My wife's original diplomas lost in transit after WES evaluation. Need advice

[yankabatkay]

Dear seniors!

The actual situation is like this.
In October me and my wife received WES ECA report by express delivery. My original documents were UPS delivered as well. The original diplomas of my wife were sent by ordinary mail (many people did that and everybody got the package, but we are not fortunate enough) and apparently lost in transit. Normal time is 3-5 weeks and we have a 3 month delay here.
I tried to contact WES but they only answered a month ago "please confirm your mailing address" and after my response nothing happens. The post authorities say the parcel is either lost or returned to the sender due to possible lack of some viable info for the customs.
If some wonder happens I will receive them.
My question is
In case they are lost I can quickly report to the university and get DUPLICATES. Will that be ok for the documents submission? So I've got ORIGINAL ECA report and no scans of diplomas sent to WES unfortunately

 

[darklord]

WES explicitly states you should not send any original degree certificates, documents, etc. Why you had to send your original documents, you should never do this. WES or any organization never needs your original certificates?

Anyway, order duplicate copy of the original certificates from the university. As you already have WES ECA report, you are good for CIC submission. But you will need original scan copy of degree certificates so order one from university ASAP.

 

[yankabatkay]

Actually for my country (Belarus) they explicitly require ORIGINAL diplomas with apostille on it.
That's the only reason for sending them.

The duplicates will contain the same info but will have "DUPLICATE" written on it.
And the serial number will be different.

 

[AnnaBG]

Original diplinas with apostille on it is not that...
This is a notarized copy with an apostille on it. I was also requested the same original with apostille and after reading carefully the info they explain the original with aposttile is the notarized copy ..

The web site specifically says do not send original documents.

 

[CADparity]

The note about not sending originals is for translations only. WES states that you should not send original translations as they will not be returned. This does not pertain to original education documents. They explicitly state that all original education documents sent to WES will be returned to the applicant.

 

[yankabatkay]

The note about not sending originals is for translations only. WES states that you should not send original translations as they will not be returned. This does not pertain to original education documents. They explicitly state that all original education documents sent to WES will be returned to the applicant.

I absolutely agree with that. They DO require original credentials.
What do you think will DUPLICATES suffice CIC?

 

[AnnaBG]

You may be right.
However,
I sent only the notarized copies with the apostille and tthe original translation as I dont care if they lose those. I did not send original diplomas. Notarized copies are treated as originals.
I got evertthing returned and all went smoothly.
If you can use a notarized copy it is always better to do so instead sending original.

In my country getting a duplicate for a diploma is extremely time wasting and hard process. I assume tthis applies to other countries too.

As for CIC purposes I will upload scan of the original diplomas.

 

[DigitalDestiny]

Try contacting WES again along with the tracking information that you have. May be the mail was returned back to them. Originals are not required by WES and you should have at least taken the scans and photocopies before sending them.

CIC requires only the scans so if you have any old photocopy you can scan and upload it along with the ECA

Do order the duplicate copies from the university, there is no harm in getting those.

 

[CADparity]

You may be right.
However,
I sent only the notarized copies with the apostille and tthe original translation as I dont care if they lose those. I did not send original diplomas. Notarized copies are treated as originals.
I got evertthing returned and all went smoothly.
If you can use a notarized copy it is always better to do so instead sending original.

In my country getting a duplicate for a diploma is extremely time wasting and hard process. I assume tthis applies to other countries too.

As for CIC purposes I will upload scan of the original diplomas.

That's good to know for others in a similar situation, as WES doesn't explicitly say on its website that it accepts notarized copies. But if WES does accept notarized copies, then it's better not to send the originals.

 

[yankabatkay]

I was silly not to scan them prior to sending, that's true

Getting duplicates will cost round 8 dollars and 14 days. It's not a problem here.
BUT
every diploma has a unique serial number (it's a protected blank with watermarks and so on and on)
If I report these diplomas to be lost they give me the duplicates, having different serial numbers and previous blanks (those that are lost) are marked as valid no more in the database


Could that be a problem?

 

[yankabatkay]

That's good to know for others in a similar situation, as WES doesn't explicitly say on its website that it accepts notarized copies. But if WES does accept notarized copies, then it's better not to send the originals.

Yeah, good to know.

 

[CADparity]

I was silly not to scan them prior to sending, that's true

Getting duplicates will cost round 8 dollars and 14 days. It's not a problem here.
BUT
every diploma has a unique serial number (it's a protected blank with watermarks and so on and on)
If I report these diplomas to be lost they give me the duplicates, having different serial numbers and previous blanks (those that are lost) are marked as valid no more in the database


Could that be a problem?

The ECA doesn't mention serial numbers as far as I know. So I guess you can upload scans of the duplicates without explaining the different serial numbers. If there is any other indication on the diplomas that they are duplicates, you can explain that in a letter of explanation when submitting your documents. I don't think it should be a problem because by issuing the ECA, WES has already verified for CIC that you have the education you claim you have.

 

[DigitalDestiny]

I was silly not to scan them prior to sending, that's true

Getting duplicates will cost round 8 dollars and 14 days. It's not a problem here.
BUT
every diploma has a unique serial number (it's a protected blank with watermarks and so on and on)
If I report these diplomas to be lost they give me the duplicates, having different serial numbers and previous blanks (those that are lost) are marked as valid no more in the database


Could that be a problem?

If you are getting duplicate diplomas which is invalidating your originals, I think you may need new ECA as well. Better to email WES customer support and see what they say about this. Remember, post ITA CIC asks for scans of diplomas AND ECA report meaning they don't blindly trust just the ECA report.

Your worst nightmare would be to order a duplicate and then find WES/local postal department delivering your long lost package !

 

[lucky007]

You may be right.
However,
I sent only the notarized copies with the apostille and tthe original translation as I dont care if they lose those. I did not send original diplomas. Notarized copies are treated as originals.
I got evertthing returned and all went smoothly.
If you can use a notarized copy it is always better to do so instead sending original.

In my country getting a duplicate for a diploma is extremely time wasting and hard process. I assume tthis applies to other countries too.

As for CIC purposes I will upload scan of the original diplomas.

Hello All,

What a helpful thread! I have a similar situation here. WES updated my account with the following: "Please send the original academic document with the original apostille affixed to it. Original academic documents submitted to WES with an apostille will be returned to you upon completion of your evaluation"

The issue is apostille was affixed to my original certificates and transcripts combined which is I understand is a bit risky to send. I also have a photocopy of those 3 document (certificate, transcript and apostille) that has been notorized.

Please advise me on how to proceed. Many thanks in advance.