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Yes, but not with the free standard forwarding. USPS change-of-address forwarding is domestic only; for another country you need Premium Forwarding Service, which bundles your mail and ships it weekly by Priority Mail to your foreign address. Canada Post offers international redirection as a separate option on its mail redirection service. Neither happens automatically when you move abroad, and both carry an extra charge.
| USPS | Canada Post | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard forwarding | Domestic US addresses only; free for the usual period | Domestic redirection for a set term and fee |
| International option | Premium Forwarding Service: weekly Priority Mail shipment abroad, fee plus postage | International redirection add-on to the domestic redirection order |
| What travels | Most first-class mail and packages; bulk mail is generally dropped | Letter mail; parcels and some items are excluded |
| What to do first | Enroll at the post office or online before you leave | Set up redirection before the move; add the international option |
Instead of forwarding each piece as it arrives, the post office holds your mail, packs it into one Priority Mail shipment each week, and sends the bundle to your address abroad. You pay an enrollment fee plus the weekly postage. Because everything ships as one package, it beats per-piece international postage by a comfortable amount, but it is still a weekly cadence: urgent mail arrives on the next shipment's schedule, not sooner.
Canada Post's redirection service moves your mail to a new address for a fixed term, and the international option extends that to addresses outside Canada for an additional fee. It covers letter mail; parcels, magazines, and some addressed admail follow different rules. Like the US version, it must be arranged before you leave, and it has a defined end date after which senders need your real address.
Bulk and standard-class mail is typically weeded out rather than forwarded, on both sides of the border. Government notices with do-not-forward endorsements (IRS mail is the classic example) come back to the sender instead. And forwarding has a shelf life: once the term expires, mail starts coming back as undeliverable. International forwarding buys you a transition window, not a permanent address.
Most people who move abroad for a while keep some US or Canadian address in the loop: a family member's house, a mail scanning service, or a PO box. The reasons are practical. Some senders (banks, insurers, tax agencies) refuse to mail to foreign addresses at all, and having a domestic address on file keeps those relationships working while the forwarding handles the rest. Update the important senders directly; forwarding is the safety net, not the plan.
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LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
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