People in the UK can import a medicine for their own personal use —
including by post from overseas. If you are continuing a treatment that is right for
you, you can generally bring in or receive up to a three-month supply
of a non-controlled medicine, and it does not need to be licensed in the UK. SunnyPharma
explains what is permitted and hands off to
careaccessproject.org
for the next step. We do not sell, ship, recommend suppliers, or arrange importation.
What the UK permits
UK rules allow an individual to import a medicine for their own personal use. For a
non-controlled medicine in a personal-use quantity, there is no requirement to notify
the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and the legislation does
not restrict personal-use importation. The medicine does not have to be licensed in the
UK. This is a well-established personal-use route — not a commercial one — and it exists
so people can continue a treatment that suits them.
The conditions, plainly
Three conditions define the route. The medicine must be for you, in a
personal-use quantity (generally up to a three-month supply), and
not a controlled drug. Controlled drugs — opioids, benzodiazepines, and
other scheduled substances — have separate, stricter Home Office rules and generally
cannot be posted to you from overseas. Most HIV, hepatitis C, and cardiovascular
medicines are non-controlled and fall within the personal-use allowance.
No guarantee at the border
Being permitted is not the same as being guaranteed. Border Force and the MHRA keep the
power to inspect, detain, or seize a shipment where they have concerns about safety,
authenticity, quantity, or licensing. There is no blanket guarantee that every parcel
clears. In practice, detained personal-use parcels can often be resolved — but it is most
accurate to treat this as a permitted route subject to customs discretion,
not an automatic entitlement. Keeping your medicine to personal-use quantities and from a
genuine source is what keeps it within the route.
Keep your paperwork
Personal importation is intended for people continuing a prescribed treatment, not for
obtaining prescription-only medicines without clinical oversight. Holding a valid
prescription, and keeping clinical documentation with the consignment, supports that the
import is genuinely for your own personal use. Clear paperwork is what distinguishes a
legitimate personal import from a consignment that may be questioned.
This page is for general information and does not replace medical or legal advice.