Before you fly · Everyone
Carrying medicines from India to Canada: the rules
The short answer
You can carry your regular medicines from India to Canada. Health Canada allows a personal supply of prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural health products: a single course of treatment or up to a 90-day supply, whichever is less. Keep everything in its original labelled packaging, carry the prescription or a doctor's letter, and declare any controlled substance to CBSA.
Yes, you can carry your regular medicines. Canada lets travellers bring a personal supply, in labelled packaging, once the paperwork is right.
The personal-use rule
Bring a personal quantity, not a stockpile. Health Canada’s guidance for bringing health products into Canada for personal use (GUI-0116) sets one clear limit: a single course of treatment or up to a 90-day supply, whichever is less, based on the directions for use. The same limit covers prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural health products.
By the numbers
90-day supply
Health Canada — GUI-0116Original label
Health Canada — GUI-0116A 90-day supply is meant to cover you while you settle in and register with a doctor in Canada, not to save a year’s medicine costs. If your stay is longer, see a Canadian physician to renew your prescription rather than importing a bulk supply.
Prescriptions
Keep the packaging, carry the paper. Two things clear a prescription medicine through the border: the original labelled packaging, and proof it was prescribed to you.
Leave medicines in their original labelled packaging
Keep tablets in their blister strips and boxes, with the pharmacy or retail label showing the drug name and contents. Health Canada requires this, so don't decant pills into a weekly organiser or an unmarked bottle for the flight.
Carry the prescription and a doctor's letter
Bring a copy of the original prescription with the generic and trade names, plus a short note from your doctor explaining why you take each medicine. This protects you if a bag is lost and answers any question at the border.
Pack medicines in your carry-on
Keep them in your hand baggage, not the checked suitcase that can be delayed or lost. You want your medicines and the paperwork in your hand at the airport and the border.
Declare any controlled substance to CBSA
If a medicine contains a controlled substance such as a narcotic, codeine or a sedative, tell the CBSA officer on arrival. Declaring is required and routine; it is not an accusation.
Medicines in original packaging, labels intact
Copy of the prescription (generic + trade names)
Doctor's letter listing your conditions and medicines
Enough for your first stretch, up to a 90-day supply
Over the counter and Ayurvedic
Everyday medicines are generally fine; some herbal products are not. Sealed, labelled over-the-counter medicines and natural health products travel under the same 90-day personal limit. The caution is specific: not everything sold freely in India is treated the same way in Canada.
- Common OTC medicines: paracetamol, antacids, ORS (sealed, labelled)Allowed
- Vitamins and natural health products (sealed, labelled)Allowed
- Ayurvedic and herbal medicines from IndiaDeclare it
- Indian branded combination medicines with codeine or sedativesDeclare it
Check for a Canadian licence number
A health product that Health Canada has assessed carries a DIN (drug), NPN (natural health product) or DIN-HM (homeopathic) number on the label. A product without one has not been reviewed here. That is not an automatic refusal, but it is why loose, unlabelled or unregistered remedies draw the most scrutiny.
Never carry
Some things turn a routine medicine bag into a problem. None of these is worth the risk.
- Loose, unlabelled pills out of their packagingProhibited
- A controlled or narcotic-class drug with no prescriptionProhibited
- More than a 90-day supply, or medicine to sell or shareProhibited
- Someone else's prescription medicationProhibited
Not declaring a controlled substance is the offence
For any medicine containing a controlled substance, you must always declare it to a CBSA officer and be able to show it was prescribed to you. Failing to declare, or carrying more than a 90-day supply, can mean the medicine is seized and can affect your admissibility. Declaring a properly prescribed medicine is routine and carries no penalty.
What to do next
- Packing for Canada from India: the full carry-on list, documents and what to leave behind.
- Planning the move as a student? See how we handle Canada study permits end to end.
Common questions
How much medicine can I bring to Canada from India?
Health Canada allows a personal-use quantity: a single course of treatment or up to a 90-day supply, whichever is less, based on the directions for use. This limit covers prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural health products. Everything must be in its original labelled packaging. Carrying a year's stock to save money is not permitted.
Do I need my prescription to carry medicines into Canada?
Keep your medicines in the original pharmacy or retail packaging with the label intact, and carry a copy of the prescription plus a doctor's note explaining why you take them. Health Canada requires the packaging or label to clearly show what the product is. For any controlled substance, the prescription and declaration to CBSA are mandatory, not optional.
Can I bring Ayurvedic or homeopathic medicines from India to Canada?
There is no blanket ban, but be careful. Some Ayurvedic products imported from India have been found by Health Canada to contain high levels of lead, mercury or arsenic, and it has warned against those specific products. A product authorised in Canada carries a DIN, NPN or DIN-HM number. Keep them sealed, labelled and within the 90-day personal supply.
Can I carry medicines with codeine or sleeping pills into Canada?
Only with a prescription, and you must declare them. Narcotics, codeine, sedatives and many sleeping pills are controlled substances in Canada. You may carry up to a 90-day supply if they are prescribed to you, dispensed by a health professional, in original packaging, and declared to a CBSA officer on arrival. Never carry them loose or for someone else.
Should medicines go in checked or carry-on luggage?
Carry your medicines in your hand baggage, in their original labelled packaging, with the prescription. Checked bags get delayed or lost, and you need your medicines and the paperwork in your hand at the border. Bring enough for your first stretch in Canada, then register with a local doctor to renew your prescription.
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