Customs & Immigration

Non-EU customs allowances

If you come to UK from a country outside the EU, there are limits on the amount of tobacco, alcohol, perfume and other goods you can bring with you, without paying duty.

Leaving the airport through customs

Most UK ports and airports have three exits or 'channels', while some have only one exit, with a red point phone for declaring goods.

Use the Red Channel if you:

have goods to declare
have any sums of cash (notes, coins, bankers' drafts or any cheques including travellers' cheques) of 10,000 Euro or more (or the equivalent in another currency)
have commercial goods
have tobacco products from an EU country that are over the limits for imports from that country
are not sure what you should declare

Use the Green Channel if you are travelling from a non-EU country with:

no more than the customs allowances
no banned or restricted goods

Use the Blue Channel if you are travelling from a EU country with:

no banned and restricted goods
no tobacco products that are over the limits for imports from that country
If you bring in goods on which tax has been paid in an EU country, you do not have to pay any tax or duty on them in the UK

The amounts you are allowed

From 1 January 2009, when travelling from a non-EU country (including the Canary Islands, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar) you can bring the following into the UK for your own use without paying UK tax or duty:

200 cigarettes, 100 cigarillos, 50 cigars, 250g of tobacco
4 litres of still table wine
16 litres of beer
1 litre of spirits or strong liqueurs over 22% volume or 2 litres of fortified wine (such as port or sherry), sparkling wine or other liqueurs
£340 worth of all other goods including perfume and souvenirs.

Please note that there are conditions that apply to your allowances. These include:

If you are under 17 you cannot have the tobacco and alcohol allowances.
You are entitled to these allowances only if you travel with the goods and do not sell them.
If you bring in something worth more than your other goods allowance, you must pay charges on the full value, not just the value above the allowance.
You and anyone you are travelling with cannot pool your individual other goods allowances to bring in an item worth more than the limit. The person bringing the item in will have to pay charges on the full value of the item

Air transfers

If you arrive by air and are transferring to a flight to another EU country, at the transfer point you need only declare goods in your hand baggage. You do not declare your hold baggage until you collect it at your final destination.