Travelling with animals

So that no difficulties arise on entry, every pet animal brought into the European Union from a non-EU country must:

• be marked with a tattoo or a microchip. Pet animals newly marked since 3 July 2011 are required to have a microchip,
• have been properly vaccinated against rabies, and
• be accompanied with an official veterinary certificate (“Tier aus Nicht-EU-Staat“) stating the microchip number or the tattoo, and also with vaccination documents and, if appropriate, the results of the blood test.

If you are entering from a non-EU state where there is rabies or where the infection status is unknown, such as Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Thailand, or India:

• a blood test (rabies antibody test) must have been conducted before entry
• that test must have been conducted, in the relevant country, not earlier than 30 days after vaccination and not later than 3 months prior to entry into the EU.

Please bear in mind that every pet animal is subject to a document check or identity check when entering or re-entering the country from a non-EU country. For this purpose the accompanying person has to declare the animal at the customs. The entry of pets from non-EU countries has to take place via an airport or port that is listed in the list of entry points in the Federal Republic of Germany.

An arrival via the airport Friedrichshafen is not possible.

For dogs, cats and ferrets that are transported across borders within the European Union,

• must carry a pet passport in accordance with a standardised model. This is stipulated by Regulation (EU) No. 576/2013 and Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 577/2013, which have been in force since 29 December 2014.
• This passport must be able to be clearly assigned to the animal: this means that the animal must be identifiable by means of a tattoo or microchip and the identification number must be entered in the passport. The microchip has been mandatory for newly identified animals since 3 July 2011.
• EU pet passports can be issued by a registered veterinarian. However, they require authorisation from the competent authorities in accordance with state law.
  Dangerous dogs