The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching. Recently, a Chinese woman surnamed Zhu was fined $800 upon entering Canada at Vancouver International Airport.
The reason is simple: before boarding her flight in China, Mrs. Zhu packed two boxes of mooncakes, hoping her son and husband could enjoy a taste of home. However, when Mrs. Zhu collected her luggage after landing and prepared to leave, customs officers at the exit requested to open her suitcase for inspection.
Customs officers removed the mooncakes from the suitcase. After breaking one open and discovering meat inside, they immediately confiscated the items and issued Mrs. Zhu an $800 fine.
According to Canadian and U.S. customs regulations, mooncakes, meat-filled zongzi, and salted eggs containing meat ingredients pose a risk of carrying avian influenza, foot-and-mouth disease, and other quarantine-related diseases. These are prohibited items; bringing them will not only result in fines but also place your name on a blacklist, leading to strict inspections every time you travel for the next five years.
Therefore, please do not bring zongzi, duck eggs, or your favorite mooncakes.
Canada Customs has three layers of inspection for arriving goods. The first is a general scan, the second involves highly trained and sensitive sniffer dogs for drugs, currency, and meat. For suspicious luggage, a third layer is required—a manual inspection. Customs also strictly targets three main areas: "prohibited agricultural products and food," "undeclared large amounts of cash," and "undeclared jewelry and luxury watches."
WorldWay Group reminds everyone not to take chances during periods of strict inspection. Declare items as required. If you are unsure whether an item can pass through customs, consulting and declaring it in advance is a wise approach!
As a top 500 Asian brand and a leading institution in the investment immigration industry, WorldWay Group offers high-quality Canadian investment immigration programs, including the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program (QIIP) with its low threshold and direct path to permanent residency, the Saskatchewan and Manitoba Entrepreneur Immigration programs for quick entry, as well as the Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Programs for entrepreneurs that provide a direct path to permanent residency. We help investors realize their dreams of moving to Canada and establishing a second home abroad. For details, please call: 400-138-2929.