Hello In the future, I would like to send plants to my friends in this forum. There are some things I want to know in advance. The plants I send to you are in-vitro plants. They are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Government of Japan. When sending plants to Canada, I need an import license(paper) issued by the Government of Canada when I undergo quarantine inspection of the plants. Does anyone know how to apply for an import license (recipient: you, Canadian)? Do you need to pay the Government of Canada to get a permit? How long does it take from application to issuance of import license certificate? The plants I'm trying to send to you are relatively small orchids and small garden plants or plants for potted colour: small plants that aren't the flashy flowers sold in garden centres, but are highly bred and still full of wildness. I think there are many people in this forum who like them. Best regards 岩千鳥 (Amitostigma keiskei)
Welcome to the forums. I just noticed this thread; posts held up due to moderation sometimes get missed. The following documents may provide you with the information you need. Note D-08-04 contains a section specific to in-vitro plants: D-08-04: Plant Protection Import Requirements for Plants and Plant Parts for Planting - Canadian Food Inspection Agency D- 97-04: Application, Procedures, Issuance and Use of a Permit to Import under the Plant Protection Act - Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Hi Junglekeeper-san, Thank you very much for the rinks! It's pretty hard to understand these documents exactly, but I'll continue to work hard to decipher them. Next spring, I will try to post pictures of flowers of several plant species. please wait. Best regards 岩千鳥 (Amitostigma keiskei)
I'm afraid, that as you are probably Japanese citizen and are not resident or having corporation with a place of business in Canada, therefore not eligible for application.
Hi Sulev-san, Thank you for your reply. I understand that I cannot be an applicant myself. With the help of a friend in the United States, I was able to get a good understanding of the rules in the United States. Permission can be obtained free of charge by applying by the recipient American. The plants I am trying to send are in vitro plants and does not require a CITES permit. To summarize the understanding of an American friend, maybe "They are very difficult to understand because they are not meant to be understood." Best regards 岩千鳥 (Amitostigma keiskei)
It is the buyer who needs to get a Permit to Import. However I believe the OP is trying to understand what a potential customer in Canada has to go through in order to purchase his products.
My reply (# 5) was posted after Sulev-san's reply (# 4) and before Junglekeeper-san's reply (# 6), but my post is displayed after being moderated. Therefore, it was not displayed when Junglekeeper-san replied (# 6). The thread conversations I participate in may seem unnatural, but it's unavoidable. Yes, indeed! Though I would prefer us to exchange materials (mine: in vitro plants, yours: seeds) each other, rather than for sale. Best regards 岩千鳥 (Amitostigma keiskei)
AFAIK, import licenses are basically meant for business or large scale activity. There may be exeptions for private persons for importing certain plants from certain regions in a small scale. I don't know Canadian phytosanitary legislation if there are exeptions for private persons for bringing in (with luggage, when travelling) or importing (ordering from abroad, using postal services) some plants or seeds from certain countries, that have valid phytosanitary certificate (if needed) and are not in the list of forbidden plants. In your case I suggest you to find out if there are any exeptions for private persons for certain plant groups. I am sure, that there is list of plants that are not allowed to import without special permit. Here, in EU, it was relatively easy for private persons to buy seeds or other propagation material from outside the EU, until recent changes in legislation. There was a list of plants that were not allowed to import at all, without special permits (CITES species or plants with psychotropic properties), and another list of plants thar required valid phytosanitary certificate, to prevent spreading of dangerous infections or pests. Large range of seeds were still pretty much not restricted for small scale import by private persons, and it was pretty easy to buy seeds from the Internet (for instance from China). Recently they made these rules more stricter, but because I haven't purchased any plants from outside the EU since that, I am not very familiar with these rules now. Then again, I may be wrong and in Canada all this import licenses stuff applies to private persons too. This case just ignore this post.
Here's a document that provides some clarity into what's required in the importation of orchids into Canada: Orchid Importation | The Canadian Orchid Congress.
Checked out our latest rules: now there is always required to have a valid phytosanitary certificate (lets call that Cert1) with any plants or seeds, bought outside the EU. There is a list of plants (lets call that List1), altogether 112 different crops, that have to have an additional importation certificate (Cert2) of cultivar authenticity / purity / viability. There is a list of countries (List2), whose Cert2-s for plants in the List1 are accepted, and different groups of plants in the List1 are allowed to import from any of these countries (for instance only vegetable seeds are allowed to import from Japan, of plants from the List1, the other plants from the List1 are not allowed to import from Japan, but plants not listed in the List1, are allowed, only Cert1 is required, if imported from Japan. But all groups of plants from the List1 are allowed from USA or UK, if they are sent with both Cert1 and Cert2. For plants of List1 from Canada, only seeds of following groups are allowed: grain crops, fodders, oil plants, fibre crops and beet. Other plants from Canada are allowed if the Cert1 is provided). Of course, there are lists for forbidden species (CITES, psychotropic plants, maybe even some potentially invasive species, etc), that are allowed only in case of special permit.