Travelers transiting through Saudi Arabia are discovering a bureaucratic requirement that's causing confusion and anxiety: mandatory medication registration through the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), including fields that make no sense for international visitors.
The Registration Requirement
Saudi Arabia requires travelers entering the country—even those just transiting through Jeddah or Riyadh airports—to register prescription medications in advance through the SFDA's online system.
The policy aims to control pharmaceutical imports and prevent medication smuggling. But the implementation creates problems for travelers who aren't Arabic speakers and have never visited the Middle East.
The "Full Arabic Name" Problem
The registration form includes an obligatory field labeled "Full Arabic name" with no explanation for non-Arabic speakers.
A traveler preparing for a June transit through Jeddah expressed the confusion many face:
"There's an obligatory field 'Full Arabic name' and I have a very definitely English name written with Latin characters. What am I meant to put here? Just Google translate my name to Arabic?!"
The concern isn't trivial: "I don't want to get it wrong and get thrown in jail for bringing drugs into the country cos I didn't spell my name correctly in Arabic."
What Travelers Should Actually Do
Based on reports from travelers who've successfully navigated the system, several approaches work:
