Can I send documents and photos to Portugal?
Allowed
Yes.
Personal papers and photos are fine. Historic archives and photographs 50 years or older can count as cultural goods when they leave Portugal.
Before you ship to Portugal
- Tax-free limit
- Boxes from other EU countries clear no customs and owe nothing on arrival. From outside the EU (including the UK), IVA is due from the first euro unless a relief applies. Occasional, unpaid gifts from one private person to another worth up to €45 (about $51) are free of duty and IVA. Since July 1, 2026, the EU's €150 (about $171) duty relief no longer exists. Low-value online purchases now pay a flat €3 duty per item, and other boxes that no relief covers can owe duty: a flat 2.5% for non-commercial boxes between private persons worth up to €700 (about $800), or each item's normal tariff rate.
- Receiver ID
- NIF (Número de Identificação Fiscal) needed. Customs declarations must identify the receiver. AT's simplified declaration for gifts makes the receiver's ID number mandatory and accepts an EU customs (EORI) number, a non-EU ID number recognized by the EU, or another personal ID number. Give the NIF if the receiver has one; Portuguese consulates can assign one to people still abroad. If the receiver has none, ask the courier before shipping whether a passport number will do.
- Transit
- 2-4 business days from Europe; 3-5 from North America; 4-7 from Asia
Questions
Can I send documents and photos to Portugal?
Yes. Personal papers and photos are fine. Historic archives and photographs 50 years or older can count as cultural goods when they leave Portugal.
Ask about a specific item
Official sources
- 1.
Direção-Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária (DGAV)
Envio ou transporte para a União Europeia (opens in a new tab) - 2.
INFARMED, I.P. (Autoridade Nacional do Medicamento e Produtos de Saúde)
Aquisição de medicamentos no estrangeiro (infografia) (opens in a new tab) - 3.
- 4.
Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (AT), Direção de Serviços de Regulação Aduaneira
STADA-Importação - CAU - Remessas de Baixo Valor (eCommerce): Manual de preenchimento da declaração aduaneira para remessas de baixo valor (opens in a new tab) - 5.
Diário da República Eletrónico
Decreto-Lei n.º 148/2015, de 4 de agosto (Diário da República, 1.ª série, n.º 150) (opens in a new tab)
General guidance, not legal advice. Customs in Portugal makes the final decision on every box.