Taking medicines home from Egypt: customs rules for Russia, the UK and the EU

Taking medicines from Egypt back home is often possible in personal-use amounts, but not always. Your home country sets the rules, not Egypt. Keep medicines in their original packs with the receipt, and carry a prescription or a doctor’s letter for prescription medicines.

Medicines with controlled or “potent” substances need extra papers, and some need a licence. This guide sums up what official sources say for Russia, the UK and the EU. Use it to check your own case before you buy and before you fly.

Travelling the other way? Read what to know before bringing medicines to Egypt.

Rules that help at any border

• Keep the original pack and leaflet. The name, strength and active ingredient should be easy to read.
• Keep the receipt. Ask for one with every purchase.
• Carry a prescription or a doctor’s letter for prescription medicines. Ask for the generic names (active ingredients), not only the brand names.
• Bring personal-use amounts only. Never carry medicines for friends or relatives at home.
• Pack medicines in your hand luggage, in case a suitcase is lost.
• Check first. If a rule is not clear, ask the customs service or embassy of your country.

UK travel health experts at TravelHealthPro give similar advice. They recommend the original pharmacy packaging, a copy of the prescription and a letter from the prescriber. Our guide to medicine prices in Egypt explains how printed prices and receipts work here.

Leaving Egypt

Cairo Airport’s customs guide, which the UK government links to, says departing passengers may not carry drugs beyond personal use. Keep your medicines to personal-use amounts.

The same guide limits liquids over 100 ml and does not mention an exception for medicines. If you carry a large bottle of liquid medicine, ask your airline before you fly.

Russia

Russian law allows travellers to bring medicines into Russia for personal use (Federal Law No. 61-FZ, Article 50). This includes medicines that are not registered in Russia. Some groups have extra rules:

• Potent or poisonous substances. Some medicines contain substances on Russia’s official lists of potent («сильнодействующие») or poisonous («ядовитые») substances. For these, you need documents showing that the medicine was prescribed to you, or certified copies or extracts of them. The documents must state the medicine’s name and quantity.
• The exception. This does not apply to medicines registered in Russia (or under EAEU rules) and sold in Russia without a prescription. The exception covers registered products, so an Egyptian brand with the same active ingredient may not qualify.
• Translation. Documents in a foreign language need a notarised translation into Russian.
• Narcotic and psychotropic medicines. Under Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) rules, you may bring only a limited quantity, for your own medical use. You need medical documents that state the name and quantity, in Russian or with a notarised Russian translation.
• Declaration. Under the EAEU Customs Code, personal goods that need documents to meet import restrictions must be declared. This is done on a passenger customs declaration.

Not sure whether a medicine is in one of these groups? Check with the Russian Federal Customs Service (FTS) before you fly.

United Kingdom

The UK rules depend on whether a medicine contains a controlled drug.

• Controlled drugs. Carry them in your hand luggage. GOV.UK says they may be taken away at the border if you cannot prove they were prescribed for you.
• UK residents. The Home Office says its personal import policy does not apply to UK residents who get controlled drugs dispensed abroad. If you are prescribed controlled drugs abroad, email the Drug and Firearms Licensing Unit (dflu.ie@homeoffice.gov.uk) before you return.
• How to check. Your doctor or pharmacist can tell you if a medicine contains a controlled drug. You can also check its ingredients against the UK controlled drugs list, which names drugs, not brands.
• Other medicines. For other medicines, the Home Office says to check the import rules with the MHRA, the UK medicines regulator. UK medicines law does not require an import licence for medicine you bring in for yourself or your household.
• Protected species. Some medicines made with protected plants or animals may need a CITES permit.

European Union

Rules differ between EU countries, as Swedish Customs points out, so check your own country’s customs website. Two examples:

• Germany. German customs allows medicines in amounts for normal personal needs, which means up to three months’ supply of each medicine. It does not matter where you bought them. Narcotic medicines, such as morphine, are limited to an amount that suits the trip, and you need a doctor’s certificate. From outside the Schengen area, carry a multilingual certificate from your doctor. It should show the doses, the active ingredient and the length of the trip.
• Italy. Italy’s customs agency (ADM) links the amount to the planned stay in Italy. It asks for a regular prescription, at least in English, where one is required. The prescription should preferably show the dose, and you show it on request.

Swedish Customs also reminds travellers that medicines bought abroad must be for their own personal use, not for anyone else.

A product sold freely in Egypt may be restricted at home

The legal status of a medicine can differ between countries, and this includes over-the-counter medicines. At your border, your home country’s law applies, whatever the rules in Egypt.

German customs, for example, says food supplements, high-dose vitamins and herbal remedies can count as medicines in Germany. This is especially true if they are presented as a treatment. Fake (falsified) medicines may not be brought into Germany at all.

The natural oils we sell are cosmetics for skin and hair. Keep them in their original, labelled packs. Patch test a new oil first and keep it away from your eyes. Ask a doctor before using oils in pregnancy or by mouth.

Before you buy oils as presents, read our guide to Egyptian oils as gifts.

How our pharmacists can help

Our pharmacists speak English, Russian, Ukrainian and Italian. Before you buy, they can:

• tell you the active ingredient and strength of a product, for your doctor’s letter or customs papers
• tell you whether a medicine is prescription-only in Egypt
• give you a receipt for your purchase

We cannot tell you the customs rules of your country, so check them with your customs service or embassy. Learn more about our Russian-speaking pharmacists.

After you get home

TravelHealthPro advises seeing your regular doctor after the trip if you started a new medicine abroad. Take the pack and the leaflet with you.

Need help in Sharm?

Planning to take medicines home? Message us on WhatsApp or call +20 120 344 2201, in any of the four languages we speak. We can tell you the active ingredient before you buy.

Hotel delivery is free for orders from $30. With purchases from $50, we also offer a free transfer from your hotel to our pharmacy and back.