So you want to take your dogs to Europe (EU)...
When we started to discuss the idea of taking a year off, the plans always had to
include the dogs. They have traveled with us all over the western Canadian provinces, and through a number of the PNW states, so we could consider them pretty seasoned travelers already. But we had never considered flying them anywhere, especially an international 10 hour flight. But... we decided that it would be worth it to have them with us on this adventure. It hasn't been without it's challenges, but it certainly has been worth it.
As of April 2019, the information below can be considered an accurate inventory of items that need to be completed in order to successfully export a pet from Canada to Europe. This will focus on dogs, but most of the information for cats can be found in the links provided.
It is important to start this process as early as possible, and ensure your vet is comfortable with the paperwork process. With the challenges that we had, I recommend completing a draft of the Health Certificate with supporting documents for review at least 2 months in advance of departure.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for final sign-off off all documentation and confirmation of export of an animal. The CFIA site contains all the specific requirements for export of an animal, including the required health certificate details that need to be completed. Some countries have very strict import requirements that often include quarantine periods and it is important to fully research and understand the nuances of each country. For instance, Iceland will only allow arrival of animals during a 3 day period each month and then have a 30 day quarantine period before releasing the animal.
The EU has relatively relaxed import requirements, and no quarantine periods assuming all paperwork has been completed. This was one of the reasons we chose the EU, along with our ability to apply for a longer-stay VISA from an EU country. For the EU countries, the following items are required:
Pet Identification
Vaccination against rabies
Echinococcus Treatment (only required for Finland, Malta, Ireland and the UK)
Veterinarian Health Checkup within 5 days of the travel date
Completion of a Health Certificate and sign-off by a CFIA approved Veterinarian
The most current information from the CFIA can be found here: Non-Commercial Export of Dogs to the EU
It doesn't seem like a lot of work. I mean... How hard can it be?
Pet Identification
This will need to be in the form of a microchip or a tattoo (tattoo only accepted if applied before Juy 3, 2011). The CFIA site will tell you that the microchip will need to be compliant with the ISO Standard 11784. I'm a geek, so of course I would include a link for reference. In short, the microchip tag must have 16 characters to meet compliance requirements and be acceptable for the EU Health Certificate.
A list of compliant Microchip companies can be found here: National Companion Animal Coalition list.
It is the pet owner's responsibility to ensure the microchip meets the compliance ISO requirements. Some vets will know this immediately, others may not have had a reason to research this. If the microchip paperwork is not available, contact your vet to have them provide information and then ensure it meets those requirements by contacting the chip supplier.
A verification scan must be completed and noted on the Health Certificate.
Our Experience:
Kona had a chip implanted when he was a puppy, and I was able to confirm with the chip supplier that his met the appropriate ISO standard. I sent an email with the chip information and had a reply in 24 hours stating compliance.
Dahlia did not have an implant prior to our decision to travel to Europe. I first verified the chip manufacturer and ISO compliance before having the implant completed. The cost for an implant was about $60 and took just a couple of minutes at her vet. It's important to have this done early, and verify that the chip is compliant before the implant.
Rabies Vaccinations
Dogs must be current on Rabies Vaccinations for export to any EU country. All the details are available on the CFIA website linked above, but it is very important to ensure the Rabies vaccination has been completed after the microchip implant. Any vaccinations prior to the implant are considered null as far as the EU Health Certificate is concerned. The Rabies vaccination must be completed more than 21 days prior to the departure date. It is important to note that records of all Rabies vaccinations since the microchip implant are included with the Health Certificate.
Our Experience:
Dahlia had her microchip implanted in December 2018. We then scheduled a vet checkup and vaccination for February 2019. Regardless of any previous Rabies vaccination schedule, she was required to have a full Rabies vaccination done during this vet visit in February. Luckily for us, this was the year for her Rabies vaccination, so that worked out perfectly. As far as the EU compliance, she would meet the microchip and Rabies vaccination requirements.
Kona had his chip implanted in 2012. We were also diligent with his Rabies vaccinations, so all vaccinations were up-to-date.... or so we thought. And this is the reason that I highlighted that this entire process should be started early.
We completed a draft copy of the Health Certificate and submitted it to the CFIA for review with supporting documentation about 2.5 weeks prior to our departure date. We did not have signed copies of documentation from the vet, but we provided records indicating the required microchip and Rabies vaccination schedule. From the draft documentation, the CFIA vet highlighted a potentially big issue. In 2017, we were 6 days late on Kona's Rabies vaccination schedule. According to Rabies vaccinations, there is an expiry date on the effectiveness of the vaccine, and we had apparently been a little delayed in scheduling his annual checkup because we were travelling in South Africa at that time. Normally, this gap would never be considered an issue in North America, but it ended up being a large problem for export to the EU. Because this was identified 2 weeks prior to our scheduled departure date, we did not have the time to get Kona re-vaccinated as he would need a 21 day waiting period from that date before export. At this point, the CFIA veterinarian would not sign off on Kona's export without approval from the appropriate authority in the arrival country. In our case, this meant that someone from the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority would need to provide confirmation that they reviewed Kona's records and would grant a written exemption. This needed to be done in writing on letterhead, or via email with appropriate signature and email address included.
To make a long story short, I was awake at 4 am multiple mornings to make phone calls to the appropriate agency in the Netherlands, and sending follow-up emails. And then calling back confirming receipt of the emails, and requesting escalations. Because, really... my Canadian dog is surely the most important thing on their to-do-list. Just to be an even bigger pain, I contacted the Netherlands Embassy in Washington and asked if someone there could escalate my request. Surprisingly, the Embassy was able to push the escalation, and I received the appropriate approval via email 1 day before our final vet visit.
(I honestly didn't get much sleep 2 weeks before our trip)
Veterinarian Health Checkup
Within 5 days of the scheduled travel date, a Veterinarian must perform a health checkup and complete the required Health Certificate and include signed copies of all required supporting documentation for the microchip and the Rabies Vaccinations. For the EU, the Health Certificate needs to be completed in the language of the arrival country. All language versions of the Health Certificates for the EU are located at the bottom of this page.
Our Experience:
Book the vet appointment exactly 5 days before flying, and do not delay this.
In order to expedite the vet visits, I completed all of the information on the Health Certificate using records I had available. Each Health Certificate can take 20 - 30 minutes, so the vet's office had very little work to do during the checkup and basically just verified the information. Since we had to have this done for 2 dogs, it saved a lot of time.
CFIA Health Certificate sign-off
Once the Health Certificate has been completed, it must be signed off by the appropriate CFIA Veterinarian from the local CFIA Animal Health Office. A list of all CFIA veterinarians and Animal Health Offices can be found here.
Contact the appropriate Animal Health Office as early as possible as there may be limited availability of the CFIA Veterinarian. In our case, the only CFIA Veterinarian on Vancouver Island was located in Parksville.
I recommend booking the appointment with the CFIA vet for a few hours after the above vet appointment(s), assuming there is a local office. I believe that the other option is to overnight the documents and have them shipped back. Again... contact the CFIA as early as possible to ensure the sign off of documents can be coordinated.
Our Experience:
The actual appointment with the CFIA took about 30 minutes for a review, approval, and stamping of all of our documents. We were provided 2 extra copies of each package, as well as the originals. The original packages should be carried with you in your carry-on luggage. We taped 1 copy of each dogs to their kennel in the event of some sort of issue during transit, and we kept the extra copy as a "just in case".
Of course, when we arrived at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, the Netherlands Customs Agents did not actually even look at the paperwork. They looked at the first page with the CFIA stamp and handed the entire package back to me.
Other items to consider
Kennel - Prior to the flight, it is important to reacquaint your dog with a kennel. As with all my other suggestions, start this early so they are comfortable going in it at the airport. Also... once you arrive, you have a kennel that you need to deal with. We had no intentions of travelling around Europe with 2 large kennels, so we donated them to a vet office outside of Amsterdam, who would coordinate with rescue agencies to deliver them.
Dog Food - Dogs tend to do best if they are consistently on the same food and diet. We researched available brands in Europe, and found that Royal Canin is pretty much available world-wide. There may be differences in ingredients, but the quality should be on par. Prior to our departure, we transitioned them both to Royal Canin, and have been able to find the appropriate food everywhere, with a few challenges here and there.
EU Pet Passports - once in Europe, it's best to schedule a vet visit locally to have a follow-up checkup completed, and to get an EU Pet Passport. This allows easy travel with pets between the UK and European countries that have adopted the processes. It's basically a simple document for all relevant information should authorities request verification. Plus... your pet has travel documents... Cool!
Travel around Europe with pets - There are many options for travelling around Europe and many of them may be pet friendly. I will leave this for other's to research and determine the best options. We brought a truck with us...
At the time of writing this, the dogs have now traveled to 6 European countries, and will probably end up with 6 more by the time this crazy year is done!
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