Shipping

Be sure to share this information with parents or others who may send you a package.

If you must ship items to Spain, address packages to the program office and time their arrival for after you are in Madrid. The U.S. Embassy in Madrid does not recommend receiving packages because of the numerous problems they have been alerted to by Americans about the costly and unreliable postal system. There is no guarantee you will receive your package. Packages mailed to the program are not always delivered directly to the WIP office. Instead, the postal service delivers a notification, and the package is held at the post office. If the package arrives in August or December when the office is closed, no one will pick it up and it will be returned to the United States.

Address packages to yourself in care of the WIP office. Use the full and complete address, including postal code. There are many regulations about what types of items you may send to Spain. Check with your local post office about dimensions, prices, and import regulations.

Prescription medicine: According to Spanish law, you may NOT have prescription drugs sent to you from the U.S. You must bring a supply with you for the entire semester or go to a Spanish doctor to have the equivalent prescription (if available) prescribed to you in Spain. WIP staff can assist you with this. You must therefore know the main ingredients of any prescription drug you are taking in its generic name terms, since brand names are sometimes very different in Spain from their U.S. equivalent. Talk to your doctor before departing for Spain.

Filling out the customs form: For customs purposes, the sender of any package sent to you will have to fill out a “green sticker” identifying the contents of the package. WARNING: The person sending you the package will have to put an estimated value on the sticker. This is not for insurance purposes but is considered the “commercial” value of the contents. Consequently, if the price is over a certain amount, you will be liable for customs duty here and may have to pay a tax to pick up your package. Therefore, be sure the value is less than $20. Under “content” on the green slip write, “No commercial value” and “used items for personal use” to explain the content of snacks and other things friends and family send you. This may help you avoid a tax import, but you will be charged anywhere from 40-60 euros to “process” the reception of your package from customs (no matter what value you declare). If the package contains a valuable item or document which must be sent, register it and only ship items with a low value.

Taxable items: Cell phones, computers and their components (cables, chargers, etc.), video games, cameras, and all other electronics are almost always stopped at customs and taxed according to Spanish law. Cosmetics, personal care products, and even gifts will be stopped and taxed. The minimum tax is 21% of the estimated value of the item(s). Other duties and handling surcharges are also applied. All packages sent from the U.S. to Spain will be stopped and taxed, or at the very least a processing fee will be applied to receive the package.

Sending snacks from the U.S.: Many times, friends and family spend a lot of money shipping snacks to Spain, and unfortunately, Spanish customs lately has been stopping them. Many things not allowed: homemade cookies, beef jerky or any other meat product, vitamins and other health supplements, and the list is growing as imports become more restricted. There are several American food stores in Madrid called Taste of America where you can purchase the snacks you love and miss.