Handling Your Mail While You Are in India

Long stay with family? How to keep getting your Canadian or US mail: post office options, family help, and virtual mailboxes.

Who this guide is for

  • You spend a few months in India with family, or for a wedding.
  • You split your year between Canada or the USA and India.
  • You are moving to India for a while but still have bank accounts, taxes or benefits back home.
  • Your parents get mail while they are back in India.

Your main choices

  • Hold or forward mail with the post office. Canada Post and USPS offer paid hold and forwarding services. This suits shorter trips.
  • Ask family or a trusted friend. It costs nothing, but it depends on their time.
  • Use a virtual mailbox. You get a street address, the company scans your envelopes, and you choose online whether to open, forward or shred each item.

PostScan Mail

PostScan Mail is one virtual mailbox company with addresses in cities across the USA and Canada. We do not currently earn money from this link. Rules differ by country. For US addresses, USPS requires a notarized Form 1583 before you can receive mail, so plan to do this before you leave. Compare plans by monthly letters and forwarding to India.

See PostScan Mail plans

Before you fly: checklist

  • Sign up for online mail with the CRA (My Account) or your US tax and benefit accounts.
  • Switch bank and card statements to paperless.
  • Tell your bank and card companies you will be in India.
  • Check your passport and PR card dates.
  • Update your address with anyone who sends important paper mail.

Keep your ID safe. Only give ID documents through the mailbox company's own website. Prices and rules change, so check the provider before you sign up.

Going for a long stay? Read our visa and OCI guide and packing guide.

All guidesGet fare tips by email