Urgent - PR card send to wrong address

[mmahmud]

Hi, I have a situation here. I landed in November, 2018. I have to move back to my country and my flight is booked on 25th this month. Since PR card processing was taking time I changed the address to a friend's house. When normal processing time exceeded I contacted IRCC and they confirmed they send it to the address I have given them as a update on January 10th. It never arrived. So I was double checking and found out that I made a mistake in the apartment number. Two digits were interchanged. Rest is okay. Now, the wrong address does not exist, so I am guessing it will be returned to IRCC. I already send them a message about the mistake I made and asked for advice. I am leaving Canada on Jan 25th and now this is happening. Anyone can suggest anything or any ideas what will happen?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Anik]

Hi, I have a situation here. I landed in November, 2018. I have to move back to my country and my flight is booked on 25th this month. Since PR card processing was taking time I changed the address to a friend's house. When normal processing time exceeded I contacted IRCC and they confirmed they send it to the address I have given them as a update on January 10th. It never arrived. So I was double checking and found out that I made a mistake in the apartment number. Two digits were interchanged. Rest is okay. Now, the wrong address does not exist, so I am guessing it will be returned to IRCC. I already send them a message about the mistake I made and asked for advice. I am leaving Canada on Jan 25th and now this is happening. Anyone can suggest anything or any ideas what will happen?

Thanks in advance.

We are in exactly the same situation - my dad's card was mailed but only afterward we noticed that the address on profile is missing the unit number completely (the address on the application was fine - I have a paper copy of my application). Unfortunately I only noticed that 2 weeks after the card was mailed (when I was already wondering why it has not arrived yet).
I phoned IRCC to get the address updated (and the agent did that) but they also said I have to wait 6 weeks and contact them after that (possibly fill out the solemn declaration form that the card was never received, but this can only be done after 6 weeks they said).

Not sure if there is any hope that maybe Canada post returns the card to them and maybe they remail it to us again without me doing any addional steps (that would be a miracle!) - not sure if IRCC will do it without my call or some additional steps (like that form they mentioned).

 

[mmahmud]

We are in exactly the same situation - my dad's card was mailed but only afterward we noticed that the address on profile is missing the unit number completely (the address on the application was fine - I have a paper copy of my application). Unfortunately I only noticed that 2 weeks after the card was mailed (when I was already wondering why it has not arrived yet).
I phoned IRCC to get the address updated (and the agent did that) but they also said I have to wait 6 weeks and contact them after that (possibly fill out the solemn declaration form that the card was never received, but this can only be done after 6 weeks they said).

Not sure if there is any hope that maybe Canada post returns the card to them and maybe they remail it to us again without me doing any addional steps (that would be a miracle!) - not sure if IRCC will do it without my call or some additional steps (like that form they mentioned).

Wow! I thought I was the only one facing this. But you said two weeks have passed since it was mailed? That probably means the letter was not returned to IRCC right? Do you know if the Solemn Oath thing can be done from abroad?

 

[Anik]

Wow! I thought I was the only one facing this. But you said two weeks have passed since it was mailed? That probably means the letter was not returned to IRCC right? Do you know if the Solemn Oath thing can be done from abroad?

Yes, I phoned after exactly 2 weeks. But did not expect it to come back after 2 weeks - we are on the West coast and they are in NS, so it is probably about 4-5 business days each way plus there may be some processing in between... Plus I am not sure how much returned mail IRCC gets - probably all those letters go into some waiting area like the applications do so that is probably why they give themselves 6 week time.

Not sure about the declaration form from abroad. They may suggest applying for travel document. Have you called them? If you can, please share later what you found out...Such a hassle (for you and for us as well) - what was supposed to be a simple (if lengthyin terms of wait ) process :-(

 

[mmahmud]

Yes, I phoned after exactly 2 weeks. But did not expect it to come back after 2 weeks - we are on the West coast and they are in NS, so it is probably about 4-5 business days each way plus there may be some processing in between... Plus I am not sure how much returned mail IRCC gets - probably all those letters go into some waiting area like the applications do so that is probably why they give themselves 6 week time.

Not sure about the declaration form from abroad. They may suggest applying for travel document. Have you called them? If you can, please share later what you found out...Such a hassle (for you and for us as well) - what was supposed to be a simple (if lengthyin terms of wait ) process :-(

Yeah I know. I am trying to call them but cannot go through. I will post here what I get to know from them. Hopefully things will be sorted quickly.

 

[Anik]

Yeah I know. I am trying to call them but cannot go through. I will post here what I get to know from them. Hopefully things will be sorted quickly.

It took me 40 min on hold to get through :-(

Wondering if one posts a web inquiry (using case # etc) on their website - how long does it take for them to process it and get some kind of response...

 

[mmahmud]

It took me 40 min on hold to get through :-(

Wondering if one posts a web inquiry (using case # etc) on their website - how long does it take for them to process it and get some kind of response...

You can use the web form.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/contacts/web-form.asp
They say they try to response within 5 business days I think. I already send them a message there as soon I got to know that I made a mistake. And with my flight coming up, things are getting tensed.

 

[canuck78]

Yes, I phoned after exactly 2 weeks. But did not expect it to come back after 2 weeks - we are on the West coast and they are in NS, so it is probably about 4-5 business days each way plus there may be some processing in between... Plus I am not sure how much returned mail IRCC gets - probably all those letters go into some waiting area like the applications do so that is probably why they give themselves 6 week time.

Not sure about the declaration form from abroad. They may suggest applying for travel document. Have you called them? If you can, please share later what you found out...Such a hassle (for you and for us as well) - what was supposed to be a simple (if lengthyin terms of wait ) process :-(

Seems like they want people to wait 6 weeks. Returned mail takes time to be returned by Canada post then IRCC has to figure out why it was sent back and send it again. Someone also has to send it back. Unfortunately some people throw out mail sent to their address incorrectly or leave it next to the mailboxes in an apartment building or condo.

 

[Anik]

Seems like they want people to wait 6 weeks. Returned mail takes time to be returned by Canada post then IRCC has to figure out why it was sent back and send it again. Someone also has to send it back. Unfortunately some people throw out mail sent to their address incorrectly or leave it next to the mailboxes in an apartment building or condo.

Yes, that is how I envision this too...Wondering if there is also any delay at Canada Post for such mailings. I know they keep trackable parcels at local postal offices for a bit (10 days I was told) but what happens to the non-trackable undeliverable mail (e.g. incomplete or wrong address as in our scenarios) - i.e how quickly it goes back to sender (i.e. IRCC)...

 

[Anik]

You can use the web form.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/contacts/web-form.asp
They say they try to response within 5 business days I think. I already send them a message there as soon I got to know that I made a mistake. And with my flight coming up, things are getting tensed.

Let us know if you hear back from them.

Did the address on your profile change? For me it changed the next day after I called them to get it corrected (so there is at least one day delay even with the agent)

 

[eblend]

I called regarding my address issue today, they changed it on the profile but could not guarantee that it would be shipped to the right spot...they said the card is in production now, which doesn't match what our online tracking says, so we will see. Almost wish it would take a couple more days as the online still shows the wrong address, even after callin in, so must be a while to upgrade throughout the whole system.

For anyone who is curious, I called and followed 1-2-0 prompts to talk about the address issue. The system is tricky, it's configured to detect the area you are calling from based on your phone number, and that's how they enforce the 8-4 LOCAL time hours. I called at 6:30AM my time and it didn't go through, says system is too busy and call again later. I went online and changed my callerID on my voip provider (voip.ms) to show a toronto caller ID, and was able to reach them at 6:30AM my time with 35 minute wait time. Sneaky.

I don't know if anyone has ever tried, but if the wrong address is known, maybe try to look up that address and see if you can find out the person who lives there..it's a long shot but people share many things online nowadays, worth a look. If you can find the person and start a conversation and explain the situation, perhaps they would be able to forward your mail to the right address, vs waiting forever for it to come back to CIC.

 

[canuck78]

I called regarding my address issue today, they changed it on the profile but could not guarantee that it would be shipped to the right spot...they said the card is in production now, which doesn't match what our online tracking says, so we will see. Almost wish it would take a couple more days as the online still shows the wrong address, even after callin in, so must be a while to upgrade throughout the whole system.

For anyone who is curious, I called and followed 1-2-0 prompts to talk about the address issue. The system is tricky, it's configured to detect the area you are calling from based on your phone number, and that's how they enforce the 8-4 LOCAL time hours. I called at 6:30AM my time and it didn't go through, says system is too busy and call again later. I went online and changed my callerID on my voip provider (voip.ms) to show a toronto caller ID, and was able to reach them at 6:30AM my time with 35 minute wait time. Sneaky.

I don't know if anyone has ever tried, but if the wrong address is known, maybe try to look up that address and see if you can find out the person who lives there..it's a long shot but people share many things online nowadays, worth a look. If you can find the person and start a conversation and explain the situation, perhaps they would be able to forward your mail to the right address, vs waiting forever for it to come back to CIC.

Think most Canadians will be helpful. I still text the person who previously lived at my address if random mail shows up and deliver mail that has been dropped off to the wrong address

 

[mmahmud]

Let us know if you hear back from them.

Did the address on your profile change? For me it changed the next day after I called them to get it corrected (so there is at least one day delay even with the agent)

Hi, I am still trying to talk to them. No luck yesterday. Where do you check the address change?

 

[mmahmud]

Finally was able to talk to them after waiting for around 35 minutes and 7-8 tries continuously. The agent said, my address is now updated. I will have to wait for 6 weeks and then call them again. If the PR card is returned to IRCC within this 6 weeks, they will resend it to the correct address. However, if not, I will have to apply for a new card which cannot be done from outside Canada. I will have to apply for a PRTD and then come back and apply. So, now I must wait for 6 weeks. Lets hope that the cards do get send back to IRCC and they forward it to the right address. Otherwise, it will be a number of extra steps.

 

[Anik]

Finally was able to talk to them after waiting for around 35 minutes and 7-8 tries continuously. The agent said, my address is now updated. I will have to wait for 6 weeks and then call them again. If the PR card is returned to IRCC within this 6 weeks, they will resend it to the correct address. However, if not, I will have to apply for a new card which cannot be done from outside Canada. I will have to apply for a PRTD and then come back and apply. So, now I must wait for 6 weeks. Lets hope that the cards do get send back to IRCC and they forward it to the right address. Otherwise, it will be a number of extra steps.

I feel your pain!

Anyone tried to call Canada Post customer service - to find out what their process would be in this scenario (like yours or mine)? I.e. do they send back to sender right away or keep it somewhere for some time etc?
Thinking about calling and asking - not to find our card but just to understand when realistically we can hope the card would get back to the sender IRCC (if ever)