It is the question that stops people at the counter most often, and almost always over a misunderstanding: they think that without the CNIC they cannot send. They can. Let us take it in order.
What the CNIC is
The letters stand for Computerized National Identity Card: Pakistan's national identity document. Every Pakistani citizen of age has one, and it is a thirteen-digit number.
For our purposes, it is simply the ID of the person who will receive your box.
Why customs asks for it
When a box arrives in Pakistan, someone has to answer for it before customs: who is receiving it, and under what identity. The recipient's CNIC is how that is established. Without it, the box reaches the country but cannot be cleared — it sits and waits.
It is not a whim of our partner at destination, nor a form we invented: it is the country's requirement.
The important part: you do not need it to send
Here is the misunderstanding worth undoing.
When you bring the box to our Barcelona warehouse, the only thing you sign is the declaration of what is inside. That day we ask you for no Pakistani document at all. You can drop the box, pay and leave.
We will ask you for the CNIC in due course, before the ship leaves. And weeks can pass in between, because the box waits in the warehouse for the shipment to be completed. There is plenty of room to ask your family for it over WhatsApp.
What if your relative does not have it to hand
It happens, and it is not a problem if you say so early. Write to us before you pack and we will look at it: the worst case is that the box sails without the detail and sits on arrival, and that is avoided by telling us.
If the person receiving is not the one named at the start, that is worth saying too — the CNIC has to belong to whoever collects the box.
In short
- To send: just the contents declaration, signed at the warehouse.
- For customs to clear it: the recipient's CNIC, which we ask for afterwards.
- When: before the ship leaves, with weeks of margin.
If you are unsure about your case, write to us and we will sort it out before you move anything.