Thailand

Here is an indication of restricted items for mailing to Thailand. For further information, or further clarification please refer to the Thailand Post website

Please also refer to the Universal Postal Union - online prohibitions search tool

You must not send any item addressed to a country in which the item is unlawful or prohibited. When an item is restricted you must comply with the restriction. Prohibitions and restrictions vary from country to country, and can sometimes apply to items which you may think are ordinary. The information above is provided in good faith, but Royal Mail is not responsible for it, and it should be viewed as a guide only. Specific restrictions and changes may be enforced at short notice, so for clarification please contact the destination country's trade, postal, and customs authorities as appropriate. Business customers are strongly recommended to do this.

Please remember that Royal Mail also prohibits and restricts certain categories of items. For more information visit royalmail.com/prohibitedgoods

Restricted items

• Live animals; animal products
• Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates
• Live aquatic animals, including fish, according to the Thai Fisheries Act B.E. 1947.
• Dairy produce; birds' eggs; natural honey; edible products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included
• All products of this kind.
Controlled food (according to Thai Food Act B.E. 2522) must be imported under permission from the Secretary of the Thai Food and Drug Administration.
• Products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included
• Horsehair and horsehair waste
• Animals: elephants, horses, cows, buffaloes, donkeys, mules, goats, sheep, dogs, cats, rabbits, monkeys, gibbons.
• Animal sperm.
• Poultry, including their eggs.
• Wild animals as listed in Thai Ministry Regulations (Vol 11) B.E. 2512 issued according to Epidemic Act B.E. 2499.
• For authorisation, see Thai Ministry Regulations (Vol 12) B.E. 2512 (Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives).
• Flesh, skin, bone, beef, horn, hair and tusk which have not been processed or manufactured.
• Vegetable products
General note
Prohibited plants and plant products may be imported under the following conditions:
– Authorisation of the Director-General of the Department of Agriculture.
– Phytosanitary certificate of the country of origin.
– Importation can only be done through the Plant Quarantine Office sited at Bangkok airport, Bangkok port and Bangkok mail centre.
– The said prohibited plants/plant products must be addressed and sent directly to the Director-General of the Department of Agriculture.
– In case of import by passengers, they are subject to presentation to the officials of the Plant Quarantine Office.
• Live trees and other plants; bulbs, roots and the like; cut flowers and ornamental foliage. See Vegetable products General note entry above
• Imported seeds
Those listed in the Declarations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives are subject to standardisation analysis or analysis exemption from the Department of Agriculture.
• Plants and parts of plants.
• Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers. See Vegetable products General note and Imported Seeds entries above
• Coffee, tea, maté and spices
• Roasted coffee. See Imported Seeds entry above.
• Leaf tea and powdered tea.
The importation of the said articles may be done on condition that 60% of the imported quantity of tea leaves is bought from the Public Warehouse Organization and 50% in the case of tea powder.
The importation is subject to authorisation granted by the Thai Food and Drug Administration (according to Food Act B.E. 2522).
• Cereals
• Maize for animal consumption.
• Products of the milling industry; malt; starches; inulin; wheat gluten
• Miscellaneous flour, as well as raw materials intended for the manufacture of food products, shall bear a label or be registered.
• Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder
• Seeds, soybeans. See Imported Seeds entry above.
• Lac; gums, resins and other vegetable saps and extracts
• All edible products of this kind.
The importation is subject to authorisation granted by the Thai Food and Drug Administration (according to Food Act B.E. 2522).
• Animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes
• Soybean oil, palm oil.
Soybean oil can only be imported by the Public Warehouse Organisation, the Thai Ministry of Commerce, or the manufacturer.
• All edible fats.
The importation is subject to authorisation granted by the Thai Food and Drug Administration (according to Food Act B.E. 2522).
• Prepared foodstuffs; beverages, spirits and vinegar; tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes. For all sections marked # below importation is subject to authorisation granted by the Thai Food and Drug Administration (according to Food Act B.E. 2522).
• Preparations of meat, of fish or of crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates #
• All edible preparations of this kind. #
• Sugars and sugar confectionery #
• All sugars and sugar confectionery.
• Cocoa and cocoa preparations #
• All edible cocoa and cocoa preparations. #
• Preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk; pastrycooks' products #
• Preparations of vegetables, fruits, nuts or other parts of plants #
• Miscellaneous edible preparations #
• Beverages, spirits and vinegar
• Spirit content of more than one litre.
The importation of alcoholic liquors and beverages in quantities of more than 1 litre is subject to prior permission from the Thai Excise Department.
• Beverages & vinegar #
• Residues and waste from the food industries; prepared animal fodder
• Ground dried fish which contains less than 60% protein.
• Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes
• Mineral products
• Salt; sulphur; earths and stone; plastering materials; lime and cement
• Marble travertine, ecaussine and other calcareous monumental or building stones which have a specific gravity of more than 2.5, and celabaster.
• Ores, slag and ash
• Tin, including tin ore and concentrates, weighing more than 2 kg.
• Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes
• Benzene and similar kerosene, high-speed diesel oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
The importation of mineral oils can be done only by the trader according to article 6 of the Thai Fuel Act B.E. 2521, and that trader must be given prior consent by the Thai Department of Commercial Registration.
• Products of the chemical or allied industries
• Inorganic chemicals; organic or inorganic compounds of precious metals, of rare-earth metals, of radioactive elements or of isotopes
• Pharmaceutical products
Pharmaceutical products imported are subject to import permits and certificate of drug registration except:
– import by passengers in small quantities for their own health purposes;
– importation for medical or scientific purposes.
• Medicaments and pharmaceutical products.
• Fertilisers
The importation of fertilisers is subject to prior authorisation granted by the Department of Agriculture.
• Tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints and varnishes; putty and other mastics; inks
• Food colours.
The importation is subject to authorisation granted by the Thai Food and Drug Administration (according to Food Act B.E. 2522).
• Soluble dyeing extracts
The production of soluble dyes is subject to registration as toxic substances according to the
Declaration of the Ministry of Public Health (Vol 61) B.E. 2531. If they are imported as raw materials for the importer's business, the import permit is not required.
• Essential oils and resinoids; perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations.
• Mixture of odoriferous substance for food (flavour). See Food colours entry above
• Perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations
Finished cosmetics imported must be accompanied by an import permit and a registration permit issued by the Food and Drug Administration.
• Soap, organic surface-active agents, washing preparations, lubricating preparations, artificial waxes, prepared waxes; polishing or scouring preparations, candles and similar articles, modelling pastes, "dental waxes" and dental preparations with a basis of plaster
• Soap. See Perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations entry above
• Albuminoidal substances; modified starches; glues; enzymes
• Natural organic rubber or isoprene, neoprene resin, vinyl resin, resin, and any compound having cellulose catalysis, must be accompanied by an import permit for importation.
• Miscellaneous chemical products
• Insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, other pesticides.
The import permit and certificate of toxic registration (according to the list of toxic substances declared by the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives) granted by the Thai Department of Agriculture are required for importation.
• Organic composite solvent, thinners, varnish remover
The importation of these articles is subject to prior permission from the Thai Department of Industrial Works, Thai Ministry of Industry, accompanied by an import licence and toxic substances registration permit.
• Plastics and articles thereof
• Vinyl chloride monomer in gas or liquid condition and under pressure.
• Raw hides and skins (other than furskins) and leather
• Raw hides, skins, leather and furskins of animals which have not been manufactured or processed. See Live animals; animal products, All products of this type entry above.
• Textiles and textile articles
• Silk
The importation of raw silk and finished silk thread is subject to prior authorisation and on the condition that they contain 4% of local thread bought from the Thai Department of Industrial Promotion.
• Wool, fine or coarse animal hair; horsehair yarn and woven fabric
• Wool, fine or coarse animal hair which have not been manufactured. See Live animals; animal products, All products of this type entry above.
• Cotton
Cotton wool can only be imported on presentation of phytosanitary certificate from country of origin.
• Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, not knitted or crocheted
• Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, not knitted or crocheted, excluding neck band, collar, cuff, sleeve, waistband, pocket and edge of trouser legs
• Footwear, headgear, umbrellas, sun umbrellas, walking-sticks, seat-sticks, whips, riding crops and parts thereof; prepared feathers and articles made therewith; artificial flowers; articles of human hair
• Prepared feathers and down and articles made of feathers or of down; artificial flowers; articles of human hair. See Live animals; animal products, All products of this type entry above.
• Hides and other parts of poultry.
• Animal hair.
• Articles of stone, plaster, cement, asbestos, mica or similar materials; ceramic products; glass and glassware
• Articles of stone, plaster, cement, asbestos, mica or similar materials
• Asbestos.
• Glass and glassware
• Fibreglass and other articles made of fibreglass.
• Natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, metals clad with precious metal and articles thereof; imitation jewellery; coin
• Gold, except gold ornaments (the importation of which is subject to the prior authorisation granted by the Thai Minister of Finance).
• Base metals and articles of base metal
• Tin and articles thereof
• Tin and tin alloy. (The imports must be licensed by the Thai Department of Mineral Resources.)
• Machinery and mechanical appliances; electrical equipment; parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles
• Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof
• Nuclear reactors, fuel bars and parts thereof. Diesel engine with single horizontal cylinder, capacity 331-1100 cc, gasoline cylinder engine with capacity 41-240 cc, and motorcycle engine with capacity under 250 cc. Chain saw and parts thereof. Intaglio printing machinery.
• Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers; television image and sound recorders and reproducers and parts and accessories of such articles
• Electronic saw and parts thereof.
• Transceivers of radio communications, radio telephone, radiogram, radar. Maritime-aerial transmitters. Remote control and parts thereof.
• Vehicles, aircraft, vessels and associated transport equipment
• Vehicles, other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof
• Used cars. Used motorcycles.
• Aircraft, spacecraft and parts thereof
• Satellites.
• Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; clocks and watches; musical instruments; parts and accessories thereof
• Contact lenses and medical and surgical instruments and apparatus. Colour scanners. Multi-colour Xerox machines.
• Arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof
• Miscellaneous manufactured articles
• Toys, games and sports requisites; parts and accessories thereof
• Playing cards.