Move from Canada to Brazil return home with peace of mind

Yes, and this is not our preference: it is not possible to complete the customs clearance before your disembarkation in Brazil. The Receita Federal requires, among the documents for clearance, proof of the traveler's arrival in the country, and the right to the exemption is tied to your definitive disembarkation. The cargo may leave Canada and arrive before you — the legal window allows up to 3 months in advance — but it will remain waiting at the port or airport until you arrive, with storage and demurrage charges accruing in that interval. That is why we schedule from your disembarkation date, not from the date the house is ready to be packed.

Unaccompanied baggage must arrive within the window that runs from 3 months before to 6 months after your disembarkation in Brazil. It is a strict deadline: outside it, the exemption is lost and the cargo is treated as a regular import, with taxes. On this route attention is heightened because the crossing can take up to 78 days door-to-door when departing from the west coast. Shipping must be planned before you set your flight date, and that is what we do at the start of the process.

It depends on your timeframe and volume, and it is a calculation we make case by case. Leaving via the west coast means 58 to 78 days door-to-door; via the east coast, 50 to 70 days. The overland transfer from Vancouver to an east coast port has a cost, but in some scenarios it is worthwhile, especially when your disembarkation date in Brazil is already set and the 6-month legal window is tight. We present both alternatives with timing and price before you decide.

The DSI is the Simplified Import Declaration, registered in Siscomex, the system of the Receita Federal, by an authorized customs broker. It is through it that the move is declared and the exemption is requested. On this route, registration of the DSI and all monitoring of the clearance are conducted by One Moving's own team in Brazil, without intermediaries, which is precisely the most sensitive part of a return move.

Proof is made by a set of documents, and the hierarchy among them matters. The two proofs that effectively support the clearance are the Declaration of Residence issued by the Brazilian Consulate of the city where you live and utility bills in your name, such as water, electricity, gas and internet: these demonstrate effective residence at the address. Documents such as the work permit or proof of permanent residence, employment contracts, the rental contract or property deed, notices of assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency and proofs of the provincial health plan enter the dossier as supporting evidence, together with the passport showing entries and exits, but they do not prove residence in isolation, because they attest to the authorization to reside and not the fact of having lived there. We assemble this dossier with you before shipment, because gathering documents abroad after you are already in Brazil is much more difficult.

They are two distinct consequences. On the Brazilian side, the tax exemption requires residence abroad for more than 1 year, so it does not apply: the move may enter, but taxed. On the Canadian side, if you entered the country with the benefit of settlers effects, the goods may not be sold or otherwise disposed of within 12 months after importation, and the departure must be structured so as not to constitute such disposal. We assess both ends before structuring the operation.

Not within the move exemption. Brazilian law excludes motor vehicles from the unaccompanied baggage exemption, unlike the Canadian rule, which admits the vehicle within settlers effects when the conditions of possession, licensure, actual use on public roads, registration, insurance and eligibility with Transport Canada are met. Bringing the car back is possible, but it constitutes a separate import operation, with its own taxes and requirements, and must be quoted independently from the household goods move.

Compatibility here is better than on European routes, but it is not automatic. Canada operates on 120 V with Type A and B plugs, close to the Brazilian standard of 127 V. In Brazilian regions with 127 V, many devices work. In 220 V regions, a permanent transformer is required. Bivolt equipment, such as notebooks and chargers, works in any case. We analyse item by item in the pre-move survey, because for large appliances the freight often does not justify the cost.

Yes. Transporting the animal is a process separate from the move of the goods, with its own requirements for microchip, rabies vaccination, international veterinary certificate and compliance with Brazil's entry rules. Our pet department conducts this process in parallel with the move, synchronizing the documentation with your flight dates. We have already transported more than 1,000 animals.

The exemption covers used household goods and personal effects. Excluded are motor vehicles, new goods in original packaging, items in quantities that suggest commercial destination, as well as perishable foods, plants and products of animal origin subject to sanitary control. We review the inventory before shipment to separate these cases, because a single poorly declared item can hold the entire cargo at the port.

In Canada we work with accredited agents from our international network for collection, packing and exit documentation in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Halifax and Calgary. In Brazil we have our own team: we are the ones who register the DSI in Siscomex, conduct the customs clearance with the Receita Federal do Brasil (Brazilian Federal Revenue Service) and perform delivery and assembly at your final address. On this route, the critical end is the Brazilian one, and it is precisely where we do not depend on third parties.