Shipping from China to France
The busiest corridor for French online shoppers. Nearly every AliExpress, Temu or Shein order arriving in France travels this route, and almost all of them are delivered by Colissimo for the final mile.
How long it takes
| Standard shipping | 12–30 days on standard shipping |
| Express courier | 4–8 days by DHL, FedEx or UPS |
Door-to-door including customs. The gap between the two rows is mostly flight frequency and clearance priority, not distance.
Customs and taxes
VAT from the first euro; customs duty above €150
Since July 2021 there is no VAT exemption for low-value imports into the EU. Most marketplaces now collect VAT at checkout under the IOSS scheme, in which case nothing further is due on arrival.
Who carries it
- Cainiao
LP + 14 to 16 digits
- China Post
Two letters + 9 digits + CN
- 4PX
4PX or LZ prefix, followed by 10 to 20 alphanumeric characters
- Colissimo
13 characters, usually starting 6A or 8R, or UPU format ending in FR
- Mondial Relay
8 digits, occasionally 10 to 12
- PostNL
3S + 9-13 digits, or UPU format ending in NL
- GLS
11 to 14 digits
What to expect on this route
- A parcel handed to La Poste generally clears through the Chilly-Mazarin or Roissy exchange office, which is where the "customs clearance" status appears.
- If VAT was not collected at checkout, La Poste charges a handling fee on top of the tax itself.