Certificates of Origin

A valuable reminder from CARFAC:

Don’t get stuck at the border because you waited until the last minute to get your paperwork. Planning ahead will make the process much smoother and save you a lot of stress.

Give yourself at least a month to be sure you have everything you need. If you will be paid for any service you provide while outside Canada, you need to apply several months in advance to get the proper visa.

• Certificates of Canadian Origin are for the process of returning artwork to Canada so you don’t need to pay GST on your work when they come back. These take two weeks plus shipping to be processed.
• Additional forms are often required to allow artwork to enter a foreign country, especially if the total value of the artwork that’s travelling is more than $2500. These also take a couple weeks or more.
• An information sheet about taking artwork over the border is available for CARFAC members.
• If you are travelling with your work, you may want to get an International Association of Art card that grants entry to many museums in Western Europe and elsewhere. IAA cards are available to CARFAC members only. More about the IAA card.

For more information visit the CARFAC website.