Shipping to Philippines from Vietnam

Ship to the Philippines from Vietnam in 2-7 days. BOC clearance, FDA Philippines compliance, Balikbayan box rules explained, door-to-door.

Gateway Express ships from Vietnam to the Philippines through direct daily flights from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) and Hanoi (HAN) into Ninoy Aquino International (MNL), with onward delivery to all 17 regions of the country — Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, and the smaller islands. Express transit is 2-4 business days; sea freight runs 10-15 days for heavy cargo.

This page covers our service tiers, the FDA Philippines and Bureau of Customs paperwork you’ll deal with, Balikbayan box rules for OFWs in Vietnam shipping home, the de minimis threshold for low-value parcels, and how to book a pickup.

Shipping Services to the Philippines

Express Air (2-4 Business Days)

Direct daily flights from SGN and HAN into MNL, routed via DHL Express, FedEx International Priority, and UPS Worldwide Express.

Best for:

Time-sensitive contracts and legal documents
Commercial samples and small high-value goods
Last-minute gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, fiestas
Prescription medications with proper documentation

Service features:

2-4 business day delivery to Metro Manila and main hubs
Direct MNL arrival — no third-country transit
Real-time tracking with proactive customs updates
100% declared-value insurance included
Onward connection to Cebu, Davao, and regional cities

Standard Air (4-7 Business Days)

The cost-effective tier for most personal parcels and small commercial cargo.

Best for:

Gifts, clothing, household items
Vietnamese dried foods and snacks
Books, electronics, accessories
Non-urgent commercial shipments

Service features:

4-7 business day delivery nationwide
30-50% cheaper than express
Tracking and full insurance retained
No 30 kg cut-off. Heavy parcels, multi-box consignments, and full pallets all move on this lane — the per-kilogram rate drops as total weight rises. Send us the weight and dimensions and we’ll quote it.

Sea Freight (10-15 Days)

Most economical option per kilogram for heavy or bulky cargo.

Best for:

Furniture, appliances, household relocations
Bulk commercial cargo
Inventory replenishment for Philippine-based businesses

Service features:

10-15 day total transit (port-to-door)
Direct port calls to Manila, Cebu, and Davao
LCL (less-than-container) and FCL (full-container) options
Strong fit for inter-island onward distribution

Balikbayan Boxes — for Filipinos in Vietnam Shipping Home

Filipino workers, students, and residents in Vietnam can send personal effects home duty- and tax-free under the Balikbayan box privilege in Section 800(g) of Republic Act 10863 (Customs Modernization and Tariff Act), implemented by Customs Administrative Order 01-2018.

Read this part first — it decides which rules apply to you. The privilege runs through four separate customs channels, and each has its own administrative order:

How the box travels	Governing rule	What it means in practice
Consolidated sea or air freight via an accredited Consolidator abroad and a BOC-registered Deconsolidator in the Philippines	CAO 01-2018	The classic “balikbayan box” service. Sender files an Information Sheet through the Consolidator.
Express courier (DHL, FedEx, UPS — what we operate)	Separate CAO on Express Shipments	Different paperwork; no Consolidator/Information Sheet chain.
Postal / Philippine Post	CAO 03-2017	—
Accompanied or unaccompanied baggage when you fly home	CAO 01-2017	—

All four draw down the same allowance. A box you carry as check-in baggage and a box we fly express both consume availments from the same annual count.

Gateway Express is an express-courier operator on this lane — we are not a BOC-registered Balikbayan Consolidator/Deconsolidator. We can carry your personal effects to the Philippines and prepare the customs paperwork for express clearance, and we’ll tell you honestly how your shipment counts against your allowance. If you specifically need the CAO 01-2018 consolidated-freight route, you’ll want an accredited balikbayan consolidator — BOC publishes the list of registered Deconsolidators.

The rules, as written in CAO 01-2018

Rule	Detail	Source
Who qualifies	“Qualified Filipinos While Abroad” — three groups: Non-Resident Filipinos (permanent residency abroad, Filipino citizenship retained), OFWs, and Resident Filipinos temporarily abroad (student, investor, or tourist visa holders)	§3.19–3.24
Duty & tax exemption	PHP 150,000 total per sender, per calendar year — across every box, not per box	§4.2
Frequency	Up to 3 availments per calendar year, counted across all four channels above	§4.1, §4.4
Recipient	Family or relatives up to the 4th civil degree of consanguinity or affinity — includes cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, and in-laws	§3.10
Box size	Maximum 200,000 gross cubic centimetres per box (roughly a 58 × 58 × 58 cm cube), whatever the shape	§3.2
Contents	Personal and household effects only — new or used — never in commercial quantity, never for barter, sale, or hire	§3.2, §3.21
Individuals only	Companies, sole proprietorships, partnerships, and cooperatives cannot claim this exemption	§4.3
Paperwork	An Information Sheet (BOC form, downloadable from customs.gov.ph) plus proof of Filipino citizenship — passport page, permanent-resident ID, OEC/OWWA card, or work permit	§5.1.2, §5.1.3
Processing charge	PHP 125 per house bill of lading / house air waybill, including documentary stamps and legal research fee	§4.9

What you can put in a Balikbayan box

Clothing, new or used — the statute covers both
Personal hygiene products and cosmetics
Packaged food (subject to FDA/DA rules — see below)
Small electronics and household items
Toys, books, school supplies
Gifts for family members

One practical warning on used clothing. The statute permits it, but BOC treats boxes containing only used clothing as disguised commercial imports for the ukay-ukay trade — Republic Act 4653 bans commercial importation of used clothing, and such boxes get seized. Keep used clothing to genuine personal quantities alongside other personal effects, and it is not an issue.

The three ways to lose the exemption

Any one of these disqualifies a shipment on its own — they are independent tests, not a combined score (§7):

One box over the cap. A single box whose contents exceed PHP 150,000 in FCA value.
Year total over the cap. Cumulative availments passing PHP 150,000 for the calendar year — even if you have shipments left.
Fourth availment. A 4th shipment in the same calendar year — even if your yearly total is still well under PHP 150,000.

Also excluded: goods in commercial quantity, regulated goods in commercial quantity, donations, and containers mixing balikbayan goods with commercial or regulated cargo.

A common and expensive misreading: three boxes per year does not mean three × PHP 150,000. The PHP 150,000 is the ceiling for your entire year. Plan the total across all your shipments, not box by box.

Note on agencies: the POEA was abolished in 2022 and absorbed into the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) under Republic Act 11641. CAO 01-2018 predates this and still names DOLE/POEA in its text, and legacy documents such as the OEC may still carry POEA branding — but DMW is the agency handling OFW certification today. A June 2025 Joint Administrative Order also tightened balikbayan process controls, adding DOF oversight and a public register of accredited Deconsolidators.

Shipping personal effects from Vietnam to family in the Philippines? Tell us what you’re sending and how many boxes you’ve already sent this year, and we’ll explain exactly how it clears and what it will cost. Email info@gatewayexpress.com.vn or call +84 938 373 343.

Customs and Documentation — Bureau of Customs (BOC)

For shipments outside the Balikbayan box program, normal Philippine customs rules apply.

Regulators you may interact with

Agency	Role
BOC (Bureau of Customs)	Customs clearance, duty and VAT assessment
FDA Philippines (Food and Drug Administration)	Food, cosmetics, drugs, devices import oversight
DA (Department of Agriculture)	Plant and animal quarantine

De minimis threshold

The Philippines exempts low-value imports from duty and tax. Parcels with an FOB or FCA value of PHP 10,000 or below (≈ USD 162) clear without duty and without VAT — useful for gifts and small personal shipments. Note the threshold is “or below”, so a shipment valued at exactly PHP 10,000 still qualifies.

One carve-out: excise tax still applies to alcohol, tobacco, and other excisable goods even below the de minimis threshold. De minimis waives duty and VAT, not excise.

Standard import duties and VAT

For shipments above the de minimis threshold:

Customs duty: typically 0-15% depending on product (HS code)
VAT: 12% on CIF value plus duty
Excise tax: applies to alcohol, tobacco, fuel, automobiles
Import Processing Charge: a per-shipment BOC charge, revised under CAO 02-2024 and superseded by CAO 02-2025 — confirm the current amount with us at quoting time. Balikbayan shipments cleared under CAO 01-2018 carry a separate PHP 125 processing charge per house waybill.

FDA Philippines — when registration is needed

Scenario	FDA requirement
Personal-use food shipments (small quantity)	Usually no registration
Commercial food / cosmetics / drugs	License to Operate (LTO) and Certificate of Product Registration (CPR)
Bulk supplements or medical devices	Pre-shipment FDA approval required

If you’re shipping commercial food, cosmetics, or drugs at scale, talk to us before pickup — clearing without LTO and CPR will cause holds at the port.

Shipping Food and Vietnamese Specialties

What you can ship

Dried and shelf-stable foods:

Cookies, candies, dried fruit, cashews, macadamia nuts
Roasted and instant coffee — Filipinos love Vietnamese coffee
Vietnamese teas (green, oolong, herbal)
Instant noodles, pho noodles, dry rice noodles, vermicelli

Processed dried seafood:

Dried shrimp, dried squid, properly cured dried fish
Shrimp floss and fish floss

Seasonings and condiments:

Bottled fish sauce (nước mắm) and soy sauce
Powdered seasonings and bouillon

Labeling requirement

Labels must be in English or Filipino. Vietnamese-only labels will not satisfy FDA Philippines for commercial shipments. Personal-quantity gifts are usually accepted with the original Vietnamese packaging if a clear English description is provided on the customs declaration.

Visiting Vietnam and shipping food souvenirs back? See our Vietnamese coffee shipping guide for packing and freshness tips that apply directly to Philippine-bound shipments — and our what-you-can-ship-from-vietnam overview for everything else.

Prohibited and Restricted Items

Prohibited

Weapons, explosives, controlled substances
Narcotics — extremely heavy penalties under Philippine law
E-cigarettes, vapes, and vaping paraphernalia — banned as imports. Vietnam is a common purchase point, so this catches people out regularly
Counterfeit currency and counterfeit goods, and IP-infringing items
Adulterated or misbranded food and drugs
Obscene or immoral material; seditious printed matter
Gambling devices and lottery or sweepstakes tickets
Wildlife and endangered-species products
Commercial quantities of used clothing (Republic Act 4653)

Restricted (require permits or careful documentation)

Pharmaceuticals: prescription required, reasonable personal quantities only
Meat and meat products: Department of Agriculture quarantine certificate required
Alcohol and tobacco: subject to high excise duty
Plant material: phytosanitary certificate from Vietnam required. Fully processed and dried goods that cannot carry pests are treated as Category 1 and need no certificate
Drones, radios, and telecom equipment: not banned, but require NTC and/or CAAP clearance

Address Format — the Archipelago Detail

The Philippines is 7,640+ islands across 17 regions. Accurate addressing is critical for last-mile delivery.

A complete Philippine address includes:

House / unit number and street name
Barangay (smallest local administrative unit — always required)
City or municipality
Province
ZIP code (4 digits)
Recipient’s mobile number (couriers will SMS for final-mile coordination)

Missing a barangay is the #1 cause of delivery delays.

Best Times — and Times to Avoid

Christmas peak (December): the heaviest shipping season in the Philippines — book express slots 7-10 days ahead
Semana Santa (Holy Week, March-April): many businesses close from Maundy Thursday through Easter Sunday
Undas (All Saints’ Day, November 1): travel and family gathering season; courier capacity tightens
Typhoon season (June-November): weather-related delays possible for inter-island delivery

How Shipping with Gateway Express Works

Step 1 — Get a quote

Reach us through:

Hotline: +84 938 373 343 (also +84 944 247 267)
Zalo / Viber / WhatsApp: message the same number
Email: info@gatewayexpress.com.vn
Online: Request a free quote or contact our team

We’ll confirm contents are clear, recommend the right tier, advise on Balikbayan eligibility if applicable, and quote a transparent landed cost.

Step 2 — Pack and prepare paperwork

Pack to our guidelines (shared with the quote)
Provide sender ID and full recipient details — including barangay, city, province, ZIP code
For Balikbayan: registration documents and recipient relationship proof

Step 3 — Free door pickup

Free pickup across Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi; scheduled pickup in Da Nang, Hai Phong, and 60+ provinces.

Step 4 — Transit and tracking

Tracking number sent by SMS at pickup
Track 24/7 from our website
Customs milestone updates

Step 5 — Door delivery in the Philippines

Final-mile delivery with confirmation:

Express: 2-4 business days
Standard: 4-7 business days
Sea freight: 10-15 days

Where We Pick Up and Deliver

Pickup in Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City — all districts
Hanoi — all inner and outer districts
Da Nang, Hai Phong, and 60+ provinces

Delivery in the Philippines

Metro Manila:

Makati, Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Quezon City
Pasig, Mandaluyong, Taguig, Manila City

Cebu:

Second-largest city, Visayas hub
Cebu City, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu

Davao:

Largest city in Mindanao
Major southern regional hub

Other cities:

Clark / Angeles, Subic
Iloilo, Bacolod
Boracay, Palawan (tourism corridors)

We deliver across all 17 regions and 7,640+ islands.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does shipping from Vietnam to the Philippines take?

Express: 2-4 business days
Standard: 4-7 business days
Sea freight: 10-15 days

Can I ship Vietnamese food to the Philippines?

Yes. Personal-quantity dried foods, snacks, coffee, and packaged seasonings ship without FDA registration. For commercial volumes, FDA Philippines requires LTO and CPR before clearance.

What is a Balikbayan box and can I send one from Vietnam?

A Balikbayan box is a duty- and tax-free privilege for Qualified Filipinos While Abroad, sending personal and household effects to relatives in the Philippines for personal use — never for resale.

The allowance is PHP 150,000 in total per sender per calendar year, across a maximum of 3 shipments — it is not PHP 150,000 per box. Each box is also capped at 200,000 gross cubic centimetres, recipients can be relatives up to the 4th civil degree, and companies cannot claim the privilege at all.

Gateway Express moves these as express courier shipments, which clear under the Express Shipments customs order rather than the CAO 01-2018 consolidated-freight route — but they still count against the same 3-per-year allowance. Tell us how many boxes you’ve already sent this year and we’ll work out where you stand.

What’s the duty-free threshold?

Parcels with an FOB or FCA value of PHP 10,000 or below (≈ USD 162) clear without duty and VAT. This covers most small personal gifts. Excise goods such as alcohol and tobacco still pay excise tax even under the threshold.

Do I need to register with FDA Philippines for personal food shipments?

No for personal-quantity shipments. Yes for commercial food, cosmetics, drugs, or supplements — License to Operate and Certificate of Product Registration are required.

Is there a weight limit on shipments to the Philippines?

No fixed cap. We move single parcels, multi-box consignments, and palletised cargo on the Philippine lane. Above roughly 30 kg the per-kilogram rate falls, so heavier shipments get cheaper per kilo — and for genuinely bulky or heavy cargo, sea freight beats air outright. Philippine rates are quoted per shipment rather than published, so send us the weight, box dimensions, and contents and we’ll come back with a landed cost.

Can I ship to islands beyond Manila, Cebu, and Davao?

Yes. We deliver to every region, province, and barangay in the country. Smaller islands and remote barangays may add 1-2 days to the express timeline. Always provide barangay, city, province, and ZIP — missing a barangay is the most common cause of delays.

What documents do I need?

Sender’s national ID, citizen ID, or passport
Recipient’s full address — barangay, city, province, ZIP — and mobile number
Description of contents (item, quantity, declared value in USD)
For Balikbayan: OFW or qualified-Filipino registration documents

Do you offer free pickup and insurance?

Yes to both. Free door pickup in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi; 100% declared-value insurance included on every shipment.

Visiting Vietnam as a tourist? Ship souvenirs and excess baggage to the Philippines with free hotel pickup → Tourist Shipping Service.

Ready to ship to the Philippines? Get a transparent quote and door pickup from Gateway Express.

📞 Hotline: +84 938 373 343
📧 Email: info@gatewayexpress.com.vn
🏢 Office: 72/5 Giai Phong St., Tan Son Nhat Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Your trusted Vietnam–Philippines shipping partner.