Part two of a three-part series on moving people, pets, and possessions to a new country.
No, you don’t have to quarantine your pet for six months.
OK, there are different requirements around the world, and you’ll need to check the ones relevant to your destination, but this stopped being a requirement in most of Europe a long time ago. The purpose was to prevent rabies entering countries that didn’t have it, and we have better mechanisms for that now. But those better mechanisms will require some very specific things from you, and you’ll need to do most of them weeks or even months before you travel. Because they are health-oriented rules, they apply equally to pets and service animals, so Angel’s process was the same as yours will be. First, you need to find out the requirements. The USDA posts these on their web site and is very helpful, but you’re going to want to look at both the USA and the destination country’s info because there are variables that will affect you, and not all of them are health requirements. For example, in order to bring an animal in via Delgado airport, we were required to email them ahead of time to let them know when we’d be arriving (presumably so they can staff appropriately), and send a PDF of the health documents we’d be carrying. USDA can’t know that – so check both ends of the trip. Your destination country’s airport will generally have a page for travelling with pets, and that page will often link out to their pet/agriculture authority, allowing you to double check requirements on their end.
Our process was very easy – but required specific steps to be followed in specific ways, and has mandatory timelines. If you’re going to the EU, your process should be similar, but be sure to hit the appropriate web sites and ensure you have the right details and timelines.
Rabies requirements
Angel already had an ISO-compliant microchip (quick test: if your pet is chipped and the number is 15 digits, you’re probably OK here. If not, you’ll either need to have them chipped/re-chipped or carry a microchip reader of your own. Which is a shortsighted idea btw because that works at the airport but if your pet is lost, local vets won’t be able to read your chip. Get an ISO chip.)
Once the dog is chipped, the next step is to meet the rabies requirement via either a primary (new/first) rabies shot or a booster. Key things to know:
- Boosters: As long as you have all the documentation going back to the first rabies shot and the microchip number is recorded on the health documentation, there are no rabies-related timelines on travelling.
- Primary: After a primary rabies shot, you must wait at least 21 days before the animal is eligible to enter the EU.
- Pretty much no matter what you do and how diligent you are about your dog’s vaccinations, it’s probably going to end up statused as a primary rabies shot.
A vet record of the rabies shot isn’t enough. The vet must issue a vaccination certificate, and that certificate must have the dog’s microchip number on it. The vet is required to read the chip prior to vaccination. (If your dog is not chipped, the vet can chip them and then vaccinate the same day.) Since most of us in the US get a shot and a collar tag, it’s unlikely that you got a cert when your earlier shots were issued. Additionally, while Hawaii became the first state to require chipping in 2021, fewer than 1/3 of US states have even begun to follow suit and less than 10% of American dogs are chipped at all. The rate is lower for other types of pets.
Because of that, the most likely scenario is that you’ll be having your dog chipped, then vaccinated, and only the vaccination that happens after the chip is going to “count” for export purposes. So you have a 21-day wait before your pet can travel to the EU.
Health Certificate requirements
But that’s the easy part. The next step is going to require some delicate timing. If you’ve traveled with a pet by air, boat, or train, you probably know that a health certificate is required. This is a pretty simple affair, just a confirmation from your vet that your pet shows no signs of carrying a communicable disease. It’s good for 10 days, which means you need to have it done right before you travel. And if your travel plans change due to visa timing, you may have to have it done again. For international travel, this is only the first step of the health certificate process.
The USDA web site will provide you a download link for an additional health document (the form varies by destination country, but use the wizard to get to the right country and the web site will ensure you get the right form). This is a multi-page document which you must take with you to your vet’s health exam.
Heads up: look at this form. Most of it is information you should fill out before you get to the vet: information about your pet, its home and destination, etc. Our vet stopped doing USDA export exams because so many people arrived without having done their part, expecting him to fill out their forms for them. We were lucky he made an exception for us. He wouldn’t have if he hadn’t known us as people who do our due diligence and didn’t expect him to carry our tasks. We know, because he told us that flat out, and we promised not to publicize that he had done the exam for us so other people wouldn’t ask.
Once the form is filled out, there are two options: your vet can enter it electronically directly to the USDA system, or they can hand it to you on paper. Counterintuitively, my opinion is that you are better off getting handed the document.
- It’s good for 30 days.
- USDA turnaround time when they get it is generally 3-5 days
- The document you get back from the USDA is good for 10 days from date of issue.
If the doc submits electronically, you’ll get your stuff back faster and you’ll have to travel from around Day 5 to day 15 from the health exam. That’s a narrow window, at a time when you might not yet know if your visa is in. If you get a paper copy, you can send it to USDA immediately, or wait as much as three weeks to do so. You’ll still get it back from USDA in 3-5 days, and have 10 days after that to travel. If you have to push your travel plans out a week or two for visa purposes, you can delay sending to USDA rather than having to go back and do the entire thing again.
The usual pet travel tips still apply – limit food and water, do all the things that are recommended for however your pet is travelling, etc. If your pet is travelling in cabin, check your airport’s web site for the required DoT forms, and consider adorning your pet with a belly band/doggie diaper, especially for longer flights, “just in case.” Doggie grooming wipes or people bathing wipes can help clean up fur, and carry a gallon-sized Ziploc bag to contain used diapers and wipes – and their smell. Monitor your pet’s well-being during the flight – it’s better to carry a pet water bottle and clean up a diaper than to create a health issue.
No matter how your pet flies, bear in mind that it’s a lot of “cooped up” time. Exercise, play time, and attention before the flight will help them weather it better. Creating as much routine before and after will reduce their stress. The biggest favor you can do your travelling pet is to stop thinking about yourself and really understand their travel needs. They don’t need “loves and pets” nearly as much as they need for you to plan for their health and well being before, during, and after the trip.
To Know: Flying With Pets
Pets must fit (and stay) in an airline-approved under-seat carrier to travel in cabin.
Not all American airlines fly pets as cargo. As of this writing, United does and Delta doesn’t. Many european ones do. Be sure to search [your airline] + “pets” to understand your options.
Research your destination and layover locations. For example, many people do not recommend flying with pets through Heathrow. Understand why and whether their experiences may be relevant.
For large pets, especially, it may be worth checking out options for shared-charter pet flights such as K9Jets. Search “pet charter airlines” for current options.
Only one translatlantic cruise line allows pets. They must stay in the ship’s kennel for the crossing, and accommodations are booked up a yaer or more in advance.
To Know: For my own medical reasons, I would have preferred not to fly. For a similar price, I could have booked a trip from Florida to Lisbon with one stop in Bahamas and one in the Azores, but the shortest crossing time was 12 days. I later learned that Portugal would have recognized the health certificate under those circumstances. I would have had to stay on board in the Bahamas, so that Angel wasn’t in any intermediate countries, but whether we first grounded in the Azores (within ten days) or in Lisbon (12-13 days), the fact that we were at sea and not in any third locations meant that they would have accepted the added time on the health cert.
At the Airport In Lisbon
While Bernie picked up the bags, Angel and i headed to the far side of the baggage area to met the vet. A 15-minute wait followed by quick review of papers, confirmation of the microchip, and a once-over to ensure Angel looked healthy, which took about 5 minutes, and we were ready to pay our €40 fee and go meet our ground transport!
Just One More Thing…
Finally, there’s the matter of local requirements after arrival. Our destination country requires dogs to be registered in a central database. This is done only by a vet. So, in our first week, we needed to have a vet appointment with an English-speaking veterinarian (it will be a while before our language skills are sufficient for a medical conversation) that we could get to without a vehicle – or arrange for transportation. Advance research and recommendations from local pet owners was a must.
