Travelling abroad with your medication: documents and tips

Which documents you need, how to carry tablets on the plane and what to do if you run out of medication outside Spain.

To travel abroad with your medication, carry it in your hand luggage and in its original packaging, with a few days' margin and a letter or prescription from your doctor explaining what you take. If any of your medicines is a narcotic or psychotropic, check beforehand whether you need a certificate from the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS).

Preparing your medication in good time avoids scares at the airport, at customs or halfway through your trip. Here is a practical checklist so you only have to think about enjoying yourself.

Which documents do I need to travel with my medication?

The AEMPS says travellers may carry their personal medication as long as storage conditions are maintained and the quantities do not suggest illicit use. To avoid problems at customs, it recommends carrying a prescription or a doctor's report with the medication.

Use the name of the active ingredient, not just the brand, because brands change from one country to another. We explain how to write it in your personal medication list.

When do I need an AEMPS certificate?

If you take controlled narcotic or psychotropic medicines (for example, some opioid painkillers or certain tranquillisers) and the quantity exceeds certain thresholds, you need a certificate or permit from the Spanish health authorities to leave or enter the country with them. In Spain, the AEMPS handles this.

According to the AEMPS, these certificates take at least ten days to process if the paperwork is complete, and they are valid for a maximum of three months. You, your doctor or other authorised bodies can apply. Ask your pharmacist whether any of your medicines are in this group, and check the rules of your destination country too, which may be stricter.

How do I carry my tablets on the plane?

Always carry your medication in your hand luggage, never only in checked baggage, in case it is lost or delayed. Aena, the Spanish airport operator, says that for liquid medicines you should carry the prescription or a medical justification whenever possible, and that security staff may ask to open containers to inspect them. If you need syringes, you must also carry a medical note.

• Take enough medication for the whole trip plus a few extra days in case of delays.
• If you are travelling with someone, put part of your medication in their hand luggage.
• Protect medicines that need it from heat and ask at the pharmacy how to carry those that must be kept cold.
• If you are changing time zones, ask beforehand how to adjust your doses, especially with insulin or contraceptives.

If you travel often for work, you may be interested in how to manage your tablets across hotels and time zones.

What do I do if I run out of medication outside Spain?

It depends on the country. In some European Union countries you can collect medication from your Spanish electronic prescription at a pharmacy through the MyHealth@EU service. According to the Region of Murcia health department (October 2026), it works in Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Portugal.

To use it you need your regional health card and, if it has no photo, your ID card or passport. The Spanish Ministry of Health warns that the European Health Insurance Card cannot be used to collect medication. Narcotics, psychotropics and compounded medicines, among others, are excluded.

Outside those countries, or if you have no active prescription, you will need to see a local doctor with your report and medication list. With the European Health Insurance Card, in the EU, the EEA, Switzerland and the UK you receive necessary public healthcare on the same terms as people insured there; it does not cover private healthcare or repatriation.

A practical example: Pilar spends two weeks in Portugal

Take the case of Pilar, 67, retired, who takes seven medicines for diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol and her thyroid, plus a sleeping tablet. She is spending two weeks in Porto with her partner.

A month before, she asks her health centre for a report listing her treatment and checks at the pharmacy that she has active prescriptions for the whole trip. She also asks about her sleeping tablet: the pharmacist checks with her whether she needs an AEMPS certificate and recommends bringing the prescription in any case.

She prepares seventeen days of medication, splits it between her bag and her partner's, and downloads her European Health Insurance Card. As Portugal takes part in the European electronic prescription, she knows she could collect some of her usual medicines there if needed.

How can IMA Health help you before your trip?

With several treatments, preparing two or three weeks of medication takes time and mistakes are easy. At IMA Health we coordinate with a specialised pharmacy that prepares your medication by day and time of each dose, we deliver it to your home and we provide personalised follow-up. That way you travel with every dose already separated and easy to carry. If you are travelling with an older relative, see also how to prepare their medication for a holiday.

Sources

• AEMPS: certificates for travellers with narcotic and psychotropic medicines (in Spanish)
• Aena: what you can take on the plane (medicines) (in Spanish)
• Spanish Ministry of Health: prescribing and dispensing in the EU (in Spanish)
• Murciasalud: collecting medicines in 12 European countries, October 2026 (in Spanish)
• European Commission: European Health Insurance Card

This article is for information only and does not replace advice from your doctor or pharmacist.