My wife flies out to Saudi this evening for work, she has morphine patches both applied and more for next week. As per advice she has the relevant Dr's letter explaining they are legit.
Never having travelled there before she is a little nervous (death penalty for any drugs violations :o). So would she be better to declare them at arrivals, leave them obvious in hand luggage or in the case? I would err towards open declaration, but advice from people with actual experience of travelling to Saudi with controlled drugs would be appreciated.
I can't for the life of me remember where I heard / read this, perhaps on some kind of work training about using our travel service but I have an inkling that for opioid types (codeine, morphine) to some countries you need a specific permit applied for ahead of time.
Why is her company not sorting this for her? Is there a travel service they use?
It's late but I wouldn't be travelling with it unless I had absolute confirmation it was OK. Not a lack of information about it not being OK.
I think its far too risky for her. I seem to remember cases of people with prescription opiates being in real trouble. Certainly do not hide them or not declare. She must get agreed clearance beforehand. guidance here:
Some prescribed and over the counter medicines may be controlled substances in Saudi Arabia. If you need to bring in controlled/prescription medication, ensure you carry your official doctor’s prescription, hospital note or a letter from your GP, detailing the drug, the quantity prescribed and dosage. This note or letter should also be signed by the doctor / consultant and stamped by the hospital. A list of narcotic, psychotropic and controlled drugs where this rule applies, allowed quantities and documents to present can be found on the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA) procedures and controls of narcotics and psychotropic substances.
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/saudi-arabia/local-laws-and-customs
On rereading the OP it looks like she has not got the documentation required from the guidence. In her shoes there is no way I would be going. Too risky
Yes, what does 'as per advice' mean? Whose advice?
I agree with TJ. Work trip? Work problem. They should be sorting this out. I'd not be going there without exactly the right papers.
I am with TJ and others here. I wouldn't be going without 100% clarity and if this was a long term treatment issue I'd be inclined to say please send someone else who isn't at risk in this way from a paperwork defect.
The only way I'd be going to SA in those circumstances would be with a wet-ink letter from someone in either the Saudi Government or from the Saudi embassy in the UK, and even then I'd be seriously considering trying to get out of it.
All that aside, and from speaking to people who've worked there - including one guy who quit and returned to the UK after about 9 months despite earning a literal king's ransom - SA isn't a particularly pleasant experience for women anyway. Does she really need to go?
Also, from TJ's link:
Article (5): Clearance of Pharmaceutical Products for Personal Use
- It is illegal to import drugs or medical materials that are band in Saudi Arabia <span style="text-decoration: underline;">or internationally</span>;
That's an EXCEPTIONALLY broad definition of what's illegal.
I don't have experience with Saudi Arabia but I absolutely would not be attempting to imports opioids / narcotics into another country. As others have said surely this has come up in the risk assesment but if not she needs to raise it with her work. I absolutely wouldn't travel if she can't take the patches off and leave spares in the UK. I would be speaking with work bosses and work travel insurers asap.
Massive nope from me as well. Saudi law requires extreme care.
If she has informed work about this issue, it is their responsibility to help her with the documentation she needs to clear customs. If there is any doubt about her safe entry, they should be stopping her from travelling.
I think I'd be suddenly testing positive for Covid if I were in her position.
So this is dubai not Saudi but assume it's similar laws
https://gulfnews.com/uae/crime/four-year-jail-term-for-woman-with-codeine-in-system-1.285922
This suggests patches are available in Saudi.
This document seems to suggest that SA is serious about reducing smoking. I'm not surprised as when I was there in the 80s every man and his dog were puffing away seemingly 24/7.
I think I would be inclined to go out without them and see if I could source them legally whilst there. But then, I'm not a smoker.
This is actually one if the most surreal threads I have read in years.
Of all the things that have been discussed under " ey up, I'll just quickly check with my mates on singletrackworld" this is the most insanely dodgy and consequential one I have seen.
What could possibly go wrong....☠️
@slowoldman I think that is presumably talking about nicotine patches, rather than morphine/opiate patches for pain relief.
I can't open slowoldmans link, but I'm getting the impression it's about as relevant as these patches
This page on an ex pats website suggests advance clearance needed a month ahead
Travelers should apply for clearance at their local embassy at least a month before arrival. Without these documents, travelers risk seeing their drugs confiscated at the very least.
Of all the things that have been discussed under ” ey up, I’ll just quickly check with my mates on singletrackworld” this is the most insanely dodgy and consequential one I have seen.
Yeah, this isn't even "I had the wrong COVID certificate and got put on a plane back home", without the right clearances this could mean prison or worse.
As others have said, without written approval from the Saudi immigration authorities and/or the Saudi embassy I would not be going.
@slowoldman I think that is presumably talking about nicotine patches, rather than morphine/opiate patches for pain relief.
Oops, I completely misread the whole thing. Where did I get the nicotine patch idea?
Perhaps the OP's wife has a life insurance policy they're trying to Khash in...
TL:DR the OPs wife is no longer flying to SA tonight.
I don’t think I would let my wife take that kind of risk.
"let your wife"
Is she not a competent adult?
😉
https://www.saudiembassy.net/bringing-prescription-drugs-kingdom-saudi-arabia
From this:
Request to import prescription drugs must be filed with the branch of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority at the port of entry to which the drugs will arrive.
So, yeah, declare them. And make sure the Doctor's letter covers everything listed on the site.
I've flown to the Middle East a fair bit and I would 100% not do this. Though hopefully the OP's wife's flight has been postponed by now.
Thanks all, being a very independent sort she has done all of the research into it herself, and has agreed that if there is any risk involved she won't fly. I like the "Covid positive - dammit!" line.
She knows that I would rather she did not go, but that is as far as my interference goes.
And yes, this is not the only line of enquiry, but this place normally throws up some useful advice 🙂
Getting close to flight time now? - how will anyone possibly be able to confirm 100% that she has the necessary paperwork before she boards? Any scintilla of doubt would make for a very nervy flight, I'd have thought.
unless she has more paperwork than the OP states we can be 100% confident she does not have the right paperwork. Linked to it above.
Wasn't it Saudi where some bloke ate a poppy-seed muffin in the departure airport and got banged up on arrival because they found spilled seeds wedged into the tread of his shoes?
The doctor's letter covers all this (from the Saudi embassy site);
<p class="rteindent2"> "Recent medical report (less than six months old) issued by the patient’s medical care provider and clearly stating the following:</p>
- personal information of the patient;
- medical diagnosis;
- treatment plan;
- medical recommendations;
- generic name of the prescription drugs, dosage and dosage form"
as advised by her work travel dept. but it would be comforting to hear from someone with direct experience. A member of the sales team is resident out there so he has been advising also.
The rules for expats are different, and far more stringent, so hopefully she will be back in Europe this time next week. We got used to all these meetings and presentations being done online, this travel load has come as a bit of a blow.
@cougar - I think your correct.
Not a chance I’d take the risk myself. I quite enjoy living and am fairly certain I’d not enjoy being in a Middle Eastern prison cell.
From the saudi site
a.The prescription medications in question must be accompanied either:
i. Recent medical report (less than six months old) issued by the patient’s medical care provider and clearly stating the following:
personal information of the patient;
medical diagnosis;
treatment plan;
medical recommendations;
generic name of the prescription drugs, dosage and dosage form;or by
ii. A doctor's prescription (less than six months old) in the name of the patient with the following information:
medical diagnosis;
generic name of the prescription drug, dosage and dosage form;
drug usage instructions and prescribed duration of use; and
official seal of the health care provider.
And yes @Cougar, that sounds about right. Good idea not to take any folding Sterling with you as apparently many notes have a minute trace of cocaine on them which their machines can detect.
She is going through security now, I have asked if she might have just this minute caught Covid 🙂
I'll keep you all informed of progress, expect a GoFundMe in a weeks time for legal expenses...
As all the serious advice has been given..........
I guess it depends if you like your wife or not.
If you don't like her and want some time away, wait until she sets off then make an anonymous call to their embassy that you've heard someone's smuggling in opiods.
Then when she doesnt declare it and hasn't got the right paperwork you won't see her again for 5-10 years.
But on a serious note, it's a work issue, either leave them behind and try and get them there or just don't go.
Just been through similar with a couple of stays in Singapore... another country that you don't want to play fast and loose with their drug laws...
Anyway, needed to go through all my wife's and my sons prescription meds to make sure none were on their list of controlled drugs. We knew we might have to do something as our son is on ADHD meds which are a controlled substance in this country.
We ended up having to get prior authorisation for his meds, and declare them at customs. As part of the approval we had to send through copies of the prescription etc...
I'd be surprised if morphine isn't on a list of controlled drugs in SA, and that a similar approval would be required.
From someone who stopped in a hotel right next to the main prison in Riyadh when working there, I was nervous about going for food with a female work colleague let alone taking in prescription opioids. This is a country which bans alcohol in their airspace.
I have no particular plans to travel anywhere in the near future, however I have a couple of prescriptions, one is for Zapain, a codine/paracetamol tablet, the other is for Naproxen, a powerful NSAI, both of which I have proper prescriptions for.
Guess which ones I’d be taking with me, and which ones I’d be leaving here, irrespective of where I’d be going; certain things I just don’t want to take avoidable risks on.
Been to Saudi many times, do not chance it at all. You absolutely do not want to give a Saudi border guard a decision to make. Keep in mind a solo female traveling is transgressive in their culture, let alone one with opiates.
so OP - your wife has presumably landed in SA by now. we need an update …?
Did her day end with cocktails or a prison cell?
All gone well so far, went through customs pretty much holding the clear bag with the report and meds out in front of her, straight through no problem. Two hour sleep at the hotel and off for first customer meeting which went well.
Needless to say I didn't get much sleep last night until she sent a message confirming all ok.
Fingers still crossed until she is back in Europe.
A former colleague got arrested and jailed for several days in Saudi a few years ago. His crime was taking some pictures of a random building while he was sightseeing.
Not a chance I'd be taking morphine patches there
Still better than the bloke from my work that got arrested for being T-boned driving along a wide empty boulevard by a local. The logic being that he shouldn't even be in the country, and if he wasn't in the country the god-fearing local wouldn't have crashed into them. Therefore guilty.
A good rule of thmub is if a country executes people in the supermarket carpark of you local town every other Friday then you probably shouldn't muck about there. We used to get notifications so we could time our shopping to avoid the executions.
Jeez. Sounds like a really happy place to be!
I know we have had Saudi threads before and I'm grateful I only visited Qatar for work and briefly....
I used to work all over the world including most of the middle East. Well away from tourist routes - I was used to greasing palms and getting out of scrapes (driving infractions, clearing equipment through customs etc). Two countries I refused to travel/work in - Russia and Saudi.
Russia was not because of the chance of being 'banged up' but because of the constant bribery required and the living/hotel/accomodation was dire.
Saudi because the line between getting something wrong and the consequences was too high.
