Moving to Switzerland with an existing treatment

If you move to Switzerland while you are being treated abroad, two rules of the Narcotics Control Ordinance (BetmKV) set the frame. On entry, medicines with controlled substances for at most 30 days of treatment may be brought in without an import permit, under the conditions set out below. If the stay lasts longer than 30 days, the medicines must be prescribed by a physician licensed to practise in Switzerland. This article explains both rules and what the first consultation in Switzerland involves.

If you are only visiting Switzerland and have no Swiss residence, our guest programme describes how a consultation works during your stay.

Bringing medicines on entry

Travellers under treatment may bring medicines containing controlled substances into Switzerland without an import permit, in the quantity needed for at most 30 days of treatment, provided the medicines contain no substance from Verzeichnis d (Art. 41 para. 1 BetmKV). According to Swissmedic, patients treated with medical cannabis may enter with a Schengen certificate or, from outside the Schengen area, with a form for other countries.

• From a Schengen state, the import without a permit requires a certificate according to Annex 2 BetmKV, the Schengen certificate (Art. 41 para. 1bis BetmKV).
• For a stay of more than 30 days, the medicines must be prescribed by a physician licensed to practise in Switzerland (Art. 41 para. 2 BetmKV). According to Swissmedic, there are no exceptions or special permits for more than 30 days.

Swissmedic recommends carrying the medicines in their original packaging in your hand luggage, with one certificate per medicine. Import for third parties is not allowed, and private persons may not send narcotics by post (Swissmedic). Our article on travelling with prescribed narcotics also covers entry into Switzerland.

Why a foreign prescription is not the Swiss narcotics form

In Switzerland, controlled substances of Verzeichnisse a and d must be prescribed on the official narcotics prescription form, the Betäubungsmittelrezept (Art. 46 para. 2 and 3 BetmKV). Cannabis for medical purposes is in Verzeichnis a.

The form is an official Swiss document. Swissmedic supplies the forms to the cantons, which pass them on to physicians entitled to prescribe (Art. 47 para. 5 BetmKV). Each form is numbered and carries a barcode, so that pharmacies can check whether it is valid or blocked (Swissmedic notice of 8 November 2017).

A prescription issued abroad is not this form. According to the Association of Cantonal Pharmacists (KAV), the white original and the pink copy of the official form must be physically present at the pharmacy when such a medicine is dispensed (KAV 0025). More: foreign prescriptions and the licence to practise.

The first consultation in Switzerland

A treatment that began abroad does not carry over automatically. According to the BAG, responsibility for the treatment lies with the treating physician, and narcotics may be prescribed only to the extent required by the recognised rules of medical science (Art. 11 para. 1 BetmG).

With us, the first step is a free 10-minute information call about the process, the legal situation and the costs. It is not a medical appointment. The medical consultation then takes place by video with our physician Oxana Smagulova. She reviews your medical history and your current medication, answers your questions and documents the assessment. Where medically indicated, she sets out a treatment plan in writing.

Whether treatment is an option is decided individually by the physician during the consultation. There is no entitlement to a prescription; the physician decides on the basis of the medical assessment.

Have your medical reports from abroad and a list of your current medicines ready, because the physician reviews your medical history and current medication. The consultation can be held in English, German or Russian, and French-speaking patients have their appointments in English. The information call can also take place in Italian; the language of the consultation is agreed before the appointment. The fees are on our prices page, and preparing for your first consultation explains what to have ready.

Pharmacies and free choice

Pharmacies may dispense narcotics to the public only on a medical prescription (Art. 13 BetmG). You choose the pharmacy: a prescription becomes the property of the person for whom it was issued, who remains free to choose where to have it filled (Art. 26 para. 2bis let. b HMG). Our practice has no contracts with any pharmacy, and we do not store, sell or send medicines.

According to KAV position paper 0025, the original narcotics prescription can be handed or posted to the patient or, with the patient's documented consent, posted directly to a pharmacy of the patient's choice. More: choosing a pharmacy, how the prescription reaches the pharmacy and our pharmacies page.

Health insurance

According to the BAG, the benefits catalogue of compulsory health insurance currently contains no cannabis medicines, and basic insurance reimburses them only in exceptional cases. Reimbursement in an individual case requires a prior cost approval (Kostengutsprache) by the insurer under Art. 71a to 71d KVV. According to the BAG, a supplementary insurance may have to pay if the policy provides the cover; ask your insurer what your policy includes.

Our consultation fees are separate from the pharmacy's charges for any medicine. Details: health insurance and cost approval.

Travelling later

If you are treated in Switzerland and travel abroad later, the rules for leaving Switzerland apply. Medicines needed for at most 30 days of treatment may be taken out without an export permit if the destination country allows it and they contain no substance from Verzeichnis d. For Schengen states, patients are entitled to a certificate from the treating physician, which the dispensing pharmacist authenticates (Art. 42 BetmKV). Our article on travelling with prescribed narcotics covers the details, and the medical route in Switzerland gives the overview.

This article is general information and not legal or medical advice. We do not advise on foreign law.