(FWA 2026/5/12)Searching for cold medicine, painkillers, stomach medicine, weight loss pills, and medical aesthetics is common online among foreigners. However, Taiwan has clear regulations regarding pharmaceutical and medical practices. These rules are not simply bans; they are designed to ensure the public has access to high-quality, low-risk medical and pharmaceutical resources. Therefore, it is more appropriate to visit qualified medical institutions or consult professional pharmacists at local pharmacies. Taiwan strictly controls the unauthorized sale of foreign medicines. Even if you purchase medicines from abroad for personal use and mail them to Taiwan, you must declare them in advance. There are also limits on the medications you can bring in person when traveling to Taiwan. In recent years, there have been multiple cases of foreigners being investigated and penalized for purchasing or mailing medicines containing prohibited ingredients, or even selling drugs and performing private medical practices. Let’s understand these regulations to protect your health, avoid violating the law, and safeguard your rights to legally work and live in Taiwan.
1. Can I bring foreign medicines into Taiwan? Are there any restrictions?
Yes, but strictly limited to “personal use”, and there are clear quantity limits.
To ensure medication safety, Taiwan Customs has strict regulations for incoming passengers carrying medicines and dietary supplements (all must be limited to their “original packaging”):
Non-prescription drugs (OTC) (e.g., general cold medicine, painkillers, gastrointestinal medicine): A maximum of 12 bottles (boxes, cans, tubes, sticks) per kind, and the total of all kinds must not exceed 36 bottles.
Prescription drugs:
Without carrying a doctor’s prescription (or proof document): Limited to a 2-month supply.
With a doctor’s prescription (or proof document): Must not exceed the reasonable amount prescribed, and is limited to a maximum of a 6-month supply.
Controlled drugs:
Must be accompanied by a doctor’s prescription (or proof document) from a medical institution, and limited to treating the passenger’s own illness. The carrying amount cannot exceed the doctor’s prescription (or proof document), and is limited to a 6-month supply.
Tablet and capsule supplements (e.g., general vitamins, health supplements): A maximum of 12 bottles (boxes, cans, bags) per kind, and the total of all kinds must not exceed 36 bottles.
2. Can I buy medicines from abroad and mail them to Taiwan? How do I apply? What if I don’t apply?
Yes, but you must apply for prior approval from the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) under the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Buying drugs from foreign websites or asking family and friends to mail them to Taiwan is legally considered an “importing” act, which is different from the regulations for carrying them in person:
How to apply: You must use the TFDA’s “Online Application and Review System for Pharmaceuticals” or submit a paper application for the “Special Import of Medication for Personal Use”.
Required documents: A copy of the front and back of your ID card or A.R.C. (Alien Resident Certificate), the outer packaging and instructions of the product (to identify if it is a medicine), an affidavit for personal use, and the international parcel notice or customs bill of lading. If it is a prescription drug, a medical diagnosis certificate and a doctor’s prescription issued by a domestic or foreign medical institution must also be attached.
What if I don’t apply? If you do not obtain an approval letter in advance, your parcel will be stuck at customs and cannot be released. You will only have the option to return, destroy, or split the parcel to abandon the medicines. Importing unapproved drugs will involve violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act.
Mailing quantity limits: According to regulations, you cannot reapply to mail non-prescription drugs within a 6-month period. Each quantity must not exceed 12 bottles (or 12 tubes for ointments), and the total amount cannot exceed 1,200 pills.
3. Can I sell the foreign medicines I brought back or bought?
The general public is strictly prohibited from selling any medication.
In Taiwan, drugs and medical devices are not ordinary commodities. Only physical stores that have obtained a government-issued “Pharmaceutical License” and employ a full-time pharmacist can sell them; and only qualified businesses can sell “Category Beta” (乙類成藥) (e.g., cooling balms, external salves) online.
Foreign medicines brought in by passengers or imported via special TFDA application are legally restricted explicitly to “personal use”.
If the general public sells, privately resells, or acts as a purchasing agent for foreign medicines on Facebook, LINE groups, TikTok, or Shopee, it is illegal.
Additionally, it must be noted that “controlled drugs” designated by the Taiwan government are restricted for medical and scientific use only; otherwise, they are considered narcotics. Medical use requires a doctor’s diagnosis and prescription before dispensing and supplying. The public must not arbitrarily share or transfer controlled drugs to others (e.g., sedatives, sleeping pills, narcotic painkillers).
4. What medications require special attention?
Products easily obtained abroad may be classified as prescription drugs or prohibited drugs in Taiwan. Be highly careful not to bring in or purchase them, such as:
Weight loss products containing “Sibutramine”: Some slimming coffees or capsules from Southeast Asian countries (such as Lishou slimming coffee, OZY, etc.) may contain this ingredient. Permits for drugs containing Sibutramine have been explicitly revoked in Taiwan; it is classified as a Class 4 controlled drug (also a controlled narcotic substance).
High-dose vitamins: General vitamins belong to food, but if they are of “high-unit content”, they will be classified as “prescription drugs” in Taiwan. For example: Vitamin C daily dosage exceeding 1000mg, Vitamin D daily dosage exceeding 1000IU, etc. If you buy high-unit vitamins abroad and mail them back to Taiwan, you must attach a doctor’s prescription to apply for special import from the TFDA; otherwise, it is considered an unapproved imported prohibited drug.
Cannabidiol (CBD) products: CBD products cannot be added to food and cosmetics in Taiwan. If imported as a drug, an application with a certificate of manufacture and sale from the country of origin and a doctor’s prescription is required. Since legal medical alternatives already exist domestically, seeking domestic medical treatment is advised.
Cold, cough, painkiller, and sleeping medications: A few medicinal ingredients contain controlled drugs (also controlled narcotic substances). Those caught importing without following regulations may be involved in drug-related crimes:
Codeine
Dihydrocodeine
Zolpidem
Tramadol
Ephedrine
Pseudoephedrine
Methylephedrine
5. What are the penalties for violating the above regulations?
Taiwan has clear administrative fines and criminal penalties for the illegal import, sale of drugs, and illegal medical practices:
Manufacturing or importing counterfeit or prohibited drugs: Under Article 82, Paragraph 1 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, those who manufacture or import counterfeit or prohibited drugs shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than 10 years, and may be fined up to NT$100 million.
Negligent manufacturing or importing of counterfeit/prohibited drugs: Under Article 82, Paragraph 3 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, those who commit the offense in Paragraph 1 out of negligence shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than 3 years, detention, or a fine up to NT$10 million.
Knowingly selling counterfeit or prohibited drugs: Under Article 83, Paragraph 1 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, anyone who knowingly sells, supplies, dispenses, transports, stores, brokers, transfers, or displays with intent to sell counterfeit or prohibited drugs shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than 7 years, and may be fined up to NT$50 million.
Non-pharmaceutical businesses selling drugs: Selling drugs without legal qualifications violates Article 27 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. Local health authorities can impose fines ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$2,000,000 under Article 92 of the same Act.
Illegal medical practice: Anyone practicing as a physician without having obtained a physician license (e.g., privately injecting hyaluronic acid, Botox, or performing surgeries) violates Article 28 of the Physicians Act, and shall be sentenced to prison for a period of 6 months to 5 years, and a fine of NT$300,000 to NT$1,500,000 may be levied.
Additionally, supplementing the legal definitions of “Counterfeit Drugs” and “Prohibited Drugs” under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act:
Counterfeit Drugs (Article 20 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act): Refers to drugs manufactured without prior approval, drugs where the active ingredients’ names do not match the approval, swapping or adulterating others’ products, or altering/replacing the expiration date label.
Prohibited Drugs (Article 22 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act): Refers to toxic or harmful drugs explicitly banned by the central health authority from being manufactured, dispensed, imported, exported, sold, or displayed; or “drugs imported without prior approval” (except for personal use medicines legally carried by passengers or transportation crew).
6. Will I get caught if I violate these rules? Have foreigners been jailed or fined in Taiwan for this?
The TFDA has established cooperation mechanisms with local health bureaus and customs to continuously strengthen random inspections of express mail parcels and actively monitor illegal online drug sales. Once illegal activities are discovered, apart from requiring platforms to take down listings, cases will be forwarded to prosecutors and police for investigation. In judicial practice, there have been many specific cases of foreigners being penalized for breaking the law:
Negligent import of prohibited drugs case: Migrant workers from Thailand asked relatives to mail weight-loss products containing Sibutramine like “Lishou Coffee” or “OZY” from abroad to Taiwan, which were seized at customs. After court hearings, they were convicted of the “crime of negligent import of prohibited drugs” under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, sentenced to detention or several months of imprisonment, ordered to pay tens of thousands of NT dollars to the public treasury in exchange for a suspended sentence, and all prohibited drugs were confiscated.
Illegal medical practice and deportation case: Migrant workers from Indonesia and Vietnam privately injected hyaluronic acid, circumcised, or conducted laser medical aesthetics for others in rented rooms. After court hearings, they were convicted of the “crime of illegal medical practice” under the Physicians Act, sentenced to several months of imprisonment, had illegal profits ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands of NT dollars confiscated, and were deported upon completion of their sentences.
Recent crackdown cases: The National Immigration Agency (NIA) recently received tips pointing out that migrant workers were selling abortion pills on the online black market and brokering other migrant workers to poorly equipped clinics for abortion surgeries. The NIA has targeted a legally residing expat and is cooperating with local health authorities to continuously investigate the suspected illegal sale of medicines and illegal medical practices under the Physicians Act and Pharmaceutical Affairs Act.
7. Summary Reminder: Utilize Taiwan’s Medical Resources to Protect Your Health and Rights
In Taiwan, encountering physical discomfort or having medical aesthetic needs, seeking qualified medical institutions is the safest and most guaranteed approach. Taiwan provides many medical resources friendly to foreigners :
Comprehensive National Health Insurance (NHI) coverage: As long as you meet the enrollment criteria (e.g., migrant workers are covered from the date of employment), you can use your NHI card to visit various medical institutions, enjoying comprehensive medical protection and reasonable costs.
Bilingual Friendly Hospitals and Map: If you are worried about language communication problems, you can use the Ministry of Labor’s “1955 E-LINE” official account to access the “Foreigner Friendly Medical Map” to find nearby bilingual hospitals and clinics. The system also has a built-in real-time medication bag translation function.
1955 Hotline Three-Way Interpretation: If you are unable to communicate smoothly with a doctor during a medical visit, you can call the toll-free 1955 hotline at any time, and online interpreters will assist you in communicating with the medical staff.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is for reference only. Whether it concerns relevant regulations or medical needs, please defer to the relevant official government authorities or consult with legal and professional medical practitioners.
