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How to get a pre-paid airway bill / envelope to return the passport?

May 18, 2016
12
2
I live in Chile. I've been requested to send my passport to the visa center in Mexico to get the visa. They also wrote:
"In order for us to return your documents, you must provide our office with a pre-paid airway bill ( a prepaid envelope from an international courier service company such as DHL, UPS, Fedex, etc.) Please ensure that the courier company used has service available in Mexico."

Sounds logical, but I contacted both DHL and UPS in Chile and they have nothing similar to a "pre-paid envelope".
DHL has something called RPA, which stands for "receiver pays". But it's unclear how it works, and they say I should first send my passport and only when it is in Mexico, I can request this service. This will require some kind of 3-party coordination with the visa center, DHL and myself, so I am afraid my passport may get stuck in Mexico.

So does anybody know how and where to purchase this pre-paid airway bill / envelope?
 

dlre

Star Member
Aug 30, 2014
123
39
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
Basically what you need to get from UPS or DHL is a waybill and envelope that will allow the visa center to send your passport back to you and you pay.

On the instructions for submitting your passport from the visa center, there should be an option for you to pay the visa center a courier fee so that they can arrange for the passport to be returned to you. I would suggest calling the visa center to check if that option is available.

The "receiver pays" seems more likely to be what you are looking for.
 

Kjo

Newbie
Aug 31, 2017
2
0
Hi, need your help. How did u do it finally. I am in same condition as yours..any help is appreciated.
 

javier.ths

Full Member
Oct 31, 2016
32
6
Malaysia
Category........
FSW
Visa Office......
Singapore
NOC Code......
2132
Hi greengreentari.

Not sure if you still need this info, but I'll just share my experience for the benefit of anyone else who might need it.

You can submit passport through VFS Global. They are Canadian government appointed organization to handle visas, documents, etc. Find your local VFS which is also called Visa Application Centre (VAC). If you can't physically submit your passport, then you can courier it to them. Follow the instructions on VFS website, or instructions in the passport request email/letter. You'll have to look up VFS on Google, specific to your country, because the process slightly differs for respective countries.

Once the visa or PR is approved, Canadian government will send your passport back to the same VAC. Then, VAC will courier it to the address you specified. Of course, the VAC will charge you for this courier service (and it's not a government fee).
 

bubbles26

Full Member
Jul 13, 2017
33
23
I live in Chile. I've been requested to send my passport to the visa center in Mexico to get the visa. They also wrote:
"In order for us to return your documents, you must provide our office with a pre-paid airway bill ( a prepaid envelope from an international courier service company such as DHL, UPS, Fedex, etc.) Please ensure that the courier company used has service available in Mexico."

Sounds logical, but I contacted both DHL and UPS in Chile and they have nothing similar to a "pre-paid envelope".
DHL has something called RPA, which stands for "receiver pays". But it's unclear how it works, and they say I should first send my passport and only when it is in Mexico, I can request this service. This will require some kind of 3-party coordination with the visa center, DHL and myself, so I am afraid my passport may get stuck in Mexico.

So does anybody know how and where to purchase this pre-paid airway bill / envelope?
Hi! I'm having the same issue but I'm in Colombia! How did you solve it? Did you use the visa center? Thank you so much in advance for the answer!
 

jaybird

Full Member
Jun 17, 2018
33
13
Hi all, I just did this and hoping this information helps someone.

We unfortunately had to move from Netherlands to Mexico partway through our application process so our visa office was Vienna but we were in Mexico! So when it came time to receive the CoPR, we were also scrambling to figure out how to get a prepaid waybill because DHL, FedEx each would not provide an international prepaid return label (they only do domestic return labels). We weren't about to fly to Europe just to arrange a courier! And Mexico's regular postal service is not reliable at all, so sending it by regular registered mail from Austria would surely not work.

The answer was to book online via UPS Austria. Do not book it as a "return" label, just create it as a regular one-way shipment online! We did not enter a real phone number in the required section (we just put in their fax number), because of course Vienna does not have an office number. We chose for email notifications, and make sure you check the box that says "Signature required" otherwise I'm not sure if it'll be tracked. The online system will then ask you for a collection/pickup time. Make sure you email the Vienna office to confirm, but they typically will allow for shipments from Monday to Thurs 8:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 4:00pm, and on Fridays 8:30am to 1:30pm.

It cost about 42 Euros and the turnaround time was less than a week. So, no matter what country you are in, try UPS because they seem to be the only ones who will allow you to book an international prepaid waybill online! Good luck all!