Sending a Gift to Family Abroad: the Right Option for Each Country
Getting a gift to a loved one abroad looks simple, until you pay for shipping, wait for weeks or find the parcel stuck at customs. There are four ways to do it, and the best one depends on the country, the deadline and the value of the gift. Here is how to choose.
Why a gift parcel often costs more than expected
An international parcel is priced by weight and volume, and postal delays to many countries are counted in weeks. On arrival, the gift can be taxed like any other goods if it exceeds the thresholds for gifts, and clearance fees are often added.
Thresholds vary by country. In the European Union, a gift a private person receives from a private person outside the EU is exempt up to €45 in value, excluding alcohol, tobacco and perfume. In the United States, the small-parcel exemption was suspended in August 2025, but genuine gifts up to $100 remain exempt. Türkiye scrapped its €30 allowance on parcels from abroad in 2026.
The four ways to send a gift
The post
The cheapest for a light parcel, but the slowest, with tracking sometimes limited depending on the arrival country.
Express courier
Fast and tracked end to end, but expensive, and taxes are often advanced and then billed to the recipient.
A local online shop
Ordering directly from a website in the arrival country avoids customs, when the product exists there and the site accepts your card.
A traveler going there
The gift is handed over in person, often within days, for a negotiated reward. Ideal for a product that cannot be found locally.
When a traveler is the best option
A traveler is unbeatable in three cases: when the gift must arrive by a specific date, such as a holiday or a birthday, when the product does not exist in the arrival country, and when a postal parcel risks getting stuck or lost. The big diaspora routes, from Germany to Türkiye, the UK to Nigeria, the US to Mexico or France to Morocco, see travelers every day.
An in-person handover also has value in itself: the traveler can give the gift directly to the person, or to a relative you name, and you know exactly when it arrived.
How it works on Colia
You post a request describing the gift, its approximate weight, the arrival city and the target date. A traveler on that route proposes a deal, you agree on the reward in the chat, and you hand over the gift open so they can check it. Wrap it together after the check, or plan the wrapping on arrival.
The traveler answers for the contents at customs: a valuable gift may have to be declared. Agree on the value, the invoice and who pays any taxes before accepting the deal.
Gifts to avoid
No fresh food, meat or dairy, often banned from import, no medicines, no cash, and nothing that cannot be shown to the traveler. Perfume and alcohol have their own limits and do not qualify for the EU gift exemption.
Everything else, clothes, phones, cosmetics, toys, books or small appliances, travels without difficulty in reasonable quantities.
Check what you may put in a suitcase, item by item
Useful? Pass it on.
A gift to get to your loved ones?
Post your request on Colia and find a traveler heading their way.