Operational Bulletin 352 - December 1, 2011

Ending the printing and mailing of application forms and instruction guides (kits)

Purpose

As of December 1, 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will no longer print and distribute application forms and instruction guides (kits) to clients, with some limited exceptions.

Background

As a result of CIC’s Strategic Review, the Department has decided to eliminate the printing and mailing of application kits, with an anticipated cost savings of $500,000 annually. The Department will continue to print and mail application kits and forms on-demand in the following instances:

• Individuals requesting Braille or large print format.
• Individuals who self identify as all of the following:
  • do not have access to the internet or who do not have a printer;
  • do not have family members or friends who can assist them; and
  • unable to access application kits via an organization or business due to a mobility disability.
• Individuals who reside in remote areas where internet access is unavailable. This can be verified on the Industry Canada website at: www.ic.gc.ca/app/sitt/bbmap/hm.html?lng=eng.
• Individuals requesting one of the following CIC forms:
  • Handling of Public Money payment receipt (IMM 5401);
  • Insufficient fee receipt (IMM 5412);
  • Supplementary Identification form (IMM 5455) for the Permanent Resident Card; or
  • Privately sponsored refugees requesting the Application for Permanent Residence in Canada: Convention refugees abroad and humanitarian-protected persons abroad (IMM 6000) [for missions only].

Note that the exceptions above apply to individuals only. CIC will completely cease to mail out bulk orders as of December 1, 2011.

Instructions

As of December 1, 2011, when a member of the public contacts CIC staff for the purpose of obtaining a CIC application kit or form that is accessible at www.cic.gc.ca, these steps should be followed:

1. Advise the person requesting the application kit or form that they are available on the CIC website at: www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/index.asp. Applicants should be encouraged to use e-applications or interactive 2D barcode forms whenever possible or download the application forms to their computer and fill them electronically prior to printing. Front-line staff should direct requests for greater assistance to the CIC call centre.
2. For call centre agents, if the individual expresses an inability to find the application kit or form needed and has an e-mail address, access the info-client tool to send the client an e-mail with the link to the appropriate application, kit or form.
3. If the individual indicates a need for, or requests a Braille or large print format application kit, order the kit on their behalf, as per usual practice.
4. If the individual cannot access the internet from home or work or does not have a printer, suggest asking for assistance from a family member or a friend. Suggest also using a public library or finding a business that provides internet access and printing services. In addition, service providing organizations (SPOs) may be a possibility as many settlement SPOs provide assistance to new immigrants in terms of accessing information and applications on the CIC website.
5. Place an order in the Kits Management System (KMS) for the individual if any of the following conditions are met:
   1. The individual states that they do not have internet, computer or printer access and have a mobility issue that does not permit them to obtain assistance and cannot ask family or friends for assistance.
   2. The individual states that their community is too remote for internet access. This can be verified on the Industry Canada website at: www.ic.gc.ca/app/sitt/bbmap/hm.html?lng=eng.