Can I bring my medicines?

Spain lets you bring your own medicines for personal use, up to about 3 months’ supply. Controlled medicines need a permit from the Spanish medicines agency before you travel, so plan this weeks ahead.

What to carry when you fly

• Keep medicines in their original pharmacy packaging, with labels intact
• Carry a copy of your prescription and a letter from your GP listing each medicine by its generic (non-brand) name, dose and amount
• Put what you need for the journey in your hand luggage, with some extra in the hold
• The quantity must fit your prescribed treatment and not be more than 3 months’ supply. Spain can accept more only if it is properly justified
• You may be asked for the prescription or a medical report when you enter or leave Spain

These rules come from the AEMPS (Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices). Spanish customs rules also apply, so declare anything you are unsure about.

Controlled medicines: the AEMPS permit

If a medicine contains a narcotic or psychotropic substance under international control, travellers entering Spain from outside the Schengen area, including from the UK, must get a permit from the AEMPS narcotics and psychotropics department before travelling. Ask your UK doctor or pharmacist whether any of your medicines are controlled.

• Email the application form, a recent signed and stamped medical report (doctor’s name, registration number and contact details, your condition, treatment and daily dose), your current original prescription and a copy of your passport, all as PDFs
• Allow at least 10 days for processing
• The permit normally covers no more than 30 days’ treatment, even for a longer trip. Longer periods are allowed only for some anticonvulsants or where the destination’s rules allow it
• A permit or certificate is valid for no more than 3 months
• Only medicine prescribed for your own treatment is allowed

The UK side has its own rules: you may need a Home Office licence to take 3 months’ supply or more of some controlled drugs out of the UK.

Travelling on from Spain: the Schengen certificate

Once you live in Spain, trips to other Schengen countries are easier. Article 75 of the Schengen Convention lets you carry prescribed controlled medicines across internal borders with a certificate from the country where you live. In Spain the AEMPS issues it, for no more than 30 days’ supply. Travelling from Spain to a non-Schengen country, including the UK, you still need a certificate from the AEMPS, and the UK has separate rules for bringing controlled drugs in.

Getting prescriptions in Spain

The simplest route is to register at your local health centre as soon as you are covered and see a GP (médico de cabecera). Bring your UK records and a list of your medicines. A brand may have a different name, or a medicine may not be sold in Spain, so your doctor may switch you to a local equivalent.

See Healthcare in Spain.