Shipping home, receiving from abroad, and the customs questions that only come up when your life spans two countries.
If you have moved to Portugal from elsewhere, parcels stop being a simple errand. You are sending things home, receiving things from family, occasionally shipping the remainder of a move, and doing all of it across a customs border that may or may not exist depending on where the other end is.
The single most useful thing to internalise is which side of the EU border your other country sits on. If it is another EU member state — Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, France — there is no customs process in either direction, and parcels are only a question of price and transit time. If it is the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil, Canada or anywhere else outside the EU, every parcel in both directions carries a declaration and someone pays duty and VAT.
The second is that the person receiving the parcel is the one who normally gets the customs bill. That is fine when it is you and you were expecting it. It is much less fine when it is your mother receiving a birthday present and being asked to pay before she can collect it.
Declare the real value and mark the purpose as a gift honestly. If home is outside the EU, consider paying duty upfront so your family are not asked for money at the door.
From inside the EU, nothing to do. From outside, expect a customs charge before release, and ask the sender to describe the contents specifically rather than writing 'gift'.
Personal effects following a relocation have their own rules and reliefs in most countries, and they are not the same as ordinary imports. Check the specific position before shipping a large consignment.
Residency paperwork, tax documents and certificates travel on a cheaper document service, but still need a customs declaration if they are leaving the EU.
Read more →| Your other country | Customs | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, France, rest of the EU | None in either direction | Parcels are purely a price and transit-time decision |
| United Kingdom | Full customs in both directions | Declaration every time; recipient pays duty and VAT unless prepaid |
| United States, Canada | Full customs in both directions | Declaration, plus state or province required in the address |
| Brazil | Full customs in both directions | Declaration, and clearance can add meaningful time |
| Switzerland, Norway | Full customs despite proximity | Geographic closeness does not mean customs-free |
This determines whether there is any paperwork at all, and it does not change from parcel to parcel. Settle it once.
'Gift' and 'personal items' are the descriptions that get parcels held. 'Two cotton t-shirts and one children's book' is what clears smoothly.
Gift status has its own rules but does not mean zero value. Under-declaring also caps your compensation if the parcel is lost.
By default the recipient pays on arrival. A delivered-duty-paid arrangement moves that to you and spares the recipient a surprise. For gifts to family, this is almost always the kinder choice.
Tell them what is coming, roughly when, and whether they should expect a charge. Most 'problem' parcels are really communication problems.
If you are shipping the same route repeatedly, saved addresses eliminate the typo risk and cut the booking to under a minute.
Assuming the UK still counts as EU because the parcels used to be simple. It does not, in either direction.
Writing 'gift' as the entire customs description, which reliably causes holds.
Under-declaring value to spare a relative the duty, which caps your claim if the parcel goes missing.
Letting an elderly relative be the one asked to pay a customs charge before release.
Treating a relocation consignment as an ordinary import — personal effects following a move usually have their own rules and reliefs.
Sending food, alcohol or medicines home without checking the destination's import rules, which vary far more than people expect.
Using a Portuguese address without floor and door details for an incoming parcel to an apartment.
Keep a note of the exact address format at both ends, verified once, and reuse it.
Send a photo of the packed contents to the recipient — useful for them and useful for any claim.
Consolidate several small gifts into one parcel rather than sending them separately; each parcel carries its own base cost and its own customs event.
For anything irreplaceable, use a tracked service with signature on delivery.
Check whether a document can be sent digitally before shipping paper across a border.
Book a few days earlier than feels necessary on non-EU routes, since clearance time is not fully predictable.
There is a customs declaration on every UK-bound parcel since Brexit, and import duty and VAT are charged on arrival. By default the recipient pays before the parcel is released, though you can settle it upfront at booking instead — which is usually the better option for gifts.
Within the EU, always — there are no import charges at all. Outside the EU, only by choosing a delivered-duty-paid arrangement where you pay the duty and VAT upfront. Gift allowances exist in most countries but they are limited and vary, so do not rely on the parcel falling under one.
Mark the purpose as a gift, describe each item specifically, and state its genuine value. Specific descriptions clear customs; vague ones such as 'gift' or 'personal items' are the leading cause of parcels being held.
Usually yes. Most countries have specific rules and reliefs for personal effects accompanying or following a relocation, and they are distinct from ordinary import treatment. Check the position for the specific country before shipping a large consignment, because the paperwork differs.
Usually one consolidated parcel, because each parcel carries its own base charge and, on non-EU routes, its own customs event. The exception is when consolidating pushes you into a much larger box, since volumetric weight can then wipe out the saving.
Compare live rates in either direction from DHL, UPS, FedEx, DPD and GLS, and save both addresses for next time.
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