Tunisia

Penalties for possessing, using, or trafficking illegal drugs in Tunisia are severe — convicted offenders can expect heavy fines and long jail sentences. It is illegal to bring any controlled or prohibited substance into Tunisia.

Heavy fines and long jail sentences.

Verified Jul 27, 2026

Cannabis is illegal in Tunisia. Consuming it, or holding it for your own consumption, is a crime under article 4 of Law No. 92-52 carrying one to five years in prison plus a fine of 1,000 to 3,000 dinars - the law sets no quantity threshold, so no amount is treated as too small. A 2017 amendment is widely reported as decriminalisation and it was not: it only restored a judge's discretion to reduce the sentence, exercised after conviction. For a foreign national, article 17 additionally requires expulsion once the sentence is served, plus a ten-year ban on returning to Tunisia.

Consumption, or possession for personal consumption (art. 4): one to five years' imprisonment plus a fine of 1,000 to 3,000 Tunisian dinars; attempts are punishable. Being in a place used for drug taking (art. 8): six months to three years plus 1,000 to 5,000 dinars. Cultivation, possession or sale for trafficking (art. 5): six to ten years plus 5,000 to 10,000 dinars; smuggling, import or export for trafficking: ten to twenty years plus 20,000 to 100,000 dinars. A foreign national convicted under this law must be expelled from Tunisia immediately after serving the sentence and is barred from entering Tunisia for ten years where the conviction is for a delit, or for life where it is for a crime (art. 17); breaching that ban carries a further one to five years plus 1,000 to 5,000 dinars.

Verified Aug 18, 2026

Carry prescription medication in original packaging with your prescription and confirm legality with Tunisia's Ministry of Public Health; Tunisia has severe medication shortages, so bring enough for the whole trip.

Verified Jul 27, 2026

It is generally illegal to bring firearms into Tunisia other than a hunting weapon (which needs special authorization), and bringing ammunition (even used shells) without authorization is illegal; US carry permits are not valid.

Severe penalties including prison time.

Verified Jul 27, 2026

Declare cash over TND 10,000 (~USD 3,000) on arrival, and declare above TND 5,000 if you want to take it out. Importing or exporting Tunisian dinars is banned (max TND 3,000 re-exchanged with the bank receipt). Amounts over the limits are frequently confiscated at the airport even if declared.

Currency over the limits is frequently confiscated at departure, even when declared. A 10-dinar stamp duty applies to declaring foreign currency on entry.

Verified Jul 27, 2026

Importing any drone into Tunisia, including small civilian or touristic models, is strictly prohibited without prior government authorisation; drones detected at the border are confiscated and held until your departure.

Drones are seized at the border and held until departure; severe penalties apply.

Verified Jul 27, 2026

Alcohol is sold in Tunisia but banned from supermarkets on Fridays (still available in hotels and bars); during Ramadan sale is banned and consumption is limited to fewer venues, though resort rules differ. Drink-driving is a serious offence with a strict limit.

Drink-driving: fine and possible prison.

Verified Jul 27, 2026

Declare your vape. Tunisia publishes a duty-free allowance for cigarettes and tobacco but NONE at all for e-cigarettes or e-liquid, so there is no quantity you are guaranteed to get through - carry a small personal amount and expect customs discretion. The device itself is not contraband: vapes are absent from the banned-import list and the customs tariff has dedicated codes for them.

No penalty is documented for vapes in any Tunisian text read this session. Failure to declare dutiable goods is separately actionable under customs law.

Verified Sep 3, 2026

Tunisia publishes these traveller limits: 200 cigarettes, 100 cigarillos, 50 cigars, and 500 grams of tombac. Declare what you carry on arrival.

Verified Sep 2, 2026

A 1968 International Driving Permit plus your home licence lets you drive in Tunisia for up to one year (get the permit before you travel); you must also carry a green card proving insurance. Drink-driving brings a fine and a prison sentence.

DUI: fine and prison; serious accidents may mean months in protective custody.

Verified Jul 27, 2026

It is against Tunisian law to photograph police, military, and government buildings — or to take photos near them; doing so can result in being taken in for questioning.

Taken in for questioning; possible criminal charges.

Verified Jul 27, 2026

Your own phone and laptop are what the law expects you to carry. Tunisian customs lists phones and satellite receivers as needing Ministry of Communication Technologies clearance, so declare them if asked. Do not bring a jammer, a satellite phone or any other transmitter: using radio frequencies without the ANF approval carries 6 months to 5 years in prison and a fine.

Code des telecommunications art. 82: using radio frequencies without ANF approval, or installing or operating an independent private network without authorisation - 6 months to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of 1,000 to 20,000 dinars, or one of the two. Art. 83: manufacturing for the domestic market, importing, holding for sale or selling non-homologated terminal or radio equipment - 1 to 6 months imprisonment and a fine of 1,000 to 10,000 dinars, or one of the two. Art. 87: cryptology means or services in violation of the art. 9 decree - 6 months to 5 years and 1,000 to 5,000 dinars.

Verified Sep 3, 2026

Consensual same-sex sexual activity is criminalised in Tunisia under Article 230 of the Penal Code, carrying up to three years in prison. LGBT+ travellers have also been targeted by criminals, and reporting an incident to police can carry prosecution risk.

Up to 3 years in prison (Penal Code Article 230).

Verified Jul 27, 2026

Carry photo identification at all times - a copy of your passport photo page is enough - because officials can ask at any point and you should expect military and police road checkpoints. Beachwear is fine inside resorts, but dress modestly at religious sites and away from tourist areas. During Ramadan daylight hours, do not eat, drink, smoke or chew gum in public. You need advance permission to take antiquities out of the country.

Undeclared antiquities on departure: a fine and imprisonment. No penalty figures are published for dress, Ramadan observance or identification breaches - those read as customs and administrative expectations rather than criminal offences, so no penalty is asserted for them.

Verified Sep 3, 2026