Summer vacation is the season when entry into Canada is strictly inspected by customs. For Chinese who sometimes “accidentally get shot”, what can and cannot be brought through customs is a topic of special attention. CBSA’s past historical records show that most of the contraband items seized from Asian passengers’ luggage are meat, such as beef jerky, duck gizzards, sausages, bacon, etc. A large amount can be confiscated at this time of year. So Chinese entering Canada during this season are also the focus of attention. This is not news, but what you don’t know is that if you bring the wrong thing, the final fine amount of customs can be staggering. Because now customs fines are based on prohibited categories. The more kinds, the more fines will accumulate. If you bring some beef jerky, eggs, meat dumplings, fresh peaches and plant seeds, the final fine is likely to be as high as 5×1300 = 6500 Canadian dollars…

Originally brought the wrong thing, it is already very miserable to be confiscated and fined; once it is blacklisted, it will be strictly inspected every time in the future; if it is deported, the trouble will be even greater.

Don’t take any chances when you declare it during the strict inspection season.

Every summer tourist season and winter visiting relatives, the airport customs will strengthen the random inspection of luggage, and call on passengers to declare truthfully when entering the country. Especially by the end of the year and the beginning of the year, customs still have three major goals to crack down on: “prohibited agricultural products and food”, “not declaring high cash”, and “not declaring taxes on jewelry and watches”.

Contrary to the idea that more is better than less, if you don’t know if your goods can pass through customs, it is a good idea to consult and declare in advance. Because once you are found to be carrying contraband, not only will the goods be confiscated, but the carrier may also face a fine of 800 to 1300 Canadian dollars.

Special reminder, if you are carrying something for a friend, it is best to ask in advance what is packed, because no matter who the things in your bag belong to or who put them in, you are responsible for them.

Canadian Customs has three checkpoints for incoming goods. The first is a general scanning inspection, and the second is a random inspection by well-trained and highly sensitive sniffer dogs, money dogs and meat dogs. For suspicious luggage, you need to enter the third checkpoint – unpacking inspection.

If you want to take a chance to clear the customs, it may not be so easy. Even people entering the country through the automatic channel will be stopped by the second checkpoint (SecondaryServicesorinspection).

According to reports, if you are visiting or studying in Canada and hold a temporary status, if you encounter customs omissions, concealment or even smuggling, you will not only be punished by Canadian customs regulations, but also by immigration and refugee regulations. You may face the penalty of not being allowed to re-enter or be deported.

Here are some bloody cases of fines in previous years:

Unaware of the appeal also failed 3 eggs fined 800 yuan

In August 2015, a woman who returned to Canada after a vacation in Central America brought 3 eggs and did not declare them at the time of entry. After being found out, the Canada Border Services Agency imposed a fine of 800 yuan. The woman refused to accept that she did not know she was carrying three eggs, so she applied to the Canadian Agricultural Review Tribunal for reconsideration. The judge ruled on the case and still upheld the Canada Border Services Agency’s punishment decision. The judge stressed that travelers have the ultimate responsibility to know what they have brought into the country. “Don’t know” cannot be an excuse for not obeying Canadian law.

Love beef dumplings confiscated and fined 800

There was a traveler from Northeast China who returned to China to visit relatives for two weeks before 2013. Before boarding the plane to return to Canada, her mother specially cooked a box of beef dumplings for her to take back to Canada to enjoy. But while going through customs at Vancouver International Airport (YVR), she was sniffed by police dogs.

Because she did not declare when entering the country, not only the dumplings were discarded by customs, but also a fine of 800 yuan was issued.

The Canada Border Services Agency said that considering that meat and other livestock products can spread bird flu or other animal diseases, these products will affect agricultural production and food safety, so all meat products are prohibited from entering the country. Even if the dumplings are cooked, customs cannot confirm whether they are completely sterilized.

High jewelry leggings will be fined for 8 days 10,000 ransom will be 280,000

If a jewelry watch is caught not declaring, it will not only be fined by customs, but also redeemed at an additional cost.

At the end of 2014, two Chinese men were detained by the Canada Border Services Agency for eight days on smuggling and resisting arrest charges, fined 10,000 yuan, and paid a fine of up to about 280,000 yuan for redeeming the jewelry.

The CBSA reiterated that the money brought into the country must be declared after 10,000. The money mentioned here is not just cash, but also includes financial products, traveler’s checks, cashier’s checks and foreign currency.

There is no fee for entry declarations. As long as it is proved that it is legally obtained, it can be brought into Canada. However, if it is not declared or the source cannot be proved, it will be confiscated. However, if you do not declare and cannot prove the source of the money, the most serious will be considered to violate the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorism Financing Act and be charged.

Luxury goods such as jewelry watches must be declared, and the local receipt or appraisal certificate of the jewelry watch should be carried with you before departure to avoid taxation.

If you want to avoid the trouble, you can also go to the local airport on the day of immigration or before going abroad to go through the registration procedures for valuable photographic equipment and sports goods. When you return from abroad, the registration card given by the customs will be shown to the customs officials, and you can pass the customs smoothly.

Thinking that foreigners do not need to declare that international students are ordered to leave the country

According to Sing Tao Daily, in 2015, a Chinese student holding a 10-year multiple-entry visa went shopping with a friend in the United States. When returning to Canada, the friend counted the goods bought into the name of the international student, thinking that foreigners could not declare. As a result, they were found out by the customs, and the international students were eventually ordered to leave the country within a time limit by the Immigration Bureau.

On the blacklist

It will be checked every time in the future

The customs also admitted that not only will illegal passengers be included in the “blacklist”, but there is also a “blacklist database”. “Blacklist” passengers will be paid special attention when they pass customs in the future.

The Canadian Border Agency (CBSA) said: The customs computer system will keep records of violations. Those with bad records are likely to face frequent inspections when they pass through customs in the future, and may not be able to apply for express passage services.

A spokesperson for the Border Services Agency said that if you shop online overseas and have been detained by customs for unreported and suspected smuggled items and asked to pay back the taxes owed, then the passenger or import recipient will receive a warning, which will be stored in the customs computer system for two years. When the person concerned enters customs later, they may be asked to check the items they are carrying. If the illegal items are found again, they will be detained and prosecuted.

By the way, because of national security concerns, customs have the right to check the entry’s mobile phone, including the content of social software such as WeChat. If illegal situations are found, such as illegal work, child pornography, etc., the person will be detained or deported.

Canadian Customs Requirements for Items Brought into Canada

What are the items that can and cannot be brought into Canada?

Meat, poultry, eggs and related foods are almost not allowed to enter the country. Including beef jerky, sausages, instant noodles in cups (including meat), mooncakes with meat or eggs. Customs can read Chinese.

Canadian immigration inspection requires that the medicines brought by tourists must have the original label and instructions for use, as well as the prescription for the medicine. If you bring some powdered or capsule medicines, it is best to bring the instructions of these medicines (or do not open the package). Cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, such as Contec, are prohibited.

Chinese herbal medicines (except those that are restricted by Health Canada), seasonings, tea leaves, and coffee beans can be brought into Canada. Exceptions are bird’s nest (risk of spreading avian influenza) and hippocampus (protected animals in North America).

Dried fruits, dried vegetables, canned or frozen fruits, vegetables; baked goods and confectionery (must not contain meat). Can enter the country. Each person can bring up to 20 kilograms.

Fruits that can be grown in Canada, such as apples, pears, strawberries, blueberries, etc. are not allowed to enter the country. But tropical fruits such as dragon fruit, pineapple, etc. are allowed to enter the country. Tuber crops such as yams, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, etc. are not allowed to enter the country. Vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and fresh mushrooms are not allowed to enter the country.

Any fish and seafood except puffer fish and hairy crabs, whether raw or cooked, can enter the country.

Those who bring tobacco into the country must meet the local minimum smoking age and bring no more than 200 cigarettes; 50 cigars; 200 grams of tobacco.

Those who bring alcohol into the country must be of minimum drinking age and can bring 1. 5 liters of wine, 1. 14 liters of alcohol or 24 cans of 355 ml or 8. 5 liters of beer.

Leather products, only tanned hides and leather products are allowed to be brought in. There are also wooden souvenirs, but no bark, insects and traces of insect activity.

Almost all flowers, plants, and seeds, including chrysanthemums and bamboo, are not allowed to enter the country. Soil is also not allowed to enter the country. There are strict restrictions on cut flowers, and lucky bamboo is prohibited from entering the country.

You can bring gifts up to 60 Canadian dollars tax-free for relatives and friends, except tobacco and alcohol.