Travelling with medication
Kela reimburses medicine expenses during travel abroad if you are covered for health insurance in Finland during the stay abroad.
At the pharmacy, you can at the same time buy medication to an amount that corresponds to three months of treatment and receive reimbursement for this. If the medicine you have been prescribed is particularly expensive, you can, at one time, only buy one package of that medicine, equivalent to no more than 1 month of treatment, for which you are reimbursed directly. Particularly expensive medicines refer to medicines the retail price of which, including value-added tax, exceeds EUR 1,000 for one package.
If you buy medication for a trip abroad to an amount that corresponds to more than three months (as regards expensive medicines, more than one month) of treatment or you buy medication for a trip abroad at an earlier date than the intervals between medicine purchases would allow, you first have to pay the medicines yourself and then apply for reimbursement from Kela. If such a procedure is not possible, you should contact Kela.
How often can you buy reimbursable medicines?
Taking along your prescriptions
When travelling, take your prescriptions or a doctor’s reports on them with you. If asked at the customs, you can present them to prove that you have the right to bring along your personal medication.
Further information about travelling and necessary documents:
- Medications, prescriptions and reports on medication (kanta.fi)
- Taking medicines abroad (EU-healthcare.fi)
Other points to consider when travelling
Transport the medicines in their original packaging and in your carry-on luggage.
Please note that if a package of medicine is broken, lost or stolen, or loses its effectiveness due to incorrect storage, Kela will not reimburse you for any medicine bought in replacement.
Check the import restrictions of different countries
You should check the country-specific import restrictions for medicines well before you travel. You should also check the rules and restrictions in any transit countries in advance.
Information about restrictions on the personal transport of medications and any required documents is available from the customs authorities of the destination country and from contact points of the EU countries. You could, for example, contact the embassy of your destination country for further information.
Returning to Finland
You can bring medicines from abroad for personal use