ADHD
Travelling to Greece with ADHD medication
Bringing ADHD medication to Greece: what to pack, the Schengen certificate, what the Greek medicines agency asks, and what to do if you run out.
You can usually bring your own ADHD medication to Greece for personal use, if you carry a letter from your doctor stating the quantity you need for your stay, a copy of your prescription, and the medicine in its original labelled packaging. If you live in a Schengen country, stimulant medicines may also need a Schengen certificate. Rules for controlled medicines can change, so check before you travel. Only a few ADHD medicines are sold in Greece, so bring enough for your trip.
Before you travel: what to pack
The Greek medicines agency (EOF) says that visitors may bring medicines for their own use, in a quantity that covers their stay. For prescription medicines, including controlled medicines and medicines that contain narcotic substances, it asks for:
a letter from your doctor stating the quantity you need during your stay,
a copy of your prescription,
the medicine in its original container, with the full prescription label,
your name on the label, exactly as it is in your passport.
The UK government’s travel advice for Greece gives the same practical advice: bring your prescription medicines with you and a letter from your doctor stating the quantity. It adds that if you need to take controlled medicines in Greece, you should contact the Greek Organisation Against Drugs (OKANA), and it gives EOF’s contact for questions: clearance@eof.gr.
Stimulant ADHD medicines are controlled medicines. Because the official guidance is brief, it is worth emailing EOF a few weeks before you travel, naming your medicine, the quantity and the length of your stay.
If you live in a Schengen country
For journeys of up to 30 days within the Schengen area, people who carry prescribed medicines containing narcotic or psychotropic substances need a Schengen certificate. Your doctor completes it, and a health authority in your country authenticates it before you leave. The certificate is valid for up to 30 days, and a separate one is needed for each controlled medicine. Ask your doctor or your national medicines agency how this works where you live.
If you live outside the Schengen area
There are no harmonised international rules. The rules of your destination and of any country you pass through apply. Germany’s Federal Opium Agency recommends a multilingual doctor’s certificate that names the active substance and the length of the journey, and checking the requirements with the destination country before you travel. For Greece, the EOF and UK guidance above are the official starting points.
A word of caution. Rules on carrying medicines across borders differ from country to country, and they change. This guide is based on official sources, but it is general information, not legal advice, and it may not be complete or up to date. Before you travel, please confirm the rules with the competent national authorities: in Greece, the National Organisation for Medicines (EOF); in your home country, its medicines agency or health ministry; and the embassy of any country you pass through.
Which ADHD medicines are sold in Greece?
According to this practice’s information, on 29 October 2026 the ADHD medicines marketed in Greece were Concerta and Ritalin, both methylphenidate. Other ADHD medicines, such as Elvanse (Vyvanse in the US) or Adderall, are not sold here. If one of them is clinically needed, there is an official individual-import route through a pharmacy and EOF, but it is a request, not a guarantee. The details are in ADHD medication for adults in Greece.
In practice, this means: bring enough of your own medicine for the whole trip, plus a small margin for delays, within what your doctor’s letter states.
If you run out in Greece
A pharmacy in Greece cannot dispense a prescription-only medicine without a valid prescription. If your prescription is from outside the EU, you will need a doctor in Greece. At this practice, a doctor can issue a Greek e-prescription with your passport and an email address, even without an AMKA, and this also applies to controlled medicines. You pay the full price at the pharmacy. See Prescriptions in Greece without an AMKA.
For controlled medicines, the Greek e-prescription is marked as a special narcotics prescription, and each prescription can contain medicines from only one table of controlled substances. This route is for people staying in Greece temporarily or on holiday who have no AMKA. The doctor checks your passport before prescribing, and the pharmacist checks that your details match it. The legal basis is Ministerial Decision Δ3(α)/33959/2024 (Government Gazette Β’ 3800/1.7.2024).
A prescription follows an assessment. If I have not treated you before, I first take your history and look at the documents from your own doctor, so that the prescription is based on your diagnosis and not only on the name of the medicine. That is why it helps to book well before your supply runs out, not on the last day.
Before a long stay, agree an “if-then” plan with your own doctor: what you do if you lose your medicine, if your trip is extended, or if a side effect appears while you are away. A plan you agreed calmly at home is easier to follow than a decision made at a pharmacy counter.
A few practical points
Keep your medicine in your hand luggage, with the letter and the prescription copy.
Do not carry medicine for another person; controlled medicines are carried only by the person they were prescribed for.
Do not stop your medicine suddenly or change how you take it without speaking to your doctor, including when you cross time zones.
When to get help
Your supply will not last the whole stay.
You are moving to Greece and need ongoing care here.
You have ADHD symptoms that were never assessed and you would like an assessment in English.
Safety: In an emergency, call 112 or 166 (ambulance, EKAV). If you have thoughts of harming yourself, call 112 or the Suicide Prevention Line 1018.
How I can help
Book an appointment in English or Greek, at the practice in Trikala or online. See adult ADHD care at this practice, and how working with an online psychiatrist works, or book an appointment.
This article is educational and does not replace individual clinical assessment. Do not change or stop any treatment you are already taking without talking to your doctor.
Sources
EOF (National Organisation for Medicines). “Travelling with medicines and other health products in Greece (residents of non-EU countries)”, 16 June 2022, as republished by oenet.gr. Accessed 12 November 2026.
GOV.UK. Greece travel advice: Health. Updated 3 November 2026, accessed 12 November 2026.
BfArM (Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, Germany), Federal Opium Agency. Travelling with narcotic drugs. Accessed 12 November 2026. Legal basis: Article 75 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement.
Practice information, 29 October 2026 (ADHD medicines available in Greece; prescriptions without an AMKA), as in ADHD medication for adults in Greece.
Ministerial Decision Δ3(α)/33959/28.6.2024, Government Gazette Β’ 3800/01.07.2024: e-prescriptions for third-country nationals and EU citizens without an AMKA. Accessed 12 November 2026.
