Leaving home checklist for SpainArticle 5 of 9 · 2 min read
Medicines and medical records to sort before you leave
How to avoid a gap in your medication and medical care between leaving home and getting Spanish health cover. For anyone who takes regular medicines or has an ongoing condition and is about to move to Spain.
Key rules
- Hand luggage: Carry medicines in their original packaging in your hand luggage, with a doctor's letter.
- Generic names: Ask for a letter that lists the generic name of each medicine, because brand names can differ in Spain.
- Foreign prescriptions: Do not assume a Spanish pharmacy will fill a prescription issued in your home country.
- Records: Bring copies of your diagnoses, test results, specialist letters and vaccination record.
Rules on carrying medicines and on foreign prescriptions vary by medicine and country, so confirm them with the Spanish consulate and your own doctor before you travel.
Start with your doctor, before you leave
Book an appointment at home a few weeks before you go. Your aim is to arrive with enough medicine to last until you have Spanish health cover and a Spanish doctor. Cover can take time to arrange, so plan for a gap.
Carrying prescription medicines
Rules for taking prescription medicines into Spain depend on the medicine and on where you travel from. Check the details with the Spanish consulate or embassy in your country before you pack. Controlled medicines, such as strong painkillers, some sleeping tablets and some ADHD drugs, need the most care.
Practical habits that help in any case:
- Keep medicines in their original packaging with the pharmacy label.
- Carry them in your hand luggage, not in a bag that could be lost.
- Bring a letter from your doctor naming each medicine, the dose and the condition it treats.
Foreign prescriptions
Do not count on a Spanish pharmacy filling a prescription from your home country. Whether it will accept one depends on where it was issued, and many pharmacies will refuse it. Ask your home doctor for a letter that gives the generic name of each medicine, because brand names often differ in Spain. Once you have access to a Spanish doctor, they can issue a Spanish prescription.
How much to bring
Bring as much as your doctor and local rules allow, and at least enough to last until your first Spanish appointment. Ask your doctor how large a supply they can prescribe. Ask the Spanish consulate whether limits apply to the medicine you take. If you cannot bring enough, ask your doctor about a plan for the first weeks.
Records to bring
Ask your doctor or clinic for copies, ideally in English or Spanish, of:
- a list of your diagnoses and current medicines, with generic names
- recent test results and specialist letters
- your vaccination record
- any scan reports or surgery summaries
- allergy information
If you have a serious ongoing condition, ask your specialist for a summary letter. It makes your first Spanish appointment much faster.
More in Leaving home checklist for Spain
- What you can finish before you land in Spain
- Your countdown: 3 months, 1 month and 1 week before leaving
- Which home accounts, leases and registrations to close or keep
- Cash and cards to carry for your first weeks in Spain
- Your Spanish visa: when to enter and what it allows
- Choosing your arrival airport and splitting your luggage
- The best time to arrive given Spanish holidays and office closures
- Which original documents to carry on you instead of shipping
Need certainty before you act?
For important relocation decisions, speak with a qualified human specialist.
Always verify important information with the relevant official authority or a qualified adviser before acting. This website uses large language models together with various public data sources, official government documents and other established sources. Due to the amount of data on this website, some information might be wrong. Information may also be incomplete or outdated.