Bringing medicines to Finland

You can bring prescription and self-administered medicines for personal use to Finland from abroad.

• a quantity equivalent to a year’s supply from an EEA country
• a quantity equivalent to three months’ supply from a non-EEA country

The EEA countries include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, the United Kingdom’s Northern Ireland*, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden.

*Please note that the United Kingdom is not part of the European Economic Area as of 1 January 2021. However, Northern Ireland is subject to the same restrictions as the countries of the European Economic Area.

You can bring medication to Finland if

• the product is licensed for sale in the country where you purchased it
• you have purchased the product from a provider that is licensed to sell medicines
• you can, when necessary, present a prescription or doctor’s certificate to demonstrate that the medication is intended for your personal use.

Bringing narcotics and medicines that affect the central nervous system to Finland

You can bring pharmaceutical products classified as narcotics to Finland for personal use as follows:

• a quantity equivalent to 30 days’ supply from a Schengen country
• a quantity equivalent to no more than 14 days’ supply from a non-Schengen country

The Schengen Area includes Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Germany, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Austria, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Switzerland.

A Schengen certificate is required if you travel in the Schengen area and are carrying medicines that are classified as narcotics – primarily medicines that affect the central nervous system or psychotropic medicines. The certificate is to demonstrate the necessity of the medication. You can get a Schengen certificate at a pharmacy.

If you bring the same medicinal product, or a corresponding product, classified as a narcotic to Finland for the second time, a period at least equivalent to the appropriate administration period for the previously-imported quantity of medication must have elapsed. You may not simultaneously import medicinal products containing narcotic substances that, according to the product specification, cause a clinically significant and hazardous combined effect when used together.

Legal and illegal medicines

Legal medicines are medicinal products that

• are licensed for sale in the country where they are purchased and
• are acquired from a supplier entitled to sell pharmaceuticals.

When bringing medicine to Finland, you must, if required, demonstrate that the product is intended for your own personal use. In the case of prescription medication, this can be done by presenting a prescription or doctor’s certificate.

Ordering or importing illegal medicines is considered a pharmaceutical offence. In the case of medicines that are classified as narcotics, the crime is regarded as a drug offence.

If you want to verify whether or not a product is classified as a medicine, you can check the matter from Fimea.