Coming Back to Canada With Your Own Bird: Why the Country You Are Returning From Decides Everything

The country you are flying or driving in from decides which rules apply to your bird – not the fact that the bird started life in Canada, not how long you have owned it, and not how many times it has crossed the border before. A bird coming home from the United States follows one legal pathway. A bird coming home from anywhere else follows a completely different one, and it is the harder one.

Your bird’s history does not create an exemption

It is a natural assumption: this bird was born here, or lived here for years, or is simply “coming home” – surely that counts for something at the border. Under the rules that actually govern the crossing, it does not. The Import Reference Document, which is incorporated by reference into the Health of Animals Regulations, sets its bird-import conditions by the country the bird is arriving from, not by where the bird has ever lived. There is no “returning Canadian bird” category anywhere in it.

That single point is the whole reason this article exists, and it is worth holding onto before you read anything else: the question is not “is this my bird?” – it is “which country is it arriving from?”

Coming back from the United States: the owner declaration route

If your bird is travelling with you directly from the US, section 13 of the Import Reference Document is the relevant provision, and it applies only to birds arriving from the United States. For a personally owned pet parrot or songbird, section 13 requires no veterinary health certificate at all – only a declaration you make to a Customs Officer at the place of entry. Section 9 of the same document, which covers poultry, expressly excludes “songbirds and parrots referred to in section 13” from its certificate requirement, so this is not an oversight – it is a deliberate, narrower route built specifically for pet birds from the US.

Section 13 comes with conditions that are easy to miss:

• You must be the owner, and you must accompany the bird. A spouse, adult child or friend cannot bring your bird in under this section on your behalf.
• The declaration itself has three parts – for each bird, that it is your personal pet and not for sale; that it has not been in contact with other birds; and that it has been in your personal possession in Canada or the United States for the 90 days immediately preceding the date of entry.
• The 90-day clock runs to the date of entry, and the possession has to have been in Canada or the US specifically – time spent anywhere else does not count toward it.
• There is a household limit that is rarely published anywhere: no one in your household may have imported a bird under section 13 in the 90 days before your date of entry. In effect, this route allows roughly one pet bird per household per 90 days.

If you meet every one of those conditions, no permit and no health certificate are required for entry from the US – only the declaration. Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, your specific bird and circumstances (ownership, accompaniment, 90-day possession, and household history) genuinely satisfy section 13 before you travel. Please confirm with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at 1-800-442-2342 before you rely on it for your own bird. An inspector who has reason to believe the bird is not in good health can refuse it entry, or, if it has already been admitted, order it removed from Canada or destroyed – so “no permit needed” is not the same as “no scrutiny at the border.”

If your route into Canada actually starts at the Canada-US land or air border, our companion piece on taking your bird across the Canada-US border walks through that crossing in more detail.

Coming back from anywhere else: the Ministerial permit route

Section 13 does not extend to any other country. A bird that started life in Canada, spent a year in France, and is now flying home is, for the purposes of the Import Reference Document, an import from France – full stop. Parrots that do not qualify as US pet birds under section 13 may only be imported under paragraph 12(1)(a) of the Health of Animals Regulations, which means a Ministerial permit, regardless of where the bird was originally hatched, bred, or owned.

Two further points from the same document matter here:

• Part III states plainly that “the world is an undesignated area for regulated animals.” No country or region currently carries an equivalent-risk or low-risk designation that would soften this. Everywhere outside the United States is treated the same way for this purpose.
• The document contains no published quarantine requirement for pet parrots or songbirds – not under section 13, and not as a blanket rule for the 12(1)(a) route either. Where the document does require quarantine (for example, 30 days for swine, or quarantine from arrival for feeder calves), it says so explicitly, which makes its silence on pet birds meaningful rather than accidental. For anything arriving under a Ministerial permit, any quarantine would be set as a condition of that individual permit, case by case – not as a published standard length you can plan around in advance. Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, whether a quarantine condition, and its length, would apply to your specific permit. Please confirm with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at 1-800-442-2342 before you rely on it for your own bird.

Neither a processing time nor an application fee for a 12(1)(a) Ministerial permit is published in a form we can quote here with confidence. Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, current processing time and fee for a paragraph 12(1)(a) Ministerial import permit for a pet parrot or songbird. Please confirm with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at 1-800-442-2342 before you rely on it for your own bird. Build in a wide margin before you book a flight home with a bird that needs this route. If Part III of the document leaves you wondering whether the general import rules apply to your bird at all, our plain-English walkthrough of bringing a pet bird into Canada covers the CFIA side in more depth.

If your bird is a CITES-listed species, there is a second, separate layer

The Health of Animals Regulations govern animal health at the border. CITES governs international trade in the species itself, through Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the two regimes run alongside each other rather than replacing one another. If your bird is a CITES-listed species – African greys are the clearest example, having moved from Appendix II to Appendix I at CoP17, effective 2 January 2017 – you may be dealing with both.

This is where a genuinely common assumption goes wrong. ECCC’s Certificate of Ownership looks, on its face, like the document for “my bird is coming home.” It is not. Its stated purposes are vacation, exhibition or show, living part of the year in another country, or other short-term round trips – and the form says outright: if you are moving, you need the application for import, export or re-export of live animals instead. The Certificate of Ownership is a round-trip document for a bird that goes out and comes back to the same owner in the same country; it is not built for a one-way relocation in either direction.

Which export or import form you actually need also depends on something that trips people up: your bird’s origin, not its destination. ECCC’s own form index specifies that the standard export application is for animals of Canadian origin, and that a re-export form is required for animals of foreign origin. If your bird was bred or hatched outside Canada, which is common, then an owner moving a CITES-listed bird – in either direction – need the re-export form rather than the export one. Getting this wrong is a common way to lose weeks.

A few more details worth knowing before you start:

• ECCC states a period of 40 days may be required to review a Certificate of Ownership application, and that this clock only starts once every required document has been received – an incomplete application pauses, it does not queue.
• Identification is a hard prerequisite. If your bird has no leg band, microchip or tattoo, ECCC states it cannot proceed with the assessment at all.
• For a captive-bred bird, the application asks for genealogy back to the second captive-born generation – parents and grandparents, named and identified – plus breeder details.
• The application forms are fillable PDFs meant to be downloaded and completed in Adobe Reader. ECCC warns that many phones and tablets cannot open them properly, even with the app installed – worth knowing before you try to sort this out from an airport lounge.

If you exported your bird from Canada under a CITES permit when you first left, our guide to moving abroad with a pet bird covers that outbound side and is worth reading alongside this one so the two permits line up correctly.

USA versus everywhere else, at a glance

Arriving from	Governing rule	What it requires
United States	Health of Animals Regulations, s.13	Owner declaration only, made in person at entry. Owner must accompany the bird; 90-day possession clock; one bird per household per 90 days.
Any other country	Health of Animals Regulations, para. 12(1)(a)	Ministerial permit required. No published blanket quarantine or fee; any quarantine is set case by case as a permit condition. Not confirmed — ask them
Any country, if the species is CITES-listed	CITES, via ECCC	Export/re-export permit for a one-way move (form depends on the bird’s origin, not destination); Certificate of Ownership only for a genuine round trip.

Where a stay in boarding fits into this

If your own travel dates land before your bird’s paperwork clears – whether that is a Ministerial permit under the non-US route or a CITES re-export permit – you may arrive home to a bird-free house for weeks or longer while the process finishes on the other end. Once your bird does land in Canada, if you are still mid-move, unsettled into permanent housing, or simply not ready the day it arrives, boarding is worth planning for in advance rather than scrambling for it at the last minute.

Bird Sitting Toronto boards birds in the Greater Toronto Area, with daily update videos through a client portal, but it does not file permits, complete CITES applications, or act on your behalf with CFIA or ECCC – the border and permitting side of this is entirely on you and the relevant agency. For a stay measured in weeks or months rather than days, the monthly rate is the one to budget against: as of this writing, medium birds (conures, cockatiels, Quakers) run $480/month, and large birds (caiques, ringnecks, pionus) run $600/month – rates current at time of writing, check /pricing/ for today’s.

Frequently asked questions

Does it matter that my bird was hatched or bred in Canada?

Not for the purposes of the Import Reference Document. The rule that applies is set by the country your bird is arriving from, not by where it was born or has lived. A Canadian-hatched bird returning from anywhere other than the US follows the same paragraph 12(1)(a) Ministerial permit route as a bird that has never set foot in Canada.

My bird has flown to the US and back before with no issues – will it be the same this time?

Only if the same conditions are met every time: you accompany the bird, you are the owner, the 90-day possession clock is satisfied on this date of entry, and no one in your household has used the section 13 route in the preceding 90 days. Each crossing is assessed on its own facts, not on your bird’s travel history. Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, current eligibility for your specific trip. Please confirm with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at 1-800-442-2342 before you rely on it for your own bird.

Can my partner bring the bird home if I can’t travel with it?

Under section 13, no. The provision requires the owner to accompany the bird – it is not transferable to another household member, even one you trust completely with the bird’s care.

Do I need a Certificate of Ownership to bring my bird home?

Only if this is genuinely a round trip – vacation, a show, or time living part of the year abroad with the same owner returning with the same bird. ECCC’s own form states plainly that if you are moving, you need the import, export or re-export application instead, not the Certificate of Ownership.

Is there a quarantine when my bird comes back from outside the US?

The Import Reference Document does not publish a blanket quarantine period for pet parrots or songbirds. For a bird arriving under a paragraph 12(1)(a) Ministerial permit, any quarantine would be set as a condition of that specific permit rather than a fixed rule you can look up in advance. Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, whether your permit will carry a quarantine condition, and for how long. Please confirm with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at 1-800-442-2342 before you rely on it for your own bird.

What if my bird is a species like an African grey – does that change things?

It adds a second, separate process. Alongside whichever Health of Animals Regulations route applies to your country of departure, an Appendix I species like the African grey also needs the correct CITES paperwork through ECCC – and for a one-way move, that is the export or re-export application, not the Certificate of Ownership.

How long should I expect this to take?

ECCC states a Certificate of Ownership review may take up to 40 days once a complete application is received, but no confirmed processing time exists here for a Ministerial import permit or a CITES export/re-export application. Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, current processing times for a paragraph 12(1)(a) import permit and for CITES export/re-export applications. Please confirm with Environment and Climate Change Canada at 1-855-869-8670 or cites@ec.gc.ca before you rely on it for your own bird. Start earlier than you think you need to.

Related guides in this series

• Importing a Pet Bird to Canada: The Complete CFIA Guide (2026)
• Moving Abroad and You Can’t Take Your Bird: Board, Rehome, or Wait
• Long-Term Bird Boarding While You Relocate: 30, 60 and 90+ Days
• Taking Your Bird from Canada to the United States: Driving vs Flying
• Will Your Bird Be Quarantined Coming Into Canada? What the Rules Actually Say
• Returning Resident vs New Immigrant: How Canada Treats Your Bird Differently

Who to call before you travel

Confirm every requirement below with the agency itself. These are the people who
can actually authorise your bird’s movement — we cannot.

Every number below was checked against the agency’s own website on
27 July 2026. Government phone numbers and web pages still change without notice.
If one does not connect, find the agency through its own official site rather than trusting
what is printed here.

• Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) — import and export of live
  birds, health certificates, permits: 1-800-442-2342 from
  Canada and the US, or 1-613-773-2342 local and
  international, 8 am to 7 pm EST Monday to Friday except holidays. CFIA names
  services related to travelling with pets as something its area offices handle —
  for the GTA that is the Mississauga animal health office,
  289-247-4100, 8 am to 4 pm
  · inspection.canada.ca
• Environment and Climate Change Canada — CITES permitting — export and
  import permits for CITES-listed species, and what documents exist for repeat crossings:
  1-855-869-8670
  · cites@ec.gc.ca
• Canada Border Services Agency — what happens at the border itself,
  declarations and inspection fees: 1-800-461-9999, Monday to
  Friday 8 am to 4 pm local time. Press 0 to reach an agent; CBSA’s published
  service standard is to answer within 20 minutes
• USDA APHIS — the US pet-travel hub, with separate paths for import,
  export and interstate movement, and the list of which birds count as pets at all:
  aphis.usda.gov/pet-travel
• US Fish & Wildlife Service — CITES and Wild Bird Conservation Act
  permits, applied for through the ePermits portal at
  fws.gov/permits. The agency
  contact centre is 1-800-344-9453
  · info@fws.gov

What we can and cannot help with

We cannot help with paperwork. Bird Sitting Toronto is a bird
boarding and care business. We are not a customs broker, an immigration consultant, a
veterinary practice or a legal adviser. We do not file permits, complete applications or
deal with any agency on your behalf, and we cannot guarantee any outcome at any border.
Everything on this page is information only.

There are two things we can do. If your bird cannot travel with you
— because the paperwork is still in progress, the airline will not carry it, or the
timing simply does not work — we can board
your bird in the GTA for as long as you need, including by the month. And if it
becomes clear the bird genuinely cannot come with you, we can help you
rehome it to a good home rather
than leaving you to sort that out alone.

We publish this guide because our boarding clients ask us about it constantly, and
because the answer is genuinely hard to assemble from the primary sources.

Corrections

Where we have found a material error on this page — a wrong fee, day-count, phone number or country status — we fix it and record the fix here rather than editing quietly.

• 27 July 2026 — We had listed 1-800-358-2104 as the US Fish & Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement number. That number is widely repeated online but does not appear anywhere on the current fws.gov, so we have replaced it with the contact route the agency does publish — the ePermits portal and its agency contact centre. Every other number in that section was re-checked against the agency’s own website the same day, and CBSA’s border information line has been added.
• 27 July 2026 — We wrote that most pet parrots kept in Canada were bred or hatched elsewhere, and used that to steer readers toward the re-export form. We have not sourced any such figure, so the sentence is now conditional on your own bird’s origin rather than on an assumed majority.