Moving to Pakistan from Canada, Door to Door from Toronto

How a move from Toronto to Pakistan works

It starts with a survey, in person for a house or by video for a condo, so the quote is based on your actual volume rather than a guess. On packing day our crew wraps and packs everything for ocean transit with export-grade materials, builds custom crates where glass, art or a TV needs one, and creates the line-by-line inventory that customs and your insurer will rely on. The shipment then comes to our Toronto warehouse, where it is loaded into a dedicated 20′ or 40′ container, or consolidated with other shipments on the lane if you are moving a smaller volume.

From there the move runs on the same commercial infrastructure we use every day: our own truck drays the container to the terminal, the ocean leg is booked with the steamship lines, and at destination our IAM partner agent clears customs, collects the container and delivers to your door with unpacking and debris removal included.

1. Free survey (home or video) and a fixed door-to-door quote
2. Packing, crating and inventory at your home in the GTA
3. Loading into a dedicated container or consolidation at our Toronto warehouse
4. Ocean leg booked with the steamship line; we send the tracking details
5. Customs clearance at destination handled by our IAM partner agent
6. Delivery to your door with unpacking and packing-material removal

Customs: how Pakistan treats household goods

Pakistan admits used household goods under Transfer of Residence rules: returning Pakistani nationals who have lived abroad long enough qualify for concessions on used personal and household effects, and foreign nationals taking up residence clear against their visa and employer documentation. The allowances, the qualifying periods and the duty on items outside them change periodically, so your coordinator confirms the current rules against your situation before the quote is final.

Electronics and appliances get the closest look at customs and can carry duty even inside a household shipment. Alcohol cannot be imported. A precise inventory matters more here than on almost any route we run, and ours is built line by line on packing day.

What it costs to ship household goods to Pakistan

Cost is driven by volume, which is why the survey comes first. A one-bedroom apartment in the GTA is usually 8–20 cubic metres and ships as groupage (LCL) or a lightly loaded 20′; a three-bedroom house is 30–40 cubic metres and fills a 20′ container; larger homes ship in a 40′. Access at both ends, professional packing, crating and storage all move the price, and the quote itemizes every line: packing and materials, loading, drayage, ocean freight and port charges, destination clearance, delivery and unpacking.

Outside the quote sit only the things no honest mover can fix in advance: duty or tax on goods that do not qualify for concessions, inspection fees if customs selects the container, and storage beyond the free period at destination. Each is named in the quote so nothing arrives as a surprise.

What to leave behind, and what to think twice about

Pakistan runs on 230 volts, so Canadian 110 V appliances need transformers. Electronics attract duty attention, so recent-model TVs and appliances deserve a per-item decision at the survey rather than a default yes.

• Prohibited: alcohol, and the standard dangerous-goods list
• Duty attention: electronics and appliances, even used ones
• Usually not worth it: 110 V appliances, bulky low-value furniture
• Travel with you: documents, jewellery, medications with prescriptions

Why families moving to Pakistan choose Metropolitan Logistics

We are an IAM Core Member with IAMTrusted status, which means the partner agent unpacking your home at destination is vetted and financially accountable, not found on a forum. The shipment is packed by our own crews and loaded in our own Toronto warehouse, where you can see it before it sails. And because we run container logistics commercially every day, the drayage and ocean legs ride the same lanes and carrier relationships we book for exporters, which keeps the price honest.