Important notice: For the third countries BELARUS and RUSSIA, the obligation to provide proof of a rabies antibody titer for dogs and cats when entering the EU has been introduced by the EU Commission.
The date of entry into force is September 16, 2024.
This means that in order to enter the EU from the named countries with a rabies antibody titer on the date of entry into force, in order to comply with the required 3-month waiting period starting from the date of the blood test, the last permissible date for the blood test would be June 16th, 2024.
Entry from the Middle East
Important Notice: Are you entering Bavaria with a pet from the Middle East (Israel, Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon)? Here's what you need to consider!
However, entry may be facilitated in individual cases due to the current acute crisis situation.
In this case, your pet must be placed in a quarantine facility until all entry requirements are met.
Home isolation after confirming a sufficient rabies titer is possible, but only after consultation with the veterinary office responsible for the pet's place of residence.
To potentially spare your pet from quarantine or reduce the time spent there, we kindly request that you send us your pet's documentation. This will allow us to assess what may still be missing and what options are available.
In the case of incomplete documentation, it is advisable for the pet to enter with the results of a rabies titer test, even if the otherwise required waiting period of 3 months after the rabies vaccination has not been fulfilled yet.
The following exclusively addresses the entry requirements for pets (dogs, cats, and ferrets). If you have any questions regarding the entry or transit of other types of animals, we kindly ask you to directly contact the Veterinary Border Control Post.
Entry into Germany with Cats, Dogs and Ferrets
When entering Germany with a pet, it is mandatory to comply with the legal regulations. The determining factor is whether the animal is entering from:
Must be accompanied by a declaration (Model of Declaration) from the owner/companion stating that no change of ownership will occur.
Must be filled out and issued by an official veterinarian/state veterinary officer from an official (governmental!) authority in the country of origin, with official seal and signature.
Validity: 10 days from the date of issue for entry into the EU.
Formatted as a single sheet, i.e., each sheet must be marked with the certificate number, date, name, signature, and seal of the official veterinarian to ensure the cohesion of all sheets.
Conditions for Non-Listed Third Countries
1. Microchip
The animal must have a 15-digit ISO microchip.
The chip must be implanted before the valid rabies vaccination.
Proof via microchip certificate, registration, or similar must be provided.
2. Rabies Vaccination
The vaccination may only be administered at the age of 12 weeks (= 84 days) or older.
It must be done after the microchip implantation.
There is a waiting period of 21 days from the date of the first vaccination or after a vaccination gap.
The vaccination must be valid at the time of travel.
Proof via vaccination certificate, vaccination passport, or similar must be provided.
3. Rabies Antibody Test
Blood sample taken at least 30 days after a valid rabies vaccination.
Examination of the blood sample in an EU-approved laboratory.
Threshold: 0.5 IU/ml serum or higher.
If the antibody titer is below 0.5 IU/ml serum, a repeat rabies vaccination and a subsequent rabies antibody test must be conducted according to the mentioned conditions.
Waiting period: 3 months from the day of blood sampling with a result of at least 0.5 IU/ml serum. Proof via laboratory report must be provided.
4. EU Veterinary Certificate
Correct veterinary certificate for import into the EU.
For the list of veterinary certificates for non-commercial import into the EU, please refer to:
Must be accompanied by a declaration (Model of Declaration) from the owner/companion stating that no change of ownership will occur.
Must be filled out and issued by an official veterinarian/state veterinary officer from an official (governmental!) authority in the country of origin, with official seal and signature.
Validity: 10 days from the date of issue for entry into the EU.
Formatted as a single sheet, i.e., each sheet must be marked with the certificate number, date, name, signature, and seal of the official veterinarian to ensure the cohesion of all sheets.
For Australia, the following special regulation applies:
For cats originating from Australia, the veterinary authority must additionally certify that the cat comes from a facility where no cases of Hendra disease have been detected in the last 60 days. Please ensure that this certification is provided.
Apart from that, the conditions for Listed Third Countries apply:
1. Microchip
The animal must have a 15-digit ISO microchip.
The chip must be implanted before the valid rabies vaccination.
Proof via microchip certificate, registration, or similar must be provided.
2. Rabies Vaccination
The vaccination may only be administered at the age of 12 weeks (= 84 days) or older.
It must be done after the microchip implantation.
There is a waiting period of 21 days from the date of the first vaccination or after a vaccination gap.
The vaccination must be valid at the time of travel.
Proof via vaccination certificate, vaccination passport, or similar must be provided.
3. EU Veterinary Certificate
Correct veterinary certificate for import into the EU.
For the list of veterinary certificates for non-commercial import into the EU, please refer to:
Must be accompanied by a declaration (Model of Declaration) from the owner/companion stating that no change of ownership will occur.
Must be filled out and issued by an official veterinarian/state veterinary officer from an official (governmental!) authority in the country of origin, with official seal and signature.
Validity: 10 days from the date of issue for entry into the EU.
Formatted as a single sheet, i.e., each sheet must be marked with the certificate number, date, name, signature, and seal of the official veterinarian to ensure the cohesion of all sheets.
Special Regulations for Malaysia:
For dogs and cats originating from Peninsular Malaysia, the veterinary authority must additionally certify the following:
1. The dog/cat has not been in contact with pigs in the last 60 days prior to export.2. They have not been kept in premises where Nipah disease cases were confirmed in the last 60 days.3. They have been tested with a negative result in an IgG-ELISA test, conducted in a laboratory authorized by the competent veterinary authority for Nipah antibody testing. The blood sample for this test must have been taken no more than 10 days before export.
Apart from that, the conditions for Listed Third Countries apply:
1. Microchip
The animal must have a 15-digit ISO microchip.
The chip must be implanted before the valid rabies vaccination.
Proof via microchip certificate, registration, or similar must be provided.
2. Rabies Vaccination
The vaccination may only be administered at the age of 12 weeks (= 84 days) or older.
It must be done after the microchip implantation.
There is a waiting period of 21 days from the date of the first vaccination or after a vaccination gap.
The vaccination must be valid at the time of travel.
Proof via vaccination certificate, vaccination passport, or similar must be provided.
3. EU Veterinary Certificate
Correct veterinary certificate for import into the EU.
For the list of veterinary certificates for non-commercial import into the EU, please refer to:
Must be accompanied by a declaration (Model of Declaration) from the owner/companion stating that no change of ownership will occur.
Must be filled out and issued by an official veterinarian/state veterinary officer from an official (governmental!) authority in the country of origin, with official seal and signature.
Validity: 10 days from the date of issue for entry into the EU.
Formatted as a single sheet, i.e., each sheet must be marked with the certificate number, date, name, signature, and seal of the official veterinarian to ensure the cohesion of all sheets.
If your pet is traveling through a European Union (EU) country on its way to a non-EU country, you will need a transit health certificate for the EU. The transit health certificate is the same as if the final destination for your pet were an EU country.
Puppies
Generally, puppies are not allowed to be imported into Germany or transited through Germany.
Under the term "puppies," dogs, cats, and ferrets that are younger than 12 weeks old and do not have effective protection against the rabies virus are included. Dogs, cats, and ferrets can only be brought into Germany at the earliest at the age of 16 weeks.
the animals travel unaccompanied and do not travel within 5 days before or after the owner,
there is a transfer of ownership,
the animals are intended to be sold or more than 5 animals are imported,
this is a commercial import of animals. In this case, the commercial certificate must be used, which is only valid for entry into the EU for 48 hours after it is issued. A veterinary clearance at the Veterinary Border Inspection Post and sending the animals as freight with a Air Waybill Number (AWB) is mandatory.
As hand luggage (pet in cabin) or bulky luggage, your pet arrives at the terminal with you. After passport control and baggage claim, you are legally obliged, according to Article 34(2) of the Pet Regulation (EU Regulation No. 576/2013), to proceed directly to customs (red channel) for import control and present all original documents related to your pet. Customs conducts the import control on our behalf. Failure to comply with your legal obligation constitutes an administrative offense, which will be penalized by us.
As cargo baggage, your pet will automatically be brought to the Veterinary Office at the airport (Animal Border Inspection Post, view location map). Here, we conduct the border veterinary import control. This control is subject to charges for the importer. Before picking up your pet from us, please go to your airline in the cargo area and collect the cargo documents. After that, come to us at the border control post, where we will continue with the proceedings.
Directions to the border control post: Please use these coordinates from Google Maps for navigation. The street address is not correctly displayed by Google.
Contact for Further Questions
For further questions or matters that could not be clarified above, please contact bip-muc@kblv.bayern.de or 089/97590390 (available by phone from Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 16:30).
