Moving To Europe with Your Dog in 2023: A Dog Owner Guide
Thinking about Moving to Europe with Your Dog this year?
Moving to Europe with your dog can be a real joy if you have the means and if you are in no hurry on your European adventure! Here is a guide for how my yorkipoo, Sheila, and I traveled from the states to several different countries within the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Blog Guide
- Finding Accredited Vets
- Steps for Getting Your Pet Import Paperwork Before Moving to Europe with Your Dog
- Planning Your Departure
- Entering Your Destination Country
- All About the European Pet Passport
- Traveling through northern Ireland and the United Kingdom with your Pet after Brexit
Finding Accredited Vets
All About the APHIS Portal for American Pet Owners
Before embarking on your move to Europe with your dog, I highly advise finding two trustworthy vets: one in the states and one in Europe. Your American vet will issue your USDA Health Certificate and handle relations with the Animal and Plant Inspection Services (APHIS) in the states.
To find an accredited vet in any state, visit the APHIS portal here. Your European vet doesn’t need to be accredited, and I have found that most vets issue European Pet Passports to travelers.
Your European vet will issue your European Pet Passport, and entry exams, and handle other treatments that might be required depending on your final destination in Europe. I highly recommend finding a European before embarking on your journey and making an appointment.
Steps for Getting Your Pet Import Paperwork Before Moving to Europe with Your Dog
All European countries require the basics: microchip, rabies vaccination, and a certain age/ breed requirement. Find your EU destination country’s requirements on the dropdown menu on the APHIS site.
1. Rabies Vaccination Need to Knows
Rabies Vaccinations do NOT count according to the European Union rules if:
- Your pet got the vaccination being microchipped, or
- Your pet got vaccinated without first having its microchip scanned
Make sure your pet’s rabies vaccine is updated and valid to last through your trip. If it’s not, schedule to update the vaccine at least 22 days before you leave the country. This will ensure that you are abiding by the “21-day rule” that prevents pet owners from traveling with their pets within 21 days of receiving a primary vaccine. You will carry a print of your rabies vaccine certificate in every country you travel to, to accompany your pet passport, so it’s really important!
Pro tip: For international pet travel, accredited American vets also advise having the vet administering the rabies vaccine sign your rabies vaccine certificate in blue ink to accompany your European Pet Passport. I recommend having your vet print and sign a couple of rabies certificates, just to be on the safe side.
2. Microchip Requirements for Moving to Europe with Your Dog
A microchip is a small transplant used as a permanent form of identification for your pet. If you are like most American pet owners, your dog has been microchipped since the first few months of being in your care, so for many, this is a simple requirement to follow, and requires no extra effort! If your pet is not microchipped, most vets are able to administer this for relatively low cost and discomfort.
3. Are some dog breeds not allowed in the EU?
YES, believe it or not, some dogs are simply not permitted across the EU border. The following dog breeds are not permitted into the EU.
- Pit Bull Terrier (inc. American Pit Bull Terrier)
- Staffordshire Bull Terrier (including American Staffordshire Bull Terrier)
- Argentine or Brazilian Mastiff
- Tosa Inu
- Rottweiler
- Dobermann
Planning Your Departure
Does timing matter for scheduling vet logistics before moving to Europe with your dog?
YES! Plan to obtain your pet’s USDA Health Certificate from your American vet to align with your travels within 10 days of leaving the country! These are only valid for 10 days after being issued, so make sure your travel aligns with that time frame.
Puppia Harness.
What airlines allow pets to fly in-cabin internationally?
Internationally, Sheila and I have flown on United and Lufthansa so far. The airlines below also offer pet-in-cabin international flights.
Some airlines require additional paperwork to be filled out within a certain time frame prior to departure. Make sure to check on this with the airline you choose using the links above.
Cost:
Pet in-cabin fees for most airlines range from $100-$125 each way depending on the airline. The USDA Health Certificate for entering Europe is about $340. ($337 in 2022 to be exact).
Entering Your Destination Country
What to do the day you land in Europe with your dog
Extremely important note: In order for your pet’s rabies vaccine to be valid in the EU, customs at the airport MUST stamp, and sign the last page of the Health Certificate in order for it to be valid for the pet passport paperwork at your European Vet’s office.
If your USDA Health Certificate is not stamped by customs on your day of entry, the European vet is legally required to revaccinate your dog against rabies. If this happens, you will be required to stay in that country for 22 days.
I missed customs in Brussels, Belgium, and nearly had this happen to me and my dog (thankfully we made it back to the airport within the 24-hour window and found customs)! Customs do not always stop you or make it clear that you must go through them for animals entering their country, so make sure to seek them out.
Take your pet to your European vet clinic to obtain your European Pet Passport. Once you obtain a pet passport from a vet in a European country, you can travel anywhere in Europe for as long as your pet’s rabies vaccine is valid!
All About the European Pet Passport
What is the European Pet Passport?
The European Pet Passport allows you to travel freely to all European countries after your initial vet examination. Only European countries can process the pet passport for traveling non-Europeans. As long as your pet’s rabies vaccine is up to date, you won’t be questioned at any border or asked for further documents!
Lake Austin Boulevard Animal Hospital.
The only places Sheila’s pet passport was thoroughly checked by country border/ customs control after it was initially issued in Brussels, Belgium was the United Kingdom (in the Eurotunnel), before leaving the UK for Amsterdam via DFDS Ferries, and before leaving Italy for Croatia via Venetian Lines.
Sheila and I also passed through Germany, Switzerland, and Italy and were never once stopped in our train journey and asked for her passport or rabies vaccine card. ( My covid vaccine card was requested far more times than her rabies card ;))
Unlike human passports, European Pet Passports never expire and only cost about 50 euros. Just make sure the rabies vaccine paperwork is always up to date along with it!
How to Obtain a European Pet Passport as an American Pet Owner
While at the vet, in order to obtain the European Pet Passport as an American, you simply need a local address for the country issuing the passport (your Airbnb is totally fine), your customs-stamped USDA Health Certificate, your rabies vaccine print-off (signed in the blue ink I mentioned above), and about 50 euros.
Cost:
about 52 dollars
Traveling through northern Ireland and the United Kingdom with your Pet after Brexit
Special vet visits and the European Pet Passport
If you are interested in venturing to places like the UK, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway and Malta with your pet, there is an extra step you’ll have to take.
1-5 days before entering any of these countries, you will need to stop at a local European or UK vet to have them issue and mark the echinococcus treatment, an oral tapeworm treatment in your European Pet Passport. There’s a whole section on the pet passport for treatments like this.
Please note, you are also required to have a vet administer this treatment upon leaving the UK to travel to Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway and Malta. While UK vets cannot issue European Pet Passports anymore due to Brexit, they are able to fill out the echinococcus section prior to your journey with your pet to these countries from England.
Administering this oral treatment is relatively cheap and simple, and most vets around Europe and the UK don’t have any issue with scheduling a quick visit last minute. I recommend having a bit of peanut butter in your doggy bag for this vet visit to hide the oral medication in.
See if your pet needs this treatment ahead of time by looking into what your destination countries require for pet entry on the APHIS Site
Cost:
about $35
How to Cross the UK Border with a Dog without it being in Cargo
Government regulations established as a result of Brexit prevent our pets from flying in-cabin inbound or outbound of the UK and Ireland. Eurostar, the most direct train route to and from London and most other bordering European countries, also prohibits pets who are not service animals from coming onboard.
When I learned this, I chose to fly into Belgium and then to take a train, the Eurotunnel via a Pet Taxi and another train en route to London. While it was a pricy trip, it was worth it to me to keep my pup by my side at all times.
When we left the UK for the last time en route to Italy, we booked a pet cabin in DFDS Ferries. The ferry runs from Newcastle to Amsterdam each night at the same time. It’s an overnight ferry, too, with relatively comfy bunk beds, so you can even get a good night’s sleep in before continuing onward with your journey. Learn more about how we conquered ferry travel and train travel from the UK to Ireland and other parts of Europe here.
Cost:
Eurotunnel & Pet Taxi: about $652
DFDS Ferry Pet Cabin: about $270