Settlers' Effects vs Funds: What to Declare in Canada

Key takeaways

Settlers' effects are goods you owned, possessed and used before you arrived; they can enter free of duty
List them on form BSF186 at your first arrival, including goods that will follow later
Money is not a settler's effect: cash and instruments of CAD 10,000 or more are reported on a separate form
International students, and workers coming for a job of 36 months or less, are not "settlers" under the customs definition
Selling a settler's effect within 12 months of import can make duty payable

Two declarations, two sets of rules

	Settlers' effects (goods)	Funds (money)
What it covers	Furniture, clothes, appliances, books, computers, vehicles and other personal or household goods	Cash in any currency, bank drafts, cheques, money orders, travellers' cheques, stocks and bonds
Law	Customs Tariff, tariff item 9807.00.00	Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act
Threshold	No value limit for settlers' effects in the CBSA memorandum	Report if the total is CAD 10,000 or more
Form	BSF186, Personal Effects Accounting Document	E677 for individuals
Is there a cost?	Duty-free and tax-free if conditions are met	No tax or duty; it is a report only
If you get it wrong	Duty and taxes can apply to goods that do not qualify	Money can be seized; penalties of 5% to 50%

The money rule is covered in depth in how to declare money at the border. This page focuses on goods, and how the two fit together.

Who counts as a settler?

The Definition of Settler for the Purpose of Tariff Item No. 9807.00.00 Regulations say a settler is a person who enters Canada intending to establish a residence for the first time, for at least 12 months.

The definition does not include people entering Canada:

for employment of 36 months or less;
to study at an educational institution; or
to perform United States preclearance activities.

So most new permanent residents are settlers. People entering Canada to study, and workers coming for a job of 36 months or less, are not. Different customs rules apply to them. Ask CBSA what applies to your goods before you ship.

Former residents of Canada who come back to live use a different tariff item. See the returning to Canada checklist.

What qualifies as a settler's effect?

CBSA Memorandum D2-2-1 says settlers' effects are goods for the settler's household or personal use that were "actually owned, possessed and used abroad". It explains each word:

Owned: you have the legal right to the goods, by purchase or another way. Leased goods do not qualify.
Possessed: you physically accepted the goods yourself.
Used: you actually put the goods into use for their purpose.

Examples in the memorandum include clothes, furniture, appliances, books, musical instruments, personal computers and bicycles. Vehicles can qualify too, but they must meet Transport Canada's import rules.

The memorandum excludes goods for sale or hire, goods for use in a business, goods to house other people, houses and buildings, and company-owned or leased vehicles.

Wedding gifts are a special case. The "used" condition is waived for wedding presents and trousseau items if your marriage took place within 3 months before you arrive, or is planned within 3 months after.

How form BSF186 and "goods to follow" work

BSF186 is called the Personal Effects Accounting Document. Older CBSA documents, including Memorandum D2-2-1 (May 4, 2010), call it Form B4. You list each item with its value in Canadian dollars and its serial number if it has one.

Prepare two copies. IRCC suggests a typed list with value, make, model and serial number.
Split it in two: goods you bring with you, and goods to follow.
Give it to the officer at your first arrival. The memorandum says the form must be completed at your first point of entry "even if there are no goods being imported" at that time.
Keep your copy. You need it to clear your shipment when it arrives.

The memorandum says there is no time limit for importing goods to follow that were listed on your form. If goods arrive in Canada before you do, they can be held in a warehouse, usually for 40 days.

The 12-month rule. If you sell or give away a settler's effect within 12 months after it comes into Canada, duty can become payable on its value at that time. The 12 months start from the day the goods physically arrive. Ask CBSA what to do before you sell.

Alcohol and tobacco

Settlers can include limited amounts in their personal exemption, if they meet the minimum age of the province where they enter and the goods come with them. The memorandum sets these limits:

Alcohol: up to 1.14 litres of alcohol or 1.5 litres of wine (the archived CBSA settler guide also lists 8.5 litres of beer as an option)
Tobacco: 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, 200 grams of manufactured tobacco and 200 tobacco sticks

More than this can mean duty and provincial fees. Check CBSA's current page before you pack.

Where does money fit in?

Money is not a settler's effect. You do not list cash or bank drafts on BSF186 to get them in duty-free; money has no duty. Instead, if the total of cash and monetary instruments you carry is CAD 10,000 or more, you report it on a separate form during your first interview.

Not sure if something counts as money? A bank draft does; gold jewellery does not. See what counts as a monetary instrument.

One link between the two rules: some countries restrict how much money people can take out. The memorandum says settlers from such countries may have up to 36 months to import goods bought with "blocked" funds, without the usual owned-and-used conditions. Ask CBSA if this may apply to you.

Worked example: a family landing in Toronto

Ravi and Meena arrive as permanent residents with two children. They carry:

4 suitcases of clothes, a laptop and some jewellery;
a shipping container of furniture and books, arriving 6 weeks later;
CAD 3,000 in cash and a bank draft for CAD 8,000.

Goods: they list everything on BSF186 in two parts: with them (clothes, laptop, jewellery, with values) and goods to follow (furniture and books, with values). The officer stamps the form. When the container arrives, they show their copy.

Money: CAD 3,000 + CAD 8,000 = CAD 11,000. That is over the limit, so they answer "yes" on the kiosk and fill in the individual report. If they had wired the CAD 8,000 instead, there would be nothing to report.

Use our moving-to-Canada money checklist to prepare both.

Are the $200 and $800 allowances for newcomers?

No. Those are personal exemptions for residents returning to Canada after a trip. CBSA Memorandum D2-3-1 sets $200 after 24 hours away and $800 after 48 hours or 7 days, with conditions. Settlers use the settlers' effects rules above instead. After you live in Canada, the personal exemptions apply to your later trips abroad.

Common questions

Is there a limit on the value of settlers' effects?

CBSA Memorandum D2-2-1 does not set a value limit for settlers. The goods must meet the owned, possessed and used conditions and be for personal or household use.

I am an international student. Am I a settler?

No. The customs definition of settler excludes people entering Canada to study. Ask CBSA which rules apply to the goods you bring.

Can I add items to my goods-to-follow list later?

The memorandum says goods to follow qualify when they were listed on the form at your first arrival. Make your list complete before you travel.

Do I list cash on BSF186?

No. BSF186 is for goods. Cash and monetary instruments of CAD 10,000 or more are reported on a separate currency report.

What if I sell my car in the first year?

If you sell or give away a settler's effect within 12 months of import, duty can become payable on its value at the time of the sale. Ask CBSA what to do before you sell.

Sources

Checked against these sources on October 10, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Settlers' effects vs funds: what to declare when you move to Canada