Pet travel regulations

When considering taking your dog or cat abroad, leave yourself plenty of time before the trip to take care of your pet’s required medical care and paperwork.

Together with your veterinarian, you can make sure your pet meets the requirements for your destination country and the return and is healthy enough to travel. Airlines and countries often have different requirements, so make sure you know what the specific ones are.

In the European Union (EU) many countries are rabies free and there is a tremendous effort to control and eradicate the disease. On the other hand, the freedom of movement within the Union is a great achievement, which people want to enjoy also with their pets. To meet both goals, companion animal travel has been subject to laws and regulations. The conditions for the non-commercial movement of pet animals have been harmonized under the conditions laid down in (EU) Regulation 576/2013 (replacing Regulation (EU) 998/2003). Due to the progress made, for movement between EU countries or from certain listed non-EU countries vaccination against rabies documented in the pet passport or the animal health certificate is the sole requirement for dogs, cats and ferrets to travel across EU borders, with certain exceptions.

Please visit the official EU-website for the specific requirements and consult your veterinarian.

List of laboratories authorised in EU countries​ and in Non-EU countries for verifying the effectiveness of rabies vaccination on dogs, cats and ferrets entering the EU: Approved rabies serology laboratories