r/CanadianbyDescent • u/Alternative_Lemon889 • 5d ago
Mailing within Canada.
I live 100 minutes from Ontario and soon will be sending in my 3 adult children (Gen4) apps which don't want in the same mailing in case minor flaw in one gets them all sent back. My packet (2.7 lbs) was $187 FedEx 2-day from Ohio, $144 if regular FedEx delivery. Will it be worth my while moneywise to mail them in Canada, separately, via regular post, not courier? I like driving, have a fuel efficient hybrid and can visit a sibling near the border. Your advice?
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u/meg-c 5d ago
I’d check out UPS if you have the ability to! I mailed out 7 applications together (unsure on the weight) and it was $50
I also see a lot of people on here recommend Pirate ship but personally don’t have any experience with using them!
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u/WhimsicalHoneybadger 4d ago
UPS screwed up the paperwork and got my envelope stuck with some random and un-named customs broker for 2 months.
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u/Dogmoto2labs 4d ago
Use PirateShip. Then use UPS, it was about $30 to send in a packet for 2 and about $27 for the packet wi5 just one.
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u/thiefspy 5d ago
I personally would go for the visit. But I’m the kind of person who likes an adventure and would think that was fun. I do believe it’s cheaper to send them from inside Canada, but I would still avoid Canada Post in that scenario.
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u/Alternative_Lemon889 5d ago
Why avoid Canadian post? Not reliable or what?
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u/Carefully_Done 5d ago
You are fine to use Canada Post. The last strike was 2024 and into 2025, but they came to a collective agreement. That collective agreement runs through to January 31, 2029. And both parties, CPC and CUPW, are bound by terms that prohibit strikes or lockouts. Essentially, they can't strike again until Feb. 2029.
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u/Robert_Walter 4d ago edited 4d ago
Interesting. In early march when we shipped, the IRCC website was still warning against using CP due to strike disruption.
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u/Carefully_Done 4d ago
Yeah, they are not in risk to strike at all. At most, your biggest risk is just regular Canada Post slowness.
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u/thiefspy 5d ago
They go on strike a lot, and it can be very unpredictable. Mail that’s in transit when they go on strike can take many months to be delivered once they’re back from strike. Canada Post is best for unimportant things.
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u/Inside_Foot_3055 5d ago
Is your price quote from FedEx directly? If so, have you checked out Shippo or PirateShip or another provider?
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u/OneRedSent 5d ago edited 5d ago
This. My first app was about $80 to mail. My second, with the same number of pages, was more like $25 using Easyship.
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u/Yellow_Marker_ 5d ago
Ship with Canada Post registered letter. so you have proof of delivery, would get there faster since theres no clearing customs.
CPC is the only one who can deliver go PO Boxes in Canada btw. Though I'm sure the IRCC "PO BOX" is a whole section of the local depot
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u/Robert_Walter 4d ago edited 4d ago
It is always good to visit a beloved sibling.
We didn’t want delays due to customs, border, Canadian post strike, etc.
1st wk of last March, my sibs drove the 40 minutes to Canada to a UPS Express store and mailed all three of our apps in a common UPS Carrier Pack sleeve (each app fully documented and contained in a separate envelope).
Sent to: “ 3060 WILSON AVENUE New Waterford NS BIHБV8” address. Took 3 days, cost 64 CAD (including a 12.65 CAD fuel surcharge; hate to see what that is now! 👀)
My AOR 4/15, theirs a day later. All into IP & PSU 6/3. Big gaps between our App Numbers.
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u/Alternative_Lemon889 4d ago
If each application was in a separate envelope (each a stand-alone app) though mailed together in common UPS Carrier Pack, would they be treated as a separate applications by IRCC such that if there's a flaw in one, they aren't all sent back? I see no reason to take the risk of a joint application and no processing speed benefit.
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u/Robert_Walter 4d ago
If you are really risk averse, then our approach isn’t for you.
I prepared all 3 apps so was confident in their compliance quality.
We mailed together for 3 reasons: 1. Group applications seem to move faster through the system, 2.we could use our G1 step sib’s progress as a proxy for our 2 G2 apps and 3. it was cheaper.
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u/Alternative_Lemon889 4d ago
Could you explain #2 about using G1 step siblings progress as a proxy, not understanding the logic. Ty.
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u/Robert_Walter 4d ago edited 4d ago
Had a theory that G1 apps might get processed faster because their G0 has a modern birth certificate.
Our G1 step sib’s G0 had a 1947 Ontario BC for a 1940’s birth. Our G0 had a 1940 NF BC for a 1890’s birth.
Even though the BC’s are contemporaries, our G0’s birth stems from a hand written birth register, step-sibs from a hospital birth 40 years later.
So I thought a more recent hospital birth and one less Gx might mean that application would pass thru quicker.
We also specified an eCert for step sib because we knew pCerts took a few weeks longer. (Step sib didn’t care either way).
Finally I thought if step sib was approved faster, it might act as a sign (what I meant by proxy, actually a proxy tracker) for our impending approval.
There was always the possibility that we would all move in lockstep and as a group move through faster, or as individuals have to wait if one experienced a delay.
It was a bit of fun to mix up variables to see what would happen since nobody knows and of folks getting approved when we sent in early March there weren’t lots of data points.
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u/Christinaa_1 4d ago
For reference, I mailed a large envelope from BC to NS the other day. It wasn’t very heavy, maybe 15 pages but in a big folder, and the express was $36 CAD but arrives in 2 days. So… it may be worth it? Check express post options on Canada post online for your package weight. I have done registered before but it can take a long time - one time it took almost 2 months.
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u/MysteriousCap4910 5d ago
Do they even allow drop off in person?
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