Travelling with Medication

Medicines for your personal use

The ‘personal import policy’ exists to enable medication containing controlled drugs to be carried on your person when you visit the UK, without a licence being issued to you, in certain circumstances. This covers:

  • up to a 3-month supply of any schedule 2-4 (part I) drugs in the form of a medicinal product which have been lawfully prescribed to you in your country of habitual residence
  • medicines listed in schedule 4 II and 5 of the regulations

In all cases, medicines must have been lawfully prescribed and dispensed to you and must be carried on your person, when you enter or leave the UK. We recommend you carry a letter from your doctor or prescribing clinician. You may need to show this at the border.

The letter should include:

  • your name
  • a list of the medicine you have been prescribed, including doses, strength and frequency; it must be evident that you are not carrying more than a 3-month supply from both your travel dates and quantities of medication listed on the letter or prescription
  • the signature of the person who prescribed your drugs and their professional registration details

If the medication that you are wanting to bring into the UK does not contain a controlled drug, you will need to check the regulations for importing with the MHRA.

Temporary residents in the UK, or visitors extending their stay (more than 3 months’ stay)

Temporary residents, for example students or those working in the UK, should travel with a small supply of any prescribed controlled drug-containing medication (up to a 3 month supply) and obtain further supplies by consulting a UK clinician.

Medicines containing controlled drugs cannot be posted to you from overseas. They should be imported for you by a registered pharmaceutical wholesaler, who can apply for any licences needed, in response to an order from a pharmacy in the UK. Medicines which are not ‘licensed’ in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare regulatory Products Agency (MHRA) can still be prescribed by a UK clinician and made available as ‘specials’ or unlicensed medicines.

Please do not attempt to have further supplies posted to you, or to bring excessive quantities with you. These will be seized and you, as the importer, may be contacted by an enforcement agency.

If you need to stay in the UK longer than you initially planned and are running out of your medicine, you must obtain further supplies of medicine by consulting a UK clinician.

Charges may be payable for the services of a clinician or any prescription charges.

You should plan your arrangements to ensure you can be seen by a relevant healthcare professional, in the UK, in good time before your medicines run out.

Further Information

For further information, please visit the UK Government website: Bringing medicine containing a controlled drug into the UK