Want to take your dog from Canada to the EU but don’t know where to start? Neither did I, but I decided to check out if it was #1) possible? and #2) would I need a PHD in paperwork management? After some research for ‘Non-Commercial Export of Animals’ it turns out it’s not that bad and I lived to tell the tale. The proof being that I’m typing this from Florence with a world travelling dog by my side. And you’ll appreciate the ‘punchline’ at the end of this article…
Order, We Must Have Order
First thing I realized is that there is a very strict order to everything and timing is very important.
Microchipping must be done before vaccinations and only one year rabies vaccines are accepted coming into Europe. Tikka had a three year jab, but alas, had to get a one year before we left. Vaccines must be administered 30 days before travel. From the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) website:’ according to EU regulations, a rabies vaccination is not considered valid unless the animal was properly identified at the time it was vaccinated. The microchip or tattoo number must also appear on the rabies vaccination certificate in order for it to be considered valid.
A certified vet must verify that the vaccination was administered.
Microchips can be different types, however a ISO standard 11784 rated microchip is preferred as the standard for entry to Europe, otherwise if it is any other type you have to bring your own scanner with you. They sell them here.
Tikka in her travel carrier
Paperwork, Lovely Paperwork
For travelling from Canada to the EU, the paperwork needs to be downloaded from the CFIA and there is lots of information to get you filling things out like a pro. Here is the link for the CFIA – Non Commercial export of animals.
After looking up the country that you LAND in (not your final destination) I downloaded it and printed off two copies. I had an extra in case of any mess ups at the vet. This has to happen within 10 days of travel to the EU. Take the forms plus a printout of the instructions to your appointment, making sure they know why you are there. You need to do a health examination and tell them you need this paperwork filled out. And here is a fun fact. It HAS to be filled out in BLUE ink…no exceptions!
We also got an International Health Certificate from the vet for the airline in case someone asked to see it.
Everything at Tikka’s appt went well, we were in an out in 30 minutes with a vet stamp in the first space of three (vet, CFIA, customs at destination) on the document and were ready for the next step…the ruler!
I rule the blue pen
This part felt unusual as I’m not used to crossing out information on govt forms. It’s required to take a ruler and cross out anything that does not apply to your situation, again in that all important blue ink. These sections determine points such as:
Are you the owner of the dog travelling with you?
Do you have more that 5 dogs with you?
After all that was done it was time to take the papers to the CFIA for a pre arranged appointment – List of offices. I took the papers and $20 and was there only 15 minutes while they put their stamp on the back page, in the second spot.
Once back at my office, I made two copies of all the stamped papers so that I had a spare as well as all her vaccination records, tattoo and microchip certificates. Bring everything with you in duplicate – you will save time if anyone needs a copy of something.
And the CIFA have this handy checklist you can reference.
On Our Way
Was that really all of it? … Do we have everything done? … Is it all correct?… Did I forget anything? I guess we’ll find out 10 hours after our flight and we have a customs officer staring at us.
Waiting to board the plane at YVR
The big test finally arrived. After months of planning, Tikka, myself and my husband were finally airborne and we were cautiously optimistic about what the EU custom officer had in store for us. We eagerly followed the signs to baggage claim at the Munich airport and before long passport control was in front of us becokoning us forward. And what do you think happened after all the previous months of organizing? Not a DAMN thing!!! They couldn’t have cared less and waved us on without a blink when we told them we had a dog.
My husband and I discussed how surprising that was and figured that customs must be different than passport control and we’d have to show the paperwork after we got our bags. That time came in 20 minutes and there was no indication that we even had to declare having a dog with us. We did what we thought was best and went through the red customs channel in to declare her anyways. A very friendlly customs officer took Tikka’s documents and went away to the back of his office. Ah ha! This will be when we get that last stamp on her papers, giving us closure for a job well done. He returned 2 minutes later and said ‘Ok, enjoy your holiday’. We flipped to the last page and that third space still sat empty – not even a whiff of a stamp.
The lonely third place for a stamp
We took the hint…move on and have a great holiday, which is just what we’ll do. Of course for future travel, we will still follow all procedures as you never know when you’ll have to have everything ready to present to customs with a trigger happy stamp.
Read about the first leg of our road trip in Germany and Austria.
VanDoggo 
Yay! Went off without a hitch.
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Whew!
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It is a bit weird that they didn’t really ask for the documents and such, but better this way then them taking hours to pour over it and looking for mistakes, right? Have fun on the trip! -Ellie
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So true!!!!
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Was Tikka small enough to go inside the passenger area or did she have to go below? I would love to travel with my dog for a long trip (to Canada, ironically) when she’s older but worried about her spending all that time in the hold and whether it would be worth the stress?
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Tikka just makes the weight requirement to be with us in the cabin, under the seat in front of us. How big do you think Pepper is going to be? Agree about the concerns being in the hold and away from you during a stressful time. Some dogs have a lot of anxiety when they travel, and some take it in stride. We did fly two dogs across the country many years ago that had to be in the hold and it went very well, but I’ve had other dogs that would not do well at all.
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Well she is a border collie so medium sized, about 20 kg maybe, it is hard to predict! I guess I will have to wait for her to grow older so I can see what kind of dog she will be, as in whether she has the temperament to cope.
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Thank you so much for sharing.
One question I had: do you need to have a anitbody rabies test?
Thank you in advance!
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Hello- We did not need an antibody test for travel to Europe from Canada. Cheers 🙂
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Hi
Quick question. If I am transiting through Frankfurt, do I need the certification form in German or in the language of the final destination country? I will not be leaving Frankfurt airport, just a 2-hour layover there.
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Hi. I believe that you will need the paperwork in the language of the country that you would engage with their customs team. If the pet is in the cabin with you, then you would not do that in Germany. But if the pet is in cargo, they may process them as the landing point in Europe. I would confirm with your airline. Hope that helps…
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Thanks so much for the quick response. This post is truly helpful – I hope you understand how much I appreciate this post.
One other question. I am going through the EU commission and CFIA websites, both of them don’t state that the irrelevant parts need to be crossed out in blue. Are you able to reference where you saw this?
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It may be under the ‘Instructions for filling the Health Certificate for the non-commercial movement into the EU from Canada of dogs, cats and ferrets’. They call them ‘strike-outs’. The blue is so that it is a different colour ink than the printed colour ( so can be more easily read ). It was a while ago that I was first told about the blue, I believe the vet told me.
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Thanks. Got all the paperwork in. I was going to get the same carrier as you (Large Sturdi carrier) but Lufthansa states the carrier height cannot be more than 9 inches and the Sturdi is 12 inches in height. As long as the carrier can be manipulated to fit under the seat and the dog is comfortable, will Lufthansa be ok with it?
Also if you don’t mind me asking how tall is Tikka?
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We have flown Lufthansa ( and others ) with this bag without an issue, as it is very flexible. However it is always the right of the check in staff to refuse the pet if they feel the dog is not safe or will suffer. I have demonstrated at check in that Tikka can turn around easily in her bag, She is 10in at the shoulder. I’ve never had an airline measure her, but she has been weighed. When we first bought the bag, we went to the airport at a quieter time and asked to speak with a manager at a couple airlines and have them ‘give their blessing’ that they were happy with the bag and dog inside. This gave us piece of mind ( and it was a good training session for Tikka). But again, the staff on the day of check in always have the final say. Hope that helps!
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Hey
Just wanted to let you know everything went without a hitch and we made it to Europe. Thanks for this post.
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Hooray! 🙂
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I’m loving your blog, since we are hoping to bring our dog with us to Italy this summer (from the US). What was involved in bringing your dog back home? I know you are from canada, so it will be different for us. I’m trying to figure out what is involved when we bring her back!
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Hi! For returning to Canada at that time, there wasn’t anything for us to do as we were only in Europe for a few weeks. If you stay a long time then I believe you need to fill out paperwork in Europe to re-import your dog. We kept all our original paperwork and showed it to Canada customs. Hope you have a lovely trip!
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same thing happened to me in munich with my dog! I delayed my trip by a month because her microchip had fallen out and we had to restart the process … all for them to not care! I couldn’t believe it
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Thanks for sharing. I am also travelling with my toy poodle to Hamburg with connected flight at Frankfurt later this month. I am pretty confused by some health certificate requirements. I read from your previous response that you did not need Rabies antibody test. Did you fulfill the requirement for Treatment against Echinococcus multilocularis, as it requires treatment to be administered by a vet within a period of not more than 120 hours and not les than 24 hours before the time of scheduled entry?
I hope I would have your luck going through Frankfurt custom with no issue, as I have only 2 hours layover time.
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Hi ! When we flew into Germany we didn’t have any issues and went through fairly quickly ( a few years ago ). Often when an animal is with you in the cabin they just wave you through and don’t even look at the papers, but of course you always have to have them. At that time there was not a requirement for the rabies antibody or the Echinococcus. I have been out of Canada for a few years, but I just read through the latest guidelines for Germany and I don’t see any requirement for the antibody test, tick treatment or Echinococcus treatment. There is a more recent post on . Hope all that helps and have a great trip!
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Hi, thank you very much for your prompt reply and information. They do help a lot and ease my mind. Making appointment and communicating with CFIA after COVID is a nightmare as they only respond to voicemails and emails. That’s why I have been researching online to obtain relevant information. Thanks again.
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