A common question received by Down Under Visa. It’s also common for applicants to worry about things going missing, and yes we do understand this concern. Losses of documents would certainly lead to delays.

This is why we have two solid recommendations for sending us documents by courier:

1. From inside the Philippines, use LBC Couriers
2. From Australia, use Express Courier International

LBC Couriers

We’ve recommended LBC for many years, and we’ve found them to be very safe, efficient and easy to use. Post offices are few and far between, but LBC is hard to miss.

Are they safe?

Packages are sealed in clear plastic where you can see if someone tampers with it. It’s signed-for when dropped off at the LBC branch, and it’s signed-for when received at our office. No one goes through the packages, and they don’t go missing.

And yes, they are fairly cheap. Most packages will cost P100 to P150. Is the post office cheaper? Yes, marginally. But it’s not worth it. Not secure. Not fast. And invariably we have to trek down to the post office and wait in a queue to get it! So please stick to LBC.

Express Courier International

This is an actual COURIERED product from Australia Post, and we really need you to use it. It is definitely NOT the same as Express POST International. Express COURIER is tracked all the way to our office, and it’s signed for when it arrives. The “post” product is not, which means it can go missing and generally takes longer.

Issues with couriers

You can track both of these products on their websites, ie http://auspost.com.au/track/ for Express Courier in Australia and http://www.lbcexpress.com/ for LBC.

You can do this, but please remember that the data on the tracking is not always 100% accurate.

1. Couriers the world over are fond of putting “attempted delivery” down. This means they ran out of time, and will generally deliver the following day. It does NOT mean we finished early and headed down the pub, nor does it mean they can’t find our office. They are at our office probably every day.
2. Sometimes they assume they will assume that they WILL deliver, and can put down that they have when it fact they haven’t. Again, probably the next day. We haven’t lost anything.
3. Oh, and Australia Post are fond of telling people that Express Courier International WILL delivery in 3 to 4 days. Clients sometimes tell us the actual day that it will arrive! Around 6 working days is closer to being accurate.

So please use these services, and please don’t panic. Documents going missing is basically something that doesn’t happen when you use these services.

And remember that documents arriving and documents being received-and-correct don’t happen in the same instant. We put a lot of effort into checking documents for accuracy and suitability before we update To-Do Lists.