Bringing a dog, cat or ferret from an EU-country or an EU-related country

Below you can read about

1. From which countries do the requirements apply?
2. Under what circumstances do these requirements apply?
3. Requirements for bringing a dog, cat or ferret which is not to be sold
4. Special requirements for animals travelling without their owner
5. Special requirements for six or more animals travelling in a group

1. From which countries do the requirements apply?

There are common requirements for travelling with dogs, cats and ferrets within the EU. The same requirements are valid for travelling to the EU from certain third countries in close relation with the EU. In this text, those countries are called EU-related countries. A list of the EU-countries and the EU-related countries is found below More information.

Please observe that special requirements apply for travelling with dogs, cats and ferrets from Norway to Sweden. Norwegian dogs, cats and ferrets need to be ID-marked and have an EU-passport. There is no need for a vaccination against rabies or any special documents. Therefore, there is no lower age limit for when dogs, cats and ferrets born in Norway can be brought to Sweden.

2. Under what circumstances do these requirements apply?

The requirements apply when up to five dogs, cats or ferrets are travelling to Sweden with their owner or the owner’s representative. They also apply for animals moving to Sweden with their owner.    

Example 1. You, as the owner, are buying an animal from Spain for your own company. You travel to Spain to complete the purchase and directly afterwards travel back to Sweden together with your animal. In this case the animals travels as a pet.

Example 2. You, as the owner, are buying an animal from Spain for your own company. The seller of the animal meets you in Denmark to hand over the animal. You go to Denmark, complete the purchase and thereafter bring the animal with you back to Sweden. In this case the animal must comply with the trade requirements.

Example 3. You, as the owner, are buying an animal from Spain for your own company. You and a friend of yours travel to Spain to complete the purchase. You leave for Sweden earlier than your friend who later brings the animal with him or her also back to Sweden. In case the friend travels within five days of your own trip and has an owner’s declaration for pets and a copy of your trip or ticket, it will travel as a pet. If the pet does not travel with these documents or if the friends travels more than five days later than you do, the animal must comply with the trade requirements.

3. Requirements for bringing a dog, cat or ferret which is not to be sold

The animal must be ID-marked

You must start with having the animal ID-marked with an ISO-microchip.  However, if your animal was tattooed before 3 July 2011, it does not need to be microchipped.

If the animal is checked at the border and the ID-number cannot be read, the animal may be rejected.

The animal must have a valid vaccination against rabies

Primary vaccination
The animal must have a valid rabies vaccination. The very first vaccination which builds up the defence is called a primary vaccination and consists of one or two shots. The animal must be id-marked and at least twelve weeks old to have its primary vaccination. The id-marking must be done before the rabies vaccine is administered for the vaccination to be valid. If the animal already has an id-marking the id-marking must be read before administering the vaccine. It has to show in the pets passport that the id-marking or reading has been done at the latest on the same day as the vaccination. The vaccination should be administered with an approved vaccine according to the requirements in appendix III in regulation (EU) no 576/2013. Note that the administered vaccine should be approved in the country of origin and it may therefore have different validity periods in different countries.

After the primary vaccination you must wait 21 days before you are allowed to travel with your animal.
Example: Vaccination with one shot on 1 January = the animal may travel on 22 January.
Example: Vaccination with two shots on 1 January and 1 February = the animal may travel on 22 February.

Revaccination
If you want to travel more than once with your animal, you will need to revaccinate your animal regularly. How often your animal needs to be revaccinated varies between the vaccine brand and how it is registered in different countries. When the animal is vaccinated, the veterinarian fills in the data in the passport and notes the validity time registered in the country where the vaccination is given. You must follow the revaccination intervals registered in the passport, which means you must have the animal revaccinated at the latest on the last date of validity stated in the passport. If the animal is vaccinated within the validity period, the waiting period of 21 days between vaccination and travel does not apply.

Delayed revaccination
If an animal is revaccinated after last validity date of the latest rabies vaccination, the revaccination will be equal to a primary vaccination. In this case a new waiting period of 21 days applies before the animal is allowed to travel again.

The animal must have an EU-passport for pets

The animal must have an EU-passport where the veterinarian notes all treatments.

Dogs and cats must be reported to customs when passing the border

Dogs and cats must enter Sweden at a customs station, where you must report to a customs officer that you are bringing a pet animal.

4. Special requirements for pets travelling without their owner

The animal travels within five days of the owner’s travel to the same destination

If you and your animal are travelling to the same place but cannot travel together, you should book your animal’s travel within five days before or after your own travel. The animal needs to be accompanied with the following three documents:

1. EU passport showing ID-number and valid rabies vaccination.
2. An owners declaration including authorization from you to your representative or to the transport company/its representative, giving authority to transport your animal (state name and ID-number) without commercial purposes.
3. Copies of your own ticket or booking, to clarify when and where to you are travelling.

The animal travels more than five days before or after the owner or independent of the owner

If your animal must travel more than five days before or after your travel or without you travelling at all, it must comply with the requirements for trade animals.

5. Special requirements for more than five animals travelling in a group

Travelling for shows, competitions or sports events or training for such events

Are you travelling with more than five animals over six months of age which are going to participate in a show, competition or sports event or train for such an event? You then need to bring:

1. The EU passports showing that the animals are ID-marked and rabies vaccinated.
2. Written evidence that the animals are registered either to participate in the event or that they are registered in an organization which arranges such events.

Valid documents can consist of the catalogue of participants from a show or event or a pedigree issued by a dog or cat organization arranging shows or competitions, provided that the ID-number of the animal is stated.

More than five animals which are not travelling for shows, competitions or sports events or training for such events

If you are travelling with more than five animals which are not going to participate in a show, competition or sports event or to train for such an event, the animals need to comply with the requirements for trade animals. The same requirements apply for those animals in the group which are less than six months old.