beckiwoo

They are not taking that long to arrive to a UK address. I’ve made 2 orders (one in November and one mid January). Both were sent to my mum’s address spot on the date they estimated them to be dispatched.

Im just waiting on the ones in January to arrive from my mum to out here.

mark.uk1980

Being delivered to my fathers house in uk would a photo picture uploaded be enough as most of my other docs have been sent this way via internet?

christmasoompa

What visa are you actually applying for? And what route i.e. if you're applying for PR, it is via Express Entry/Spousal Sponsorship/etc? Your checklist should tell you whether it needs to be original or not (it usually does, a photo won't suffice), but if you can clarify then we can try and help.

Hurlabrick

+1!

I am doing the family history thing. Proper certified paper birth certificates taking about 4 weeks to arrive at our Canadian address. PDFs taking 5 days, so I guess the difference is printing and mail delays.

mark.uk1980

Spouse sponsor for PR

Hurlabrick

If you have not already discovered it, I would highly recommend the spousal sponsorship page on the wiki part of this forum here:

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spous...lication_Forms

mark.uk1980

Thanks hurlabrick
application started on aug 1st 2019 should have been completed by aug 1st 2020 but covid has delayed it

scilly

Beckiwoo and Hurlabrick .............

Thank you. I haven't ordered any since early last year, but I know people in the family history circles that I belong to were complaining as late as last October/November that people in the UK were waiting 6-8 weeks for mailed certificates and something up to 2-4 weeks for the pfds.

Hurlabrick ............ it's always taken 3-4 weeks for the real certificates to reach Canada. The pdf time is about the same anywhere in the world so far as I can make out.

The nice thing is that there is no extra charge for overseas, it's exactly the same as for UK delivery.

Beckiwoo ................ may I ask, why aren't you having the certs delivered to Canada?? The £11 is the same anywhere in the world.

scilly

Thank you ..... I've ordered a lot of them over the last 15 or so years. The pdf format is very recent, for birth and death certificates only, but are good enough for the ones I need now, which are not for closely related ancestors but just confirming side issues.

That's why I didn't know whether the pdf would be good enough for mark.

beckiwoo

so when I attempted to do that, it came up with £35 international postage for each certificate - there was no way I was paying that. I didn’t realize that the £11 is for world wide so maybe I clicked on the wrong thing - I will have to check that. Thanks.

With the 3 certificates I just ordered, I think I wanted my mum to check they were correct before sending them out - which they are.

In regard to the certificates being mailed out and the long wait. I’m guessing that depends on if you do the search and give the info (the quarter/volume no. etc.) or if they have to do it. It takes longer if they have to do it.

Another good search site I used was: https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl

scilly

[QUOTE=beckiwoo;12968264]so when I attempted to do that, it came up with £35 international postage for each certificate - there was no way I was paying that. I didn’t realize that the £11 is for world wide so maybe I clicked on the wrong thing - I will have to check that. Thanks.

With the 3 certificates I just ordered, I think I wanted my mum to check they were correct before sending them out - which they are.

In regard to the certificates being mailed out and the long wait. I’m guessing that depends on if you do the search and give the info (the quarter/volume no. etc.) or if they have to do it. It takes longer if they have to do it.

Another good search site I used was: https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl[/QUOTE]

Yes, Freebmd takes all its information from GRO. The major difference is that Freebmd does not have mother's maiden names (mmn) on its records for births before about 1900.

The original GRO record does have mmn, which can be a HUGE help when you're researching back in the family.

mark.uk1980

Update to this thread

My father sent birth certificates got as far as customs in Canada they have been returned to uk stating they non compliant with customs regulations.

spouse of scouse

That sounds odd. Did your dad complete a customs declaration form?

Did You Know? A proper declaration must be made on any items being imported by mail. This not only allows the CBSA to correctly assess the imported goods, but will help speed up the clearance process for the parcel.
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/p.../menu-eng.html

beckiwoo

Very strange. My mum sent 2x birth certificates and 1x marriage certificate - just put them in a normal envelope- they got through fine.

I thought customs declaration were only for packets and parcels - not cards and letters/flat envelopes..?!

Former Lancastrian

I guess it depends on what is thought an envelope, letter pack or package?

From the UK Royal Mail website

Customs forms are now mandatory for all gifts and goods sent to a country outside the UK, except when sending items from Northern Ireland to the EU.

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/mail/customs-forms