Info:
BDLS Ottawa operates a British Forces Post Office (BFPO) service for both official and personal mail for the Defence Adviser, the Naval and Air Adviser and WO2 posted to Ottawa but has been extended to the UK Military personnel based in Ottawa and Kingston only because the of their proximity and regular visits to Ottawa.
The service may be used for mail to the UK and other BFPO addresses, but not to non-BFPO address in other countries. This service is not available to the general public. Though BFPO mail does not require an Airmail sticker, every parcel coming into Canada or going to the UK must have a return address and a CN 22 Customs Declaration sticker affixed. This includes parcels that you receive from retailers and family/friends. Should there be no customs label, the Royal Mail and/or BFPO will return the item to the sender, hence why every item should have a clearly marked return address listed on the parcel. BDLS holds a small supply of the CN 22 stickers or you can pick some up from UK post offices or online.
Maximum weight for parcels both TO and FROM the UK is 11kg and the parcel must not exceed 1.05 meters in length or 2.0 meters/length/girth combined. No perishable goods should be sent and no more than 1 litre of alcohol (spirits, wine or beer) is permitted per parcel. Parcels should be securely wrapped as experience has shown that flimsy wrapping is often damaged in transit and contents lost.
Mail from UK to Ottawa: BDLS collects the mail from the Ottawa airport on average once a week. Mail can take from as little as 5-days and up to 3-months to arrive, but on average only 2 to 3 weeks. Mail from Ottawa to UK: ‘Homecoming’ mail is sent back to the UK via Defence or Royal Mail mail bags. They are given to Air Canada Cargo in Ottawa who then put the bags on a flight to Toronto for a connecting flight to London Heathrow. Mail can be back in the UK within 7-days minimum or a couple of weeks.
A “Care of…” address should be used if the recipient is a relative of a UK staff member or Exchange Officer. Please do not put CANADA anywhere on the piece or mail/parcel as it may delay it. For those EOs who have ordered ‘kit’ from ‘Stores’, you will only be able to use the BFPO 487 system. BDLS will then use your UIN to pay for the Canadian postage to get the parcel to you.