A Mexican Registered Car In Canada
A comprehensive view on how to navigate the process of bringing a Mexican-registered car to Canada.
9/6/20231 min read
A Canadian who still is considered a resident of Canada (regardless of their Mexican status) cannot drive their Mexican manufactured and plated car in Canada. In addition, vehicles including buses manufactured for sale in countries other than Canada and the United States, do not comply with the requirements of the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Act, CANNOT be altered to comply and thus CANNOT be imported into Canada.
When a vehicle or bus is sold in a foreign market other than the United States, it's assembled to specific standards for that market. This creates an automatic exclusion for importation into Canada because these standards at the time of assembly are not Canadian or U.S. compliant, and there are no provisions in the law that allows for these vehicles to be modified to meet our standards.
Even if the vehicle was manufactured in the U.S. you have 30 days to import it into Canada and transfer the plates, etc. to your province.
Information Centre/Centre d'information, Transport(s) Canada, Motor Vehicle Safety/Sécurité des véhicules automobiles
1-800-333-0371 or (613) 998-8616m Email: MVS-SA@tc.gc.ca
Insurance is required when driving in Mexico. Your policy in Canada or the U.S. will not cover you in Mexico.