apparently you need a prescription for ALL meds including over the counter?? anybody else have this problem and their form was rejected? how did you guys bring in more than “2 months worth” of tylenol, etc?
I had to do this previously for study abroad and prepping for it again now, but I just messaged my doctor about this situation and pressed them to just write me a simple prescription so I can bring my OTC medication.
In my case, I was using a year supply of daily allergy meds from Costco, and the import agency originally denied it since I didn’t have a prescription, but accepted it when my doctor gave me a written prescription letter that just said “above patient is under my care and takes this medication daily for allergic rhinitis.”
Hopefully your doctor can do this for you, all they’d need to write is what you’re taking the medication for and that should be it
The funny thing is, most of the time, the border security doesn’t even look at medical forms.
But despite this, still should do it in are you’re the odd one out.
Why are you bringing 2+ months of OTC medicine like Tylenol when you can easily buy it here over the counter?
I didn’t list any of my otc meds that I brought. Made sure non were illegal of course.
It’s a pain in the ass and I’ve had some kind of complication both times I’ve done it, but make sure you’re SUPER thorough. You don’t need a real “prescription” per say, but you do need a note from your doctor basically saying “so and so needs this” (if you bring more than a month’s worth of something). My doctor in the US had pretty much no idea what I was talking about, but she did her best to guess what they wanted and basically said that I needed the medicine and signed it and it worked. Make sure that you’re really consistent though or they’ll hold you up for even longer. I got my medicine held up in customs last time because I accidentally wrote the brand name on one part of the form and the “real” name on another. I’ve heard that some people have no issues somehow but I’ve had only annoying experiences doing this.
TL;DR: have your doctor write a letter and sign it saying you need the overcounter medicine and they should accept it
5 comments
I had to do this previously for study abroad and prepping for it again now, but I just messaged my doctor about this situation and pressed them to just write me a simple prescription so I can bring my OTC medication.
In my case, I was using a year supply of daily allergy meds from Costco, and the import agency originally denied it since I didn’t have a prescription, but accepted it when my doctor gave me a written prescription letter that just said “above patient is under my care and takes this medication daily for allergic rhinitis.”
Hopefully your doctor can do this for you, all they’d need to write is what you’re taking the medication for and that should be it
The funny thing is, most of the time, the border security doesn’t even look at medical forms.
But despite this, still should do it in are you’re the odd one out.
Why are you bringing 2+ months of OTC medicine like Tylenol when you can easily buy it here over the counter?
I didn’t list any of my otc meds that I brought. Made sure non were illegal of course.
It’s a pain in the ass and I’ve had some kind of complication both times I’ve done it, but make sure you’re SUPER thorough. You don’t need a real “prescription” per say, but you do need a note from your doctor basically saying “so and so needs this” (if you bring more than a month’s worth of something). My doctor in the US had pretty much no idea what I was talking about, but she did her best to guess what they wanted and basically said that I needed the medicine and signed it and it worked. Make sure that you’re really consistent though or they’ll hold you up for even longer. I got my medicine held up in customs last time because I accidentally wrote the brand name on one part of the form and the “real” name on another. I’ve heard that some people have no issues somehow but I’ve had only annoying experiences doing this.
TL;DR: have your doctor write a letter and sign it saying you need the overcounter medicine and they should accept it