You are not allowed to acquire or receive medicinal products by post from a country outside the EEA
You are only allowed to acquire medicinal products from within the EEA
A private person may receive, for his or her personal use, prescription and non-prescription medicinal products from another EEA country in a quantity corresponding to no more than three months’ use, provided that:
- the medicinal product has a marketing authorisation in the state from where it was acquired, or, if the medicinal product does not have a marketing authorisation, it was purchased with a prescription appropriately issued by a person authorised to do so;
- the medicinal product has been acquired from a supplier authorised to carry out retail supply of medicines in the country of purchase; and
- the person is able to prove that the medicinal product is intended for his or her personal treatment. For prescription medicines, this can be done by presenting the prescription or medical certificate appropriately issued by a person authorised to do so, or in the case of an electronic prescription, by presenting a summary print-out that can be obtained from the pharmacy.
- If you have ordered medicinal products by post from the EEA, you must have the required documents before receiving the products.
- Self-medication products, i.e. over-the-counter medicines: For every medicinal product, a prescription status is defined, indicating whether the medicine in question may be supplied without a prescription and the maximum package size in which the medication can be purchased without a prescription. When you order medicines online, make sure you know the package sizes and the prescription status of the medicinal product. More information from Fimea: fimea.fi – Self-medication products
When ordering medicines online or from an online pharmacy, make sure that the pharmacy is a legalised distance seller of medicines. Online services that operate in the European Union can be identified by a pan-European logo. Read more: fimea.fi – Common European logo for online services (in Finnish and Swedish).
- You are not allowed to acquire or receive medicinal products containing a narcotic substance by post from outside Finland.
- You are not allowed to acquire or receive veterinary medicinal products by post from outside Finland.
If you buy preparations containing melatonin online, find out the dosage and the purpose of use of the product. In this way, you can make sure that you are not unknowingly committing a medicine offence. A melatonin preparation can be classified as a medicine or as a food supplement. Remember that you cannot order medicines online from outside the EEA.
Rule of thumb: if a preparation contains no more than 1.9 mg of melatonin per daily dose and its purpose is e.g. to reduce the time for sleep onset or to ease jet lag, it is usually classified as a food supplement. The purpose of use of the preparation is indicated in the label and in advertising. The Finnish Medicines Agency, Fimea, does not take any measures concerning such food supplements.
Please remember the following:
- Preparations containing melatonin and indicated to be used for treating insomnia are always classified as prescription medicines, regardless of the daily dosage.
- Preparations with the daily dosage of 2 mg or more of melatonin are always classified as prescription medicines.
- If you order a preparation that is too strong or that is intended for treating insomnia, you will be guilty of ordering a prescription medicine without a prescription.
Customs supervises import goods that are subject to restrictions by means of risk analysis and X-ray, with the help of detector dogs, and by performing goods inspections when needed.
See the relevant section in the Customs restrictions manual (in Finnish)
- Finnish Food Authority (e.g. health products and food supplements, animal imports)
- Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority STUK (e.g. laser products)
- Fimea (e.g. herbal medicinal products, medicinal homeopathic and anthroposophic products as well as instructions for making a classification request)
- Environment (e.g. endangered animals and plants and products made from them (CITES))
- Police (e.g. firearms and firearm components)
- Finnish Transport and Communications Regulatory Authority (e.g. frequencies for telecommunications equipment)
- Valvira (e.g. snus)
Please have a look at the frequently asked questions.
If you have a question about the arrival of parcels, its contents or the handling fee, please contact Posti.