Mailing Meds to Thailand

[llso]

A friend of mine is moving and retiring to Thailand. He has a medicine from The US that is not available in Thailand . He is sure of this as he has been undergoing Cancer treatment at Bumungrad for the last year.

Would there be a problem to have this medication sent to him in Thailand from the US.

Thanks in Advance,

LL

[Sheryl]

There can be.

There is really no provision in law or customs regulations for the shipping in of meds for personal use. The only related reg refers solely to accompanied baggage, and otherwise an import license is required, which only licensed pharmacies/pharrma distributors can get, i.e. it assumes import is for sale, and receiving shipments for personal use is a sort of "grey" area.

A further wrinkle is that if the drug is not available in Thailand it may -- just may -- not yet have been approved for use here, in which case it may not appear on lists of authorized chemical substances. If you can tell me the name of the drug I can check on that.

He should be sure to have it sent by regular mail and never by a courier. Also send relatively small amounts at a time and make sure it is in a clearly labelled prescription bottle.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

And, be sure to include a copy of the U.S. doctor's prescription in the package.

I used to do this via the USPS until my U.S. insurance company changed policy and started to cover locally procured meds. Only had one package held up by Thai postal customs so I went down to their office around the corner from Hua Lamphong station and bailed it out, relatively cheaply. Having a copy of the prescription really helped.

Mac

[llso]

Thanks Ms. Sheryl and Thanyaburi Mac for the excellent advice. As usual the Thai Visa board and it's members have been a great help.

LL

[Sheryl]

Giot your PM and replied. He can get what he needs in Thailand, just not in the combo form.