Will there be problems bringing 1-year supply of medication, including supplements, in my luggage when entering on visa-exempt entry (that shall later change to non-o + 1 year extension based on marriage)? What about diamond ring?

[unblocktheplanet]

When Covid struck & it was obvious we would not be travelling for awhile, I ordered my year of supplements & had them sent to my sister for posting. The parcel was so heavy, she suggested putting the pills in Ziploc bags! (Duh!) Customs snagged it because there was a blood pressure monitor in the parcel. They told me if it had just been pills, no problem! (Don't bring your pills in a Ziploc!)

 

I take compounded meds & have to have my daughter mail them in. In Canada, compounders are cheaper than regular, in the US the reverse. If there were a reasonably-priced--not a gouger--here, it would be brilliant. BBH is a bit of a gouger, IME.

 

No compounders in KL or Singapore. Makes me wonder what they teach kids in pharmacy schools!

[wml22]

12 hours ago, BKKBike09 said:

Obviously I would not advise you how to avoid import duties etc.

 

Theoretically ... if you put the ring in your carry on, then put it + box in say a jacket pocket before you go through Customs on arrival, Customs will not ask you to put anything you are wearing through the x-ray machine. However jewellery is exactly the sort of item they look for in luggage: these guys are not stupid and know what a ring in a box looks like. 

 

I think the risk of luggage being x-rayed is quite high these days because there are so few passengers and Customs officers want something to do. I can't advise on the meds but personally I would think that, if your luggage is x-rayed, that quantity of pills will lead to questions and likely a search of all your bags. Which is when the ring would come to light if in one of said bags. 

 

If they do find the ring then you'll have to pay import duties (guesstimate 35%) based on the value. Which Customs will determine on the spot unless you have a receipt (and again they are not stupid so a receipt for "2-carat diamond ring USD 100" won't fly).

Thanks to all for the helpful answers and sharing your experiences. As noted in one of the threads about LDN, getting regular naltrexone and titrating it into LDN doesn't work because the regular naltrexone is not the same formulation as LDN (something to do with different time release properties if I understood right). 

 

Why wouldn't I just do the following:

 

1) Buy an opaque larger pill bottle that can hold ~500 pills (about a 15 month supply), transfer the prescription label to that bottle, and then it's just a single bottle holding the LDN.

2) Do the same thing for the supplements: tape the labels on a larger bottle and try to put all the supplements of each type into the one bottle. (Total would then be 3 bottles: one of LDN, one of supplement A, and one of supplement B.) Each of these larger supplement bottles might be around 24*14*14 cm. So bigger than normal pill bottles but maybe not big enough to draw notice.

3) Put the three bottles in my carry-on bag (which is a backpack). 

 

Then for the ring:

 

4) Why wouldn't I just take the ring out of the carry-on bag when the plane lands in Phuket, and before getting off the plane, wear the ring on one of my fingers? Could they really try to impose an import tax on a piece of jewelry that I'm wearing? If there is no security metal detector scan of my body after exiting the plane and while going through customs, this seems like the safest option assuming that they wouldn't try to impose import taxes on items a tourist is wearing on their body. (If they did that then wouldn't that mean every married tourist couple would be shaken down for taxes on the wedding rings they're wearing when they go through the airport? That doesn't make sense. If the issue is that it's a woman's ring, then perhaps that is mitigated by turning the ring upside down on my finger so that the diamond is facing inward towards my palm, and thus less noticeable.)

 

5) There is another thing which is that I need to bring my second monitor which I use for work in one of the checked bags. If they're going to impose an import tax on that then I am willing to just eat the cost (should be around $100 if they're taxing it at 30% of the value).

 

It seems to me like if I follow the plan outlined in steps 1-5 then I'll most likely be able to get everything I want into Thailand at little or no extra cost. I can bring a note from my doctor about the LDN and supplements just in case (but I don't know if she'd be willing to edit the doses to make the 1-year supply look like it's a 1-month supply; I could bring whatever note I can get from her, regardless, as an insurance to show that I should be allowed to keep at least a portion of the medication and supplements if it's raised as an issue at customs).

Edited August 6, 2021 by wml22

[HeijoshinCool]

.

Pierce your ear, or nose, and wear the ring.

[Autonuaq]

you need to declare at customs and you do need to have the supporting medical reports with you that make logic that you take these mediation with you.

 most is available in Thailand therefore you need extra supporting documents why you need to take this much of the brand you have with you.

there are certain professions that enable a person that can take one up to 18 month of medicine with them.

 

in general it is for 90 day/ 3 month maximum that one can take with them.

all the rest is just have being lucky.

 

be aware you do need to original prescribtion of your doctor with you 'wet' singed. then you have the least problems.

[wml22]

29 minutes ago, Autonuaq said:

you need to declare at customs and you do need to have the supporting medical reports with you that make logic that you take these mediation with you.

 most is available in Thailand therefore you need extra supporting documents why you need to take this much of the brand you have with you.

there are certain professions that enable a person that can take one up to 18 month of medicine with them.

 

in general it is for 90 day/ 3 month maximum that one can take with them.

all the rest is just have being lucky.

 

be aware you do need to original prescribtion of your doctor with you 'wet' singed. then you have the least problems.

What I'm hearing is that if I have 3 pill bottles in a carry-on then they'll likely be ignored. I would keep the prescription and doctor's note on me just in case but I would not invite trouble by declaring the bottles, on the premise that they don't need to be declared if they're all an under 3 month supply of the respective substances which are all legal in Thailand. Declaring the three bottles sounds like just asking for trouble if the likelihood is that the three bottles would be ignored when the carry-on is scanned in the xray machine.

 

Or what would be smarter is to take at least one of the bottles (the LDN) out of the carry-on when the plane lands and keep it in my coat pocket since I'm hearing that doesn't get x-rayed. 

 

These are not illegal substances and frankly it seems to me like the main reason for these ridiculous customs rules is to enable the officials to seize / steal goods and resell them for personal profit afterwards.

Edited August 6, 2021 by wml22

[Lokie]

Suprised no one has mentioned anything to do with transitting via certyain countries (e.g Middle East) carriers... plenty of reports people carrying perfectly legal Meds from home countries but IN UAE for example they can be arrested if found in hand lugage... Think it Codine based Meds are one they dont allow as mentioned for LOS

 

Iv always carried my heart meds in hand luggage but only 3 mths supply in pharmacy bag with full prescription print out and Vitimins in hold luggage have never had any issues over last 12 years...

Edited August 6, 2021 by Lokie

[mrwebb8825]

Why would you bring a diamond anything to a Thai gf? Never mind if she's not Thai but here, gold is king. (most aren't impressed with white gold either)

Just saying, your values aren't Thai values. She'll smile. She'll kiss you. And as soon as she can, she'll be off to have it appraised because her friends and family will scoff that it's not gold. Why do you think you never see jewelry shops outside of high-end (Hi-So) malls but there's a gold shop around every city corner? 

[wml22]

44 minutes ago, mrwebb8825 said:

Why would you bring a diamond anything to a Thai gf? Never mind if she's not Thai but here, gold is king. (most aren't impressed with white gold either)

Just saying, your values aren't Thai values. She'll smile. She'll kiss you. And as soon as she can, she'll be off to have it appraised because her friends and family will scoff that it's not gold. Why do you think you never see jewelry shops outside of high-end (Hi-So) malls but there's a gold shop around every city corner? 

???? Nice troll post. I brainstormed with her siblings before purchasing to make sure that I got something culturally suitable, but turns out that for the upper-middle class around the Bangkok metro area, the style for engagement rings is very Western anyway. 

[briando]

I can only tell you of my experience.I returned to Thailand through Swampy in feb this year.In my check in bag I had a year's supply of 5 meds that took up half the bag.8 tabs per day equals about 3000 tabs and caps.If the bags were X-rayed they took no notice.I have never been checked in 5 years.In the past I have come to Chiang Rai where you can watch your bags going through the machine and I have had less meds but still a year's supply and never been stopped.If I were you I would take the risk.

[elgenon]

On 8/5/2021 at 4:19 PM, Sheryl said:

 

Actually 3 months, not 1.

 

As long as the quantities look consistent with personal use (i.e. not a suitcase full) , they usually don't fuss about quantity.

 

There is no import duty. Worse that will happen is they may confiscate the emds or some of them if they believe quantity is excessive. (If they confiscate -- which is rare --  can get it back on leaving the country).

 

Do nto try to split it up or do anything else that looks surreptitious. Doesn't matter if checker or carry on. Just make sure it is in clearly labelled prescription bottles.

 

Also good to have a doctor's note with you - not strictly required as naltrexone is not on the narcotics list, but advisable and will also help should you need medical care here in Thailand for any reason.

 

They do not usually Xray foreigner's luggage.

I had my bag x-rayed once. But they didn't look . They were too busy talking to each other.

[Peterphuket]

On 8/6/2021 at 4:30 AM, ezzra said:

I'm about to bring 6 month supply of my meds that are either hard to find or exuberantly expensive in Thailand but i have my GP letter authorizing such stockpile, other than that there's nothing you can do if you will face a hard*ss custom's dude who will insists that you will provide him with sorts of silly import documentations and pay huge import tax...

I have the same experience with the medicines I use, I always bring for 12 months with me to Thailand with a letter from my Dr.

I did this for 6 years, they never ask me at customs.

Unfortunately the last 18 Months it was for me not possible to leave LOS, so I'm depending  of medicines from here.

[ArcticFox]

I going to be Captain Obvious here.

 

LDN dosage 4.5mg / day
Total milligrams needed for a year  ~1645mg
Number of 50mg Naltrexone needed = 33

Bringing in 33 tables of Naltrexone isn't going to get anyone's attention

Even if you are bringing in 365 4.5mg tablets of Naltrexone I doubt that is going to raise any eyebrows either.

[Tuvoc]

18 hours ago, wml22 said:

5) There is another thing which is that I need to bring my second monitor which I use for work in one of the checked bags. If they're going to impose an import tax on that then I am willing to just eat the cost (should be around $100 if they're taxing it at 30% of the value).

I brought a monitor into Thailand last year in my suitcase, it wasn't any problem. Maybe I was lucky. They are not that expensive depending on size and spec, you could  think about just buying one in Thailand.

[phetchy]

On 8/6/2021 at 5:24 PM, xtrnuno41 said:

I ve never been hold for my medicines, but ok only for 2 months, but never had questions.

Also brought bottles of vitamins with me, until now, never questions

 

Once i wanted to bring in a scythe, so then i send an email to customs Thailand to ask if this was a problem.

there was no problem, but sure took that message with me. But indeed , no problems.

 

Once i was leaving, i believe Phuket, but had a charging battery in my suitecase.

When i was about entering the plane, i saw my suitecase was out of the plane, so i go there and asked what was happening. Yes, the battery, it had to get out of the suitecase and carry on hand luggage.

Meaning it was scanned and they noticed the battery.

Weird was i had to notice it myself my suitecase was out of the plane. They didnt ask, saw it just by coincidence.  

 

I suggest for your medicines you make a list with amount and send an email to customs, if it is alright to bring them in. Then you can be sure. Bring the answering mail with you.

 

About the ring, i would suggest, keep it very close to you and dont let it out of your sight.

You could also have bought the ring in Thailand, but ok you got one now.

I bought once a ring in Thailand and kept it "hidden" in my hand luggage. Like a box in a box and then in the hand luggage, not easily accessible, but keep al times your eye on your hand luggage.

There are many things you need to do when you are passing to plane and are very easily distracted.

It is a sad if you loose the ring.

 

I think you win the prize for the best "why don't I try and make things really, really difficult for myself when entering Thailand" competition.  If you have a black hooded gown to go with the scythe, that's a sure halloween winner.

[bkkflyer]

The funny thing about Thailand is that at the end of the day (or rather the trip) the customs officer is the one who is going to decide on your fate. If it was me (and I have only entered Thailand around 200+ times) I would be honest (and prepared) and go on "red" and tell them - and show supporting documents. Remember - the ONLY thing they think about - is HOW can they make money from you. And be prepared...... I have imported Naltrexone (for Alcohol use disorder) from India several times. And never any problem. Its not a narcotic. Good luck with your girlfriend and the diamond ring ????

Edited August 8, 2021 by bkkflyer

[Sheryl]

As far as I know there is no requirement to declare non-narcotic medications for personal use. Please ignore those saying you should.

 

And do not try anything "clever" with the bottles. Your biggest potential problem is being suspected of having some other substance and anything you do that looks like you are trying to conceal things will feed that impression. Keep everything in original containers, labeled prescription bottles.

[Chris.B]

On 8/6/2021 at 6:19 AM, Sheryl said:

 

Actually 3 months, not 1.

 

As long as the quantities look consistent with personal use (i.e. not a suitcase full) , they usually don't fuss about quantity.

 

There is no import duty. Worse that will happen is they may confiscate the emds or some of them if they believe quantity is excessive. (If they confiscate -- which is rare --  can get it back on leaving the country).

 

Do nto try to split it up or do anything else that looks surreptitious. Doesn't matter if checker or carry on. Just make sure it is in clearly labelled prescription bottles.

 

Also good to have a doctor's note with you - not strictly required as naltrexone is not on the narcotics list, but advisable and will also help should you need medical care here in Thailand for any reason.

 

They do not usually Xray foreigner's luggage.

Hi Sheryl, its ....  "not exceeding 30 days of prescribed usage. "

Also, don't put important medicine in check-in luggage, maybe the bag gets delayed, re-routed or stolen even.

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

4 minutes ago, Chris.B said:

Hi Sheryl, its ....  "not exceeding 30 days of prescribed usage. "

Also, don't put important medicine in check-in luggage, maybe the bag gets delayed, re-routed or stolen even.

 

 

 

No, it is 3 months (90 days)

 

30 day limit is only for Schedule 2 narcotics and Scheduled psychotropics. Neither of which applies to naltrexone.

 

There was new guidance issued on 2020 specific to narcotics and that is what pops up when you google this, you will note the word "narcotics". Naltrexone is not on the Thai narcotics schedule.

[xtrnuno41]

On 8/8/2021 at 9:18 AM, phetchy said:

I think you win the prize for the best "why don't I try and make things really, really difficult for myself when entering Thailand" competition.  If you have a black hooded gown to go with the scythe, that's a sure halloween winner.

DIdnt had any problem with scythe, maybe because i was dressed in black with a pointy hody.

[LosLobo]

I currently take LDN in the West and I am planning on moving back to Thailand in the near future.

 

I have previously brought 12 months supply of meds to Thailand on many occasions and never had any issues. Always with the original packaging and with a letter from my doctor listing the meds.

 

One obstacle I have considered on bringing a large supply of LDN to Thailand is that the LDN I currently use has only a shelf life of six months.

 

So I need to get some technical data on the  possibility of extending this period (maybe by using refrigeration).

 

I understand MedConsult in Bangkok run by a UK/Thai registered doctor has the ability to import meds from UK.

 

I had intended to email her and ask about the possibility of suppling LDN when I get closer to my departure.

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by LosLobo