If you’re wondering how to travel with your pet from USA to Europe in 2022, you’ve come to the right place! Recently I brought my Pomeranian, Oscar, first to Barcelona, and then to Paris! (He has also been to Mexico and El Salvador!)
In the grand scheme of how the entry process went, it now seems like it was pretty easy. It was the paperwork beforehand that was ridiculous and left me almost having a panic attack the day I was supposed to travel.
But hopefully this post will help you! PLEASE NOTE, that my experience was getting my dog into SPAIN. You need to make sure you follow the instructions for the country you are entering initially from a non-EU country (including the UK), however they are all pretty much the same.
Also, a big shout out to one of my besties, Jenny Chu (@iheartjennychu) who did this process with her dog and shared her post with me that helped A LOT!
Alright, let’s make this easy for you!
Depending on if your pet has an up to date rabies and microchip, you may need TWO veterinary appointments; one 21 days or more before departure, and one within 10 days of departure.
Why 21 days before: IF your pet doesn’t have an up to date rabies vax, or an up to date microchip, you need to get a rabies vax a minimum of 21 days before the trip. But you cannot get the health form during this visit… because…
Why within 10 days of departure? The entry rules state that you must get the EU Health Certificate filled out by a vet withing 10 days of departure…this also includes having to send it to the USDA for approval (the vet sends it), and getting it sent back.
My papers arrived 1 hour before I had to leave for my flight. So be prepared, and MAKE APPOINTMENTS, plus follow up! My vet also filled the form out wrong which delayed the paperwork by several days!
First things first, your pet must have an “ISO 11784/11785 compliant 15 digit microchip”.
Be sure to REGISTER your information online with the corresponding microchip company! It will include your contact info and also the pet’s rabies info, which is another requirement. (Note: there is typically a yearly fee for it but it’s required anyway).
Read this part carefully, because it’s when all of the timing requirements happen which is essential for how to travel with your pet from USA to Europe.
Make sure to get printed copies of all of your pets vaccines even though they’re on the microchip and will be written on the EU Health Certificate, just in case!
NOTE: If you are not coming from the US, and are coming from a “high risk rabies area”, you’ll need to also do a “rabies tier test” 30 days after the rabies vaccination. Click here for high risk countries.
And now for the somewhat hard part. You must get an EU Health Certificate for your destination country filled out by your vet within 10 days of departure. And as I mentioned, it must also be sent to the USDA for approval, then sent back to you.
So, I’m going to make this as easy as possible given the experiences I had with two vets:
IMPORTANT NOTE: This EU Health Certificate is valid for 4 months in ANY EU (Schengen) country! You do NOT need to get an EU Pet Passport if you’re planning on only staying for a short time period, but if you’re staying longer or planning on coming back, I’ll explain how to get one below!
Unless you’re moving to Europe permanently, I really wouldn’t advise traveling with a dog that can’t go in cabin with you. It’s extremely dangerous and traumatic for them!
But if you’re planning on taking them in-cabin on the airline, here’s some thing you need to consider:
My airline (United) actually had an entirely different check in line for people with pets and unaccompanied minors! It made the process a lot less stressful!
Find out ahead of time if your airline offers that, if not, just go to the regular line with your pet.
Have their paperwork prepared to show the agent, weigh them if necessary, and you’re good to go!
Once you’ve landed, congratulations! You made it to Europe with your pet! Now all you have to do is get their microchip scanned and their EU Health Certificate checked at customs.
If you’re not sure where that is, you can’t miss it, it’s where you exit after baggage control. And regardless, a security officer will see your pet and stop you anyway.
I actually had a really great experience entering Spain with Oscar! Not only did the security officers at the passport control let me skip the whole line because I had a dog, but the customs officer even gave Oscar a treat while he scanned his microchip!
If you’re planning on hopping around to other countries in Europe with your pet, the good news is that you can use the EU Health Certificate you used to enter for other countries, for up to 4 months.
If you’re planning on staying longer than that, or planning to return in the future, you may want to just get an EU Pet Passport.
So far Oscar and I have only been to Barcelona and Paris in Europe, but both of those places have been extremely pet friendly! There’s tons of outdoor seating, but a lot of restaurants will even let them inside! I also haven’t had an issue accommodations either!
Here’s some tips for traveling in Europe with a pet, if you’d like me to go more in-depth, please drop me a comment and I’ll write another post!
Great news! You don’t need anything to get back into the USA from Europe with your pet as long as the rabies vaccine is still valid. Be sure to bring all of your paperwork, just in case though!
Unfortunately you cannot bring puppies 12 weeks or younger into Europe, because they aren’t old enough to get a rabies vaccine. Once they’re old enough for the rabies vax (usually 6 months), you can go.
If you want to travel with pets in cargo, you’ll need to do all of the above, and then check with the airline to see what their additional protocols are.
While the USA no longer accepts Emotional Support Animals for free on airlines, some of the European ones do! This means you don’t have to pay a fee, and your pet doesn’t have to stay in its carrier.
Please only get your pet certified if it really is an emotional support animal. Many people abuse this privilege and make it harder for the people who actually need them to get this service. For info on how to get ESA certified, see this post.
Oscar and I are loving living in Europe for a few months, and I’m so happy I was able to bring him here! If you have any questions or additional tips, please leave a comment below!
If you want to follow “Alyssa and Oscar in Paris” be sure to follow me on IG! @mylifesatravelmovie
Please don’t forget! I work extremely hard to produce these free travel guides and posts! If it helped you, or you enjoyed it, PLEASE give it a share on social media, and follow me to keep up with more posts! You’re two minutes of effort truly helps keep my business running! Thank ya!
xx, Alyssa
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Alyssa, thank you for the excellent and detailed travel experience. Did you need to undergo tapeworm treatment within 24 to 120 hours of entering Europe?
Hi! No,not tapeworm, just the regular prevention for fleas and heartworms -- you can give it to them in front of the vet or usually they'll let you just tell them when you gave them the pill!
Thank you for sharing your experience. This by far was one of the most thorough guidance. I do have one question if you can go in depth. Where is the best and easiest EU country to get an EU pet passport? I’ve read so many blogs that require specific documents such as visa, permanent residence, proof of residency, etc
Hi Anne! I didn't need anything from my human end to get the pet passport! I've only done it in France so I can't really give other input, but I know the process is the same in Spain, you just need to show the pet's paperwork!
Hi, thanks for this write-up. What is the benefit of getting the EU passport for a US-based dog? Is it because we don't need to get the EU health certificate next time we bring the dog from US to EU?
The benefit is that you don't have to re-do the US paperwork if you go back, and also the US paperwork is only valid for a couple weeks in EU, so if you're staying longer, the passport works for life!