1. Am I allowed to bring medicinal products into Sweden as a private person?
When traveling to Sweden…
If you are traveling to Sweden from an EU or EES country (EU and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) you may bring in medicinal products for personal use corresponding to a supply sufficient for one year.
If you are traveling to Sweden from a non-EU/EES country you may bring in medicinal products for personal use corresponding to a supply sufficient for three months.
You always have to be able to prove that the medicinal products are for your own personal use. Keep the medicine in its original packaging and with the pharmacy label with your name on it. For narcotics and medicinal products that are classified as doping substances there are special rules, see below.
When receiving medicinal products by mail…
You may order medicinal products for personal use from an EU/EES-country corresponding to a supply sufficient for one year. The medicinal product has to be an approved medicinal product both in Sweden and in the exporting country and it has to been bought at a pharmacy. If the medicinal product is a prescription drug in any of the countries it must be prescribed by a licensed prescriber within the EU/EES.
You have to be able to prove that the medicinal products are for your own personal use. Keep the medicine in its original packaging and with the pharmacy label with your name on it.
You may not bring in medicinal products from a country outside the EU/EES by mail.
2. Am I allowed to bring in medicinal products that are classified as narcotics to Sweden?
Hypnotics, sedatives and painkillers can be classified as narcotics. If you want to know whether a medicine is classified as a narcotic or not, ask your pharmacy or the MPA. Examples of class II and III narcotics are methylphenidate, morphine and methadone.
When travelling to Sweden from a country outside the EU/EES you may bring in class II and class III narcotics corresponding to a supply sufficient for five days and class IV and V narcotics corresponding to a supply sufficient for three weeks. If you are a foreign resident, visiting Sweden only for a short period, you may bring in class IV or V narcotics corresponding to a three months supply. If you are travelling from an EU/EES-country with a "Certification to carry drugs and/or psychotropic substances for treatment purposes - Schengen Implementing Convention Article 75" you may bring in class II, III, IV and V narcotics corresponding to a supply sufficient for 30 days. The certificate is issued by Swedish pharmacies for people living in Sweden. If you do not live in Sweden, ask the relevant authority in your home country for more information about the certificate.
You may not bring in narcotics by mail. No exemptions from this regulation can be granted.
3. Am I allowed to bring in medicinal products that are classified as doping substances to Sweden?
When entering Sweden, you may bring with you a supply of products classified as doping substances to cover no more than fourteen days' usage.
Doping substances comprise:
- synthetic anabolic steroids
- testosterone and its derivatives
- growth hormones,
- chemical substances which enhance the production and release of testosterone and its derivatives or of growth hormones.
You may not bring in products stated in The Act banning the use of certain doping substances (1991:1969) by mail.
4. A package to me is being held by customs because it contains medicinal products!
You may not bring in medicinal products from a country outside the EU by mail. The Medical Products Agency can not make exemptions from these regulations. If you are unsure if a product is considered to be a medicinal product or not you can send us a question about classification.
5. I have only ordered food supplements and natural remedies! Are those products medicinal?
The Swedish Medicinal Products Act (SFS 1992:859) contains the fundamental regulations for the handling of medicinal products in Sweden. Medicinal products are, according to section 1, products intended for administration to human beings or animals for the prevention, diagnosis, relief or cure of disease or symptoms of disease, or for use to a similar end.
The regulations for import of medicinal products are the same for synthetic drugs and products of natural origin. Natural remedies are medicinal products that can be sold outside pharmacies when they have been approved by the MPA. A product that can be found in a supermarket in Sweden could therefore be held by customs when imported.
The Medical Products Agency can decide that the Medicinal Products Act should be applied for products that are similar to medicinal products, e.g. laxatives, slimming products with ephedrine, tryptophane, androstendione and DHEA. If you do not agree with the classification of a product that is held by customs, please contact the MPA for an assessment.