Travelling with medicines: prescriptions, a doctor's letter and border rules

The main rule: the destination country's law decides

A medicine sold over the counter in an ordinary Georgian pharmacy may be strictly controlled or even banned in another country, and vice versa. At the border, the rules of the country you are entering apply, and when you change planes, sometimes those of the transit country as well. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warn travellers that carrying a prohibited or restricted medicine can lead to travel delays, confiscation of the medicine, refusal of entry or even detention. Japan, for example, bans any medicine containing amphetamine, even when a doctor has prescribed it in another country.

So before you leave, you need answers to three questions: what active substance your medicine contains, whether it is on the destination country's list of controlled substances, and what document that country requires. The answer to the first question is in the patient leaflet or with your doctor; the answers to the second and third are in the official sources listed below.

Which papers should go with the medicine?

The set of documents is similar for every traveller; the difference lies mainly in the level of certification. What a translated prescription and doctor's letter should contain and how doses are translated is explained in detail on the prescription translation page. Here is a short checklist:

• A prescription or treatment plan in the patient's name, translated into English or the language of the destination country.
• A doctor's letter on clinic letterhead: each product by its international non-proprietary name, the dose, the dosing schedule and the length of the trip.
• A one-page list of medicines, so that a single sheet explains everything at the border or to a doctor abroad.
• Original packaging with the label and patient leaflet; a weekly pill organiser invites extra questions at a check.
• Digital copies of all documents on your phone and in your email, in case the paper is lost.
• A permit or certificate, if the destination country requires one for a controlled substance.

Translations for ordinary medicines rarely need notarisation. For controlled substances, however, some countries require certified documents, and when such a medicine is brought into Georgia, Georgian rules also require a certified translation.

How much medicine should you take?

At the border, medicine counts as being for personal use when the quantity matches the prescribed dose and the length of the trip. The calculation is simple: the daily dose multiplied by the number of days, plus a small reserve in case your flight is delayed, the size of which you decide with your doctor.

Medicine may only be carried for the person it was prescribed for and who is travelling themselves. Medicine taken to hand over to a relative or acquaintance is no longer for personal use, and with a controlled substance this can turn into a serious legal problem.

Controlled substances: where to find the official rules

Strong opioid painkillers, benzodiazepines, some sleeping pills and anti-epileptic drugs, and stimulants used to treat attention deficit disorder are controlled under the international conventions on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. There is no single worldwide rule for carrying them: each country sets its own. The order of steps is as follows:

1. Identify the active substance

   The box shows the brand name, but the rules apply to the active substance. Write down the international name of each product.

2. Check the international compilation

   The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) website brings together, for travellers, the entry rules on controlled medicines for most countries. The compilation relies on information supplied by the countries themselves, so it may not reflect the latest change.

3. Confirm with the destination country's authorities

   The official sources are the destination country's ministry of health or medicines regulator, its customs service and its embassy. For example, Germany's Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) explains that for travel outside the Schengen area, the doctor issues a multilingual certificate stating the single and daily dose, the international name of the active substance and the length of the trip, and warns that some countries require an import permit, limit the quantity or ban a particular substance altogether.

4. Request the certificate or permit in advance

   If the country requires a permit, apply a few weeks before departure, because the authority needs time to respond. Have the doctor's certificate translated into the required language and, if the country requires it, certified.

5. Allow for transit

   If you cross a border or collect your luggage when changing planes, the transit country's rules also apply and must be checked separately.

If the rules are unclear or the country bans the product, ask your treating doctor about an alternative that is permitted in the destination country, or about continuing treatment there on a local doctor's prescription. Only a doctor can decide to change a medicine.

Syringes, insulin pens and refrigerated medicines

The basic rules for flying with injectable and refrigerated products, from hand luggage to cool bags, are described on the flight planning page. Here we add a few practical details that are often forgotten:

• The hold is not suitable: the temperature there can drop sharply, and frozen insulin is unusable, even if it thaws afterwards.
• The ice pack must not touch the medicine directly: contact with a frozen pack will freeze the product. The patient leaflet states the temperature at which your medicine should be stored.
• Count the time door to door: transfers, waiting and connections. If the total exceeds how long the ice pack stays cold, check in advance whether a fridge will be available on the way and at the hotel.
• Devices in the doctor's letter: list syringes, needles, pens, an insulin pump or a glucose sensor in the letter; for some devices the manufacturer gives its own recommendations for security screening.
• Sharps container: take a small closed container for used needles.
• Injection schedule and time zones: if the time difference is large, discuss shifting the timing of your doses with your doctor in advance.

Bringing medicines into Georgia: what Georgian rules require

Bringing in ordinary medicines for an individual's personal needs is governed by Order No. 01-31/n of the Minister of 15 June 2011. It sets the number of standard packs that may be brought in without documents; above that limit, medicines are brought in on the basis of medical records, and the quantity needed is calculated from the daily dose multiplied by the days of the visit or the length of the course of treatment. Products subject to special control are not covered by this rule. The order also applies to postal items: medicine sent in damaged packaging, without a label or under an unclear name may be confiscated.

A separate rule applies to medicines containing narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances: Order No. 01-32/n of the Minister of 15 June 2011. It allows a 31-day supply of such a medicine bought abroad to be brought in, with a customs declaration and three documents:

• a copy of the prescription, translated into English and certified by a competent authority; it must state the patient's details, the diagnosis, the name and form of the product, the quantity, how it is taken and the length of the course;
• a doctor's certificate, also translated into English and certified;
• a document confirming authenticity, signed and stamped by a competent authority of the issuing country.

The exception is the most strictly controlled groups: narcotic drugs in Schedule IV of the 1961 Convention and psychotropic substances in Schedule I of the 1971 Convention cannot be brought in this way. If a product prescribed abroad is not registered in Georgia and treatment continues for a long time after your return, bringing it in your bag is not a reliable route for regular supply: an individual import permit is used instead, and the procedure is on the medicine import page.

Taking medicines out of Georgia: controlled products

If you are leaving Georgia and taking a narcotic or psychotropic medicine with you, under the same Order No. 01-32/n you must apply in advance to the Regulation Agency for Medical and Pharmaceutical Activities. In the application you state the destination country and the purpose of the trip, and attach:

• a certificate of health status (Form IV-100/a);
• a notarised copy of the prescription;
• a notarised copy of the doctor's certificate;
• any other documents required by the destination country.

The order generally allows a 31-day supply to be taken out, with a much lower limit for patients on substitution therapy. The document issued by the agency is presented at customs. This is a Georgian requirement; it does not replace the destination country's rules, and both must be met separately. Form 100 is the main medical document in this case too, and you can find what it should contain in the Form 100 guide.

Checklist: a few weeks before and on the day of departure

A few weeks before

• List the active substance and dose of every product.
• Check the rules of the destination and transit countries in official sources.
• Get a doctor's letter and prescription showing the travel dates.
• Order the translation and, where needed, certification or a permit.
• Work out the quantity and buy your supply in original packaging.

On the day of departure

• Medicines, documents and devices are in your hand luggage.
• Refrigerated products are in a cool bag and not in direct contact with the ice pack.
• Digital copies are on your phone, and the paper set is in a separate pocket.
• At security, you tell the officer in advance that you are carrying medical items.

If you are taking medicines abroad for treatment, they are part of a larger package; the rest of the documents, stage by stage, are in the checklist for treatment abroad. You can work out the price of translating the prescription and letter in advance with the translation calculator.

Frequently asked questions about travelling with medicines