Is Hydrocodone legal in United Arab Emirates?
- Legal status
- Hydrocodone is a controlled narcotic in the tables of Federal Decree-Law 30/2021; it is not marketed in the UAE. Where an act is committed with intent to traffic or promote, narcotic-table opioids are death-eligible (no published gram threshold), so aggravated hydrocodone trafficking is capital.
- Consequences if caught
- Trafficking with intent is death-eligible under Decree-Law 30/2021; prescribed personal use is not capital, but importing without prior approval can be treated as a narcotics offence.
- If prescribed or medical
- Dispensed only as a controlled narcotic under prescription; there is no ordinary retail supply.
- Documentation
- Traveller trap: MOHAP/EDE prior import approval is required for controlled or narcotic medicines even with a prescription; carry an attested prescription/medical report and original packaging.
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with United Arab Emirates’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
Before you travel
Verify current rules with the destination country’s official drug authority and your own country’s embassy before traveling. Find the destination’s U.S. embassy & official country guidance →
Non-U.S. travelers: check your own government’s travel advisory and embassy.
If you’re detained or arrested abroad
Contact your own country’s embassy or consulate in the destination immediately — not the destination’s authorities. U.S. citizens: contact the nearest U.S. embassy/consulate and the U.S. State Department at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad). If a U.S. citizen is arrested or detained abroad →