Canada (emigrants)
• Travel.gc.ca — Bringing goods into Canada
• CFIA — Bringing animals (pets) to Canada
• GOV.UK — Transfer of residence to Great Britain
• GOV.UK — Application for transfer of residence relief (ToR1)
• GOV.UK — Bringing your pet dog, cat or ferret to Great Britain
• GOV.UK — Which pet travel document you need
• GOV.UK — Great Britain pet health certificate
• GOV.UK — Importing vehicles into the UK: telling HMRC (NOVA)
• GOV.UK — Take cash in and out of the UK