Overseas letters & parcels

Airmail starts from as little as 56p for a postcard or letter weighing up to 20g.  Full Airmail costs

Usually within three days to Western Europe, four days to Eastern Europe and five days for the rest of the world, following the day of posting.

Blue Airmail labels are free and widely available. Or, you can write "Par Avion - By Airmail" clearly in the top left hand corner of your envelope. You don't need to do this on Airmail letters posted from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland.

Always write your return address on the reverse of your Airmail items.

Airmail stickers are available from the Post Office®.  International account customers can order stocks of airmail stickers from the Royal Mail Sales Centre on 08457 950 950.

An Airmail sticker is not mandatory and as an alternative you can write or print 'Airmail' on the item.

You do if you’re sending packets or parcels to a country outside the EU and you need to sign and date the declaration and include your name and address.

• Items worth up to £270 must carry customs declaration CN22
• Items worth over £270 must carry customs declaration CN23 and the SP126 plastic envelope.

In general, if you’re posting to an EU country you don’t need a Customs declaration, but there are a few exceptions – see our detailed Customs information.

2kg is the maximum weight for most Airmail items except for books and pamphlets sent via Airmail Printed Paper rate where the maximum weight is 5kg (2kg maximum all items to Canada and books only up to 5kg may be sent to Republic of Ireland).

Use Airsure® a service which provides priority handling in the UK and abroad, and despatch on the first available flight to 30 destinations.

No, we cannot guarantee delivery times. Although we will despatch your mail to the appropriate country on the first available flight, delivery standards in other countries do vary.

If you use Airsure® you can track your item online to its final destination.

Airsure® is only available where we can provide priority handling overseas.

You can use International Signed For™ to send mail to just about every country in the world. All mail will be recorded at the point of delivery with a signature. You can also send letters abroad using standard and pictorial Airletters and Airmail Packs and the Airsure® service where available.

If you're sending mail to a country covered by Airsure it's probably best to use Airsure®. If not, use International Signed For™ which offers quick despatch.

If you're sending coins, banknotes or currency, securities or instruments payable to bearer (for example: uncrossed cheques, banker's drafts or travellers cheques), platinum, gold or silver (whether manufactured or not) and other precious stones, jewels and other valuable articles, you must use Airsure® or International Signed For™ together with our Letter or Small Packet Airmail service. Before sending, please check at your local Post Office® or contact the Royal Mail Sales Centre on 08457 950 950 to make sure the destination country will accept such items.

Yes. All Airmail is covered up to a value of 100 First Class stamps in  compensation if the letter is lost or damaged and it's our fault. You cannot claim for items of value, unless they are sent by Airsure® or International Signed For™. Consequential Loss - compensation for any financial consequences of any damage or loss to items of mail - is not available. If your item is valuable, you can buy extra compensation of up to £250 or £500, depending on the destination. This additional compensation is only available when you use  Airsure® or International Signed For™.

Visit our Customer Services section to make a claim or use form P58 which is available from your local Post Office® and send it together with proof of posting to your local Customer Service Centre. Claims can take up to three months to complete because we are waiting for overseas postal administrations to respond to our enquiries.

No. If you are a business customer and have all the correct documentation (which you can get from the Royal Mail Sales Centre on 08457 950 950), you can include your Airmail item in your business collection.  Airmail items can also be posted directly into post boxes, so long as the correct postage and any necessary customs declarations have been applied.  The items must also be correctly marked and identifiable as Airmail items.

Visit our World Zones page to see a full list of which countries are in each zone.