Spanish Post is the national operator for the forwarding of various kinds of items both within the state and abroad. The Spanish kingdom is a member of the Universal Postal Union, and Correos is the leading provider of this type of service. The operator's activities are regulated by the country's Ministry of Development. What are the features of this service and how to send a parcel or letter to or from Spain, it will be important for everyone who needs this kind of service to know.
A little about the Spanish post
The Spanish postal service began its activities in 1716 as a public organization. And today all residents and guests of the kingdom, without exception, can use its services. The full name of the organization is Sociedаd Estatal Correоs y Telégrafos, S.A. or Correos (mail) for short.
Correos is part of the Correos Group, a corporation wholly owned by the Spanish government. The rest of the corporation members provide additional services:
- Nexea - deals with large mailings in the business community;
- ChronoExpress - express delivery;
- Correos Telecom - creation of telecommunication networks for enterprises.
In addition to the fact that the company provides the opportunity to send parcels to Spain from Moscow and back, it is one of the members of the Express Mail Service cooperative and is engaged in sending EMS shipments.
There are about 6 thousand post offices in Spain. They can be found in every town, at every train station, in sea and air ports.
In addition to the national operator, there are other companies providing postage forwarding services in the kingdom:
- UPS;
- DHL Barcelona;
- FedEx and others.
The difference between the two is mainly in the shipping cost.
Delivery times and methods
All senders have the ability to forward a parcel in two ways:
- economical;
- priority.
The second option is faster and therefore more expensive. Within the country, such items move at a fairly high speed. However, if we are talking about delivery abroad, for example, to Russia, then this type of service will cease to operate immediately after crossing the border. This means that it will be possible to receive the parcel no earlier than when ordering the Economy package. Accordingly, it makes no sense to pay any more. At the same time, the “Economy” package allows you to insure the shipment, and the “priority” package is sent only with an indication of the estimated value.
Speaking about how long a parcel takes from Spain to Russia, it should be noted that delivery times can vary from 10 days to 1.5 months from the date of dispatch.
Features of express delivery
As mentioned above, the Spanish kingdom is a member of a cooperative that provides international courier delivery services to the population - EMS. In order to send something in this way, you must inform the operator who will accept your order that you want to use the services of EMS Postal Expres.
Courier delivery to Spain involves filling out a special form. Enter information (country and locality) in English. When sending a parcel to Russia, it is better to indicate the recipient's address in Russian. This will avoid mistakes during the delivery of goods to their destination.
However, it should be noted that EMS shipments have some limitations - in particular, the sum of three dimensions (length + height + width) should not exceed 200 cm, provided that the length of each side is no more than 100 cm.
Varieties of track numbers
Each shipment after registration at the post office receives a unique number. Its format depends on the type of parcel:
- small package (postal item up to 2 kg) - Rx123456785ES. If such a shipment is sent by regular mail, no postal identifier is assigned to it;
- shipment from 2 to 20 kg (parcels and parcels) - Сx123456787ES;
- express delivery - Ex123456789ES.
The indicated combinations of numbers and letters mean the following:
- letters R, C, E - this is the type of item;
- x - a letter of the Latin alphabet (A-Z), which makes the number unique;
- 123456789 - a code that also ensures the uniqueness of the receipt number;
- ES - cipher of the country from which the parcel is sent. In this case, it is Spain - ES.
The only thing that the encoding does not allow to find out is the country to which the cargo is sent - this possibility is not provided for by the structure of the alphanumeric combination. Correos Spain Post is also tracked using this code on the receipt.
In Russia, a different encoding is used - it usually includes 14 digits. Aliexpress uses a cipher similar to Spanish. For example, the letters at the beginning of the receipt number can mean:
- RB, RA - air parcel;
- RC - parcel post, which will also be sent by air;
- RT - an envelope that will be delivered by air;
- RR - shipment, delivery of which will be carried out by sea or rail.
At the end of such a code, the company that transports the parcel will always be indicated.
How to track the cargo
Considering how long it takes for a parcel from Spain to Moscow, it can be assumed that both the sender and the recipient would like to know how the cargo moves between the two states.
It should be noted right away that tracking small packages and letters is only possible in Spanish territory. But the delivery of large cargo can be controlled from the point of departure to the point of arrival.
Tracking can be done on the Spanish Post website. To do this, enter the number of the shipment receipt and click the search button.
If several cargoes go to Russia, on the same portal you can simultaneously track postal items from Spain. In this case, the search results are sent by e-mail.
For parcels sent by express mail, this function is available in a limited format: you can only find out key events along the way and only in the territory of the recipient's country (entry, arrival, delivery).
You can track a parcel from Spain to Russia on other resources:
- parcelsapp.com/carriers/correos-spain - by installing this application on your phone, you can track shipments from Spain, as well as Hong Kong, China, Singapore;
- 1track.ru/postservice/spain-post - here you can find out where your cargo is located, sent from China, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan;
- postal.ninja/ru/p/correos-espana/tracking - on this resource you can control the movement of the parcel in Russian.
Shipment statuses
After sending a parcel to Madrid from Barcelona, Alicante or any other Spanish city, it will not be superfluous to know at what stage of the journey it is. By resorting to the help of one of the track services, you can get information about her movement. The corresponding status will inform you about this:
| Status | Equivalent in Russian |
|---|---|
| Salida de la Oficina Internacional de origen | Left the international departure point |
| Llegada a la Oficina Internacional de destino | Arrived at an international destination |
| Admitido | Accepted |
| En proceso de entrega | In the process of delivery |
| Salida de envo de oficina de cambio destino | Forwarded from the sorting point (Spain ESMADB is a transit point for sending international goods, it acts as a sorting station). |
| Entregado | Delivered |
| Envo pendiente de ser recogido en Oficina Postal | Awaiting receipt at the post office |
| Retenido en Aduana | Held at customs |
| Emitido aviso al Destinatario | A notification has been sent to the recipient |
| Recibida transferencia | Shipment received |
| Pre-registrado | Pre-registered |
| No admitido | Not accepted |
| No entregado | Not delivered |
| Devuelto por no completarse la tramitacin | Returned due to incorrect design |
| En proceso de devolucin | In the process of returning |
| Entregado al remitente | Delivered to sender |
| Pre-registrado. El remitente ha pre-registrado el envío en los sistemas de Correos. | Pre-registered The sender has registered the parcel in the postal system |
| En proceso de entrega. El envío ya se encuentra en la localidad de destino y será entregado en breve. | In the process of delivery.The shipment is already at its destination and will be delivered shortly. |
How to send cargo from Spain
An important feature of sending cargo from the Kingdom of Spain is the lack of inspection of the departure. This means that you can forward anything you want, except for prohibited items. However, delivery from Spain to Russia has a number of features that must be taken into account even before you register the parcel.
Cost calculation
Parcels weighing less than 2 kg are most often sent by regular registered mail. The price of this service is 19.8 euros. Basically, envelopes with documents, postcards and letters fall into this category.
But in order to find out the cost of a parcel from Spain to Russia weighing from 2 to 31 kg, you need to know its exact weight and size. The exact amount will be calculated using the online calculator on the Correos website. To do this, you must specify:
- exact weight;
- height, length and width of the parcel;
- point of departure;
- country of destination;
- estimated value;
- number of seats.
For example, a shipment weighing 13 kg and measuring 36 x 24 x 20 cm will cost 37.39 euros.
When talking about how much it costs to send a parcel to Spain, keep in mind that this will largely depend on the service you choose to use. Russian Post offers its subscribers the following tariffs:
| Shipment type | Price in rubles |
|---|---|
| Cargo up to 1 kg (full and incomplete) by land transport | 1140 |
| Fee for each additional kg (full or incomplete) by land transport | 150 |
| Cargo up to 1 kg by air | 1220 |
| Fee for each additional kg by air | 220 |
In addition, it should be remembered that for every 100 rubles of the assessed value, a fee of 4 rubles (including VAT) will be charged. At the same time, payment for delivery from the place of receiving the goods to the point of international exchange of goods is not charged.
You can send a letter to Spain weighing up to 100 g for 106 rubles by land transport and 129 - by air. If you need to send a registered letter, you need to add another 112 rubles to the tariff.
The approximate delivery time for goods from Moscow is 14-20 days. However, this period may be extended due to customs delays.
We fill in the declaration
If you have to send a cargo weighing more than two kilograms, you will have to fill out a declaration. It must contain the following information:
- information about the sender;
- information about the recipient;
- estimated cost (in numbers and words);
- type of content (clothes, documents, books, toys, etc.);
- list of contents (you need to break it down into categories, but do not indicate each item separately).
Please note that all information about the recipient and the sender must be specified accurately, otherwise it will complicate the delivery of the goods.
To send a regular letter from Russia, you need to stick a stamp on it and indicate the postal code in Spain. But when sending a small package to a Russian recipient, you should remember that it will arrive faster if you send it through the central post office in your city, rather than just dropping the letter into the mailbox.
Shipment insurance
Parcels sent in an economical way can be insured. This service will cost about 9 euros if the insurance amount is between 150 and 200 euros. If the cargo was lost or damaged, the Correos insurance service is connected to the solution of the issue.
To receive compensation, you must fill out a notification form, in which you should indicate what exactly happened to your cargo. It must be accompanied by receipts, which can be used to confirm the value of the damaged or lost products. It may take about 3 months to review the request.
To purchase an extended package of insurance, you will have to pay a certain amount.
Customs regulations of the Russian Federation
Anyone who is interested in how to send a parcel to Spain from Russia should carefully study the rules that are established by Russian customs for the forwarding of goods. In particular, the duty-free limit for 1 person is 1000 euros and 31 kg per month. Anything over and above is subject to a duty, the amount of which is 30% of the total cost, but not less than 4 euros per 1 kg of cargo.
For example, a parcel arrived with a declared value of 1500 euros: 1500-1000 multiplied by 30% = 150 euros (payment is made in rubles at the exchange rate on the day of the operation). If a cargo weighing 40 kg and a cost of 500 euros arrived, the duty in this case will be 40 - 31 x 4 = 36 euros (also in rubles at the exchange rate).
Speaking about how to send a letter to Spain from Russia, it should be noted that this procedure only involves paying for postage and stamps.
Letters are not subject to customs duties.
Spanish Post Contacts
Spanish Post users will need the main contacts of the company:
- version of the site in English;
- phone: 902197197;
- send a message to the organization by filling out a special online form - www.correos.es/ss/Satellite/site/pagina-contacto/sidioma=en_GB;
- Facebook account - www.facebook.com/correos.es;
- Twitter account - twitter.com/correosatiende?lang=es;
- the official website of the Spanish Post is www.correos.es.
FAQ
Sometimes senders and recipients have to face difficulties that they never knew existed. Here are some examples of what the company's customers often ask about:
- What if the cargo is at customs for a long time? It all depends on what exactly is in the shipment. If these are goods purchased in an online store, then sometimes it is easier to refuse the parcel. If these are your personal belongings that are dear to you, then you can do customs clearance yourself (on the website www.adtpostales.com/acceder.asp) or use the services of an intermediary.
- What does in transit status mean? If you see such an inscription in the online tracker, it means that your postal item is on the way, that is, it follows the transit corridor from the country of departure to the point of arrival.
Outcomes
The bulk of shipments within and outside Spain are handled by the national operator Correos. The company provides services within the Economy, Priority and express delivery packages. Shipping times can range from 10 days to 1.5 months, depending on the final destination.
