Moving to the Philippines from Canada, Door to Door from Toronto

How a move from Toronto to the Philippines 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 the Philippines treats household goods

The Philippines gives real concessions to its own returning citizens: returning Filipinos and former Filipinos coming home, and holders of resident visas, can bring used personal and household effects free of duty within value caps that depend on time spent abroad. Foreign nationals settling with a Filipino spouse or on retirement visas have their own routes. The caps and categories are specific, so your coordinator confirms which one fits you and what it covers before the quote is final.

Anything beyond the concession is assessed, and brand-new goods in original packaging are treated as imports, not effects. The inventory we build on packing day is what the Bureau of Customs reads, which is why it is done properly.

What it costs to ship household goods to the Philippines

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

The Philippines runs on 220 volts, so Canadian 110 V appliances need transformers. The climate is tropical: solid wood travels well, particle board does not, and anything mould-sensitive should be weighed at the survey.

• Concession limits: new goods in original packaging are imports, not effects
• Usually not worth it: 110 V appliances, particle-board furniture
• Restricted: foodstuffs and plants face agriculture checks; the standard dangerous-goods list applies
• Travel with you: documents, jewellery, medications with prescriptions

Why families moving to the Philippines 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.