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UK Customs: What Can I Bring Back?

Since Brexit, the booze-cruise routine has new rules — generous ones for alcohol, strict ones for food. Here's exactly what you can carry off the ferry at Dover, and where the limits sit.

🍺 42 L beer free🍷 18 L wine free💷 Goods up to £390
📅 Updated: 1 July 2026 · ⏱ 7 min read · ✍ calais-dover-ferry.com editorial

Good news first: the UK's personal alcohol allowances are generous — generous enough that a Calais supermarket run still pays for itself. The catch is food: meat and dairy from the EU can't come in at all, so the leftover saucisson can end up in the bin at Dover. Here are the rules at a glance so arrival holds no surprises.

Dover harbour entrance with cranes
Arriving at Dover: customs checks happen right at the port.

The UK Allowances at a Glance

As a private traveller (17+ for alcohol and tobacco) you can bring these amounts into Great Britain duty-free:

1

Alcohol: generous limits

You're allowed 42 litres of beer and 18 litres of still wine — plus either 4 litres of spirits (over 22%) or 9 litres of sparkling/fortified wine (the two can be split proportionally). Plenty of headroom for a proper Calais wine run.

42 L beer18 L wine4 L spirits OR 9 L sparkling
2

Tobacco: much tighter

The allowance is 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250 g of tobacco (splittable proportionally). Bring more and duty is payable on the whole amount — not just the excess.

200 cigarettes
3

Goods: £390 per person

Other goods (gifts, electronics, clothing) are free up to a total value of £390 per person. Important: go over the limit and you pay on the full value of everything, not just the part above £390.

Up to £390
4

Banned: meat & dairy from the EU

The most common trip-up: meat and dairy products cannot be brought in from the EU — including that filled baguette or the picnic cheese. Bread, biscuits, chocolate and most packaged snacks are fine.

Bread & sweets OK
5

Cash: declare from £10,000

Cash of £10,000 or more (or equivalent) must be declared when entering Great Britain. Irrelevant for normal holiday money, essential for anyone carrying business cash.

Declare from £10,000

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⚠ Don't forget the outbound leg: travelling UK → EU, the EU's own limits apply and several are lower (e.g. 4 L wine, 16 L beer, 1 L spirits). If you shop duty-free in England, know the EU limits for the return.
Green channel ≠ free pass: you can still be checked in "Nothing to declare". If unsure, use the red channel and ask — asking costs nothing, misdeclaring does.

Read next

UK Customs: FAQs

Duty-free limits are 42 litres of beer and 18 litres of still wine, plus either 4 litres of spirits or 9 litres of sparkling wine (splittable). Per person aged 17+.
With limits. Meat and dairy from the EU are banned outright — including filled sandwiches and cheese. Bread, sweets and packaged snacks are generally fine.
Duty and tax become payable — on the entire value, not just the excess, for goods over £390. If in doubt, declare in the red channel.
Yes, £10,000 or more (or equivalent) must be declared when entering Great Britain.
The £390 goods allowance applies per person, including children. Alcohol and tobacco allowances only apply from age 17.

* This page contains affiliate links (ferries via DirectFerries, accommodation via our booking partner where shown). If you book through them we earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you.