> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://easythailandvisa.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Post Office Will Hold Your Passport If You Ask Nicely - URL: https://easythailandvisa.com/thailand-postal-parcel-sending-home/ - Published: 2026-08-28T13:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-09T07:34:18.000Z - Description: Thai Post is cheap, reliable and will cheerfully accept a passport for storage while you are travelling, which is the single most useful thing about it and nobody advertises. - Author: Somchai Jaidee - Tags: Practicalities Thai Post is cheaper and more reliable than you expect, the parcels turn up in about a week to most countries, and it will store your passport and your spare documents for months while you are away. That last one is free, it is legal, it is right next to the post office counter, and almost nobody knows it exists. Last verified 5 September 2026. ## The parcel service **Thai Post is Thailand's national postal service and it is genuinely competitive internationally.** A small parcel to Europe, the UK, the US or Australia is usually a fraction of the cost of the same thing from a courier, and tracking works. **Timing is roughly five to ten business days to most destinations,** longer in the post-season around December and January when the volume spikes. Small parcels go through and are less likely to be held for inspection than boxes. **Packaging is available at the post office and you do not need to bring your own.** They will weigh it, tape it and stamp it at the counter. This sounds trivial and it is the thing that removes most of the anxiety from posting something you care about. **Fill in a** [**customs**](https://easythailandvisa.com/thailand-customs-duty-free-allowance/) **declaration honestly and completely.** Incorrectly declared contents are the single most common reason a parcel is stuck, returned or seized, and the declaring party is the one who has to deal with it. ## What never to post **Cash. Never in any form.** It is prohibited by virtually every postal service on earth, it is detectable, and posting it voids any insurance you might have. If you need to move money, use a bank. **Undeclared jewellery, gems, and anything that looks like it.** Same risk, same reasoning. This is also the practical problem with all those stones in a [gem shop](https://easythailandvisa.com/thailand-gem-shop-scam/). **Prescription medication you need with you,** particularly controlled substances. If it must go, check both Thai and your destination country's rules first. **Original documents you cannot replace,** unless you are deliberately using the storage service below. ## The service almost nobody knows about **Thai Post will hold your documents for you while you travel.** Passports, travel documents, contracts, anything. You hand it over at the counter and get a receipt, and you collect it when you get back. **This solves a problem that is bigger than it sounds.** Carrying a passport around a country where a lot of businesses ask to hold it is a real risk. Storing it means you cannot lose it, cannot have it go missing at a border, and does not have to be produced at a counter you did not plan for. **It is also the clean answer to a specific visa situation.** If you have left your passport with an [immigration office](https://easythailandvisa.com/thai-visa-extension-30-day-procedure/), or you are about to do a border run, or you are staying somewhere without a safe, this is what it is for. **Get a receipt and check the collection window when you deposit,** because the service has a maximum storage period and you do not want to discover the limit on the day you arrive back. ## Couriers and the alternative **For anything valuable, urgent, or that must arrive on a particular day, use a courier rather than the post.** DHL, FedEx and the local couriers are all available in Bangkok and in most cities, and they cost several times the post price. **The post is the right choice for anything non-urgent and replaceable,** which in practice is most things: clothes, equipment, gifts, a backup hard drive of photos that you also have elsewhere. **Never post anything you cannot replace.** The postage is cheap but a [lost passport](https://easythailandvisa.com/lost-passport-in-thailand-what-happens/) in a country where you need it is not cheap at all, which is why the storage service above is the better version of the same idea. ## Small practicalities **Thai Post branches are closed on Sundays and public holidays,** and the big branches in Bangkok close at a normal office hour rather than being all-day convenience. Check before you go with something urgent. **Take a photo of everything you are about to post, and keep the receipt.** If you need to claim, the receipt is the starting point and a photograph of the contents is the only evidence you will have that they were what you said. Thai Post is one of those national services that works better than its reputation suggests. It is cheap, it is honest about its times, and the storage option means you can travel without your original passport in your bag, which is a much bigger deal than it sounds. **More on this** - [What Happens If Your Arrival Card Does Not Match Your Passport](https://easythailandvisa.com/arrival-card-mismatch-immigration/) - [Nobody Will Sell You a Motorbike Because of Your Passport](https://easythailandvisa.com/buying-a-motorbike-in-thailand/) - [Thai Massage Is Not a Spa. Here Is What to Ask For](https://easythailandvisa.com/thai-massage-what-to-ask-for/) - [A Lost Passport in Thailand Is a Paperwork Problem, Not a](https://easythailandvisa.com/lost-passport-in-thailand-what-happens/)