ARCHIVED – Notice – Possible Canada Post Service Disruption: Implications for IRCC’s Services

Ottawa, August 26, 2016 – Mail delivery in all regions across Canada may be interrupted or delayed by a possible postal service disruption at Canada Post.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), including the Passport Program, continues to operate as usual, and standard application deadlines, processing times, procedures and statutory requirements remain in place.

However, delays are possible for applications that rely on Canada Post’s postal services.

If possible, you should apply online to study or work in Canada or to visit Canada (details below) and upload electronic copies of documents instead of submitting paper applications.

IRCC may put further measures in place to minimize disruptions to its services. At that time, we will update this notice and our information on Canada.ca.

Passport and travel document applications

If you do not have any upcoming travel plans, we recommend that you wait to submit your application until the Canada Post service disruption has ended.

If you plan to travel within six weeks, apply for a passport in person at one of the 34 passport offices across Canada, or apply for a travel document in person at the Certificate of Identity Section. You will have three options to receive your passport:

1. urgent pickup (processed in 24 hours) for an additional fee of $110;
2. express pickup (processed in 2 to 9 business days) for an additional fee of $50;
3. pickup (processed in 10 business days) for an additional fee of $20.

Applicants from the United States (U.S.) should be aware that unregistered first class mail will be affected in the event of a Canada Post service disruption.

Effective immediately, applicants from the U.S. should submit applications by certified courier. Canada Post will not be delivering United States Postal Service mail during a Canada Post service interruption. Passport delivery to clients in the U.S. will continue using the Priority™ Worldwide service (FedEx).

Citizenship and immigration applications

To avoid any disruptions, apply online for

• study permits or extensions;
• work permits or extensions;
• visitor visas or extensions;
• skilled worker programs through Express Entry:
  • the Federal Skilled Worker Program,
  • the Canadian Experience Class, and
  • the Federal Skilled Trades Program.

You can also

• restore your status as a visitor, student or worker within 90 days of the visa expiry date;
• submit applications for your family members when you apply for or extend a visitor visa, study permit or work permit; and
• check the status of your application.

For applications not available online or for applications already sent by mail, we recommend that you link your paper application to your online account as soon as possible. That way, you will be able to see the most up-to-date information about your application and receive mail from IRCC online.

You can create an account or sign in or pay your fees at any time and use the IRCC web form to notify IRCC of any urgent situations.

Examples of urgent situations:

• you need the document to access benefits like a pension, a social insurance number or health care;
• you need to travel in the near future because of a death or serious illness in your family, and you need proof of your immigration or citizenship information to get a travel document (you will also need to include proof of death or serious illness, such as a note from your family member’s doctor);
• you can’t attend a Canadian school, college or university because you can’t prove that you are a permanent resident or Canadian citizen;
• you will lose your job or a job opportunity because you don’t have your immigration or citizenship documentation (you will also need to include an original letter from your employer);
• you have received a decision on an appeal to the Federal Court for a previous application for citizenship.

Please ensure that your current email address is noted in your account as IRCC may contact you by email instead of by mail.

To avoid duplication of requests, we ask that applicants not withdraw any applications that have been made by mail in order to resubmit them online. Further, please do not contact or present yourself to a local IRCC office unless you are directly instructed to do so by a departmental representative. Local IRCC offices cannot accept delivery of applications or other material unless they have specifically requested it from applicants.