Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Understanding Legal Requirements for Moving Abroad with Your Dog

So That Your Dog Won't Be Refused at the Border

Are you thinking about moving abroad with your dog?

Are you stressed out researching all the different legal regulations and nervous that you'll mess something up and your dog will get stuck?

You’re not alone.

Five years ago, I was preparing to move with my dog from NYC to Amsterdam for the first time. While I had a wealth of experience writing health certificates for my clients, I had never gone through the process of moving internationally with my dog on my own before.

As I quickly came to learn, moving abroad with your dog requires more than just a health certificate.

Each country has its own requirements, restrictions, and deadlines, and I had to make sure to comply with all of them if I wanted to land my dog safely on European soil. Because I was the vet, I was lucky to have "my vet" do the research for me. But if you're not a vet, you shouldn't expect the same. Your vet will sign the papers, but you've got to do the rest.

If this sounds like you or you're looking for key errors to avoid when understanding the legal requirements for moving your dog abroad, let me save you the headache of making the mistakes yourself, and point out the pitfalls I see most commonly among my clients who are preparing to move abroad with their dog.

Mistake #1: Not verifying the specific requirements for your destination country

First things first, you need to look up the specific requirements for the country you're traveling to.

Just because you've traveled internationally with your pet before, doesn't mean you've met some blanket requirements for international pet travel. Each country has its own set of requirements your dog will need to meet. These requirements will also change based on where you're moving from.

Make sure you contact the health and transport officials in your destination country and that you're clear on what the specific requirements are for you to get your dog from point A to point B.

Mistake #2: Missing vaccination and health certificate deadlines

This is the single biggest mistake that pet parents make.

There are specific deadlines for vaccines, titers, and parasite treatments, and these need to be completed within a certain number of days from travel, AND within a certain number of days of the health certificate being filled out by your veterinarian. The health certificate will then need to be certified by the regulatory vet of your origin country within a certain number of days prior to your arrival at your destination country.

Get clear on the timeline, or you're going to end up repeating treatments and rebooking your flights.

Mistake #3: Overlooking quarantine regulations

Depending on travel destination, you may need to quarantine your dog on arrival, and they may need to stay in quarantine in for weeks to months.

They'll need to go straight into quarantine when they arrive, and you won't be able to visit them until the quarantine period has ended and the vet can confirm your pet is healthy and safe to officially enter the country. Again these requirements vary by country, so if you're stopping in a different country along the way to your final destination, make sure your dog doesn't get stuck behind!

Mistake #4: Failing to research local breed restrictions

These days, more and more countries are imposing restrictions on which breed of dogs they allow into the country.

Before you plan to move abroad, make sure your dog's specific breed is permitted there. The breed listed on all of their medical records and official travel documents should match and comply.

Mistake #5: Ignoring regulations for air transport

Just as every country has its own regulations, so too do the airlines.

Weight limits, carrier sizes, training requirements, and relief attestations are just a few of things you’ll have to deal with. And take it from me -- ignore one of these things, and they really won't allow your dog on board.

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Moving abroad with your dog can be stressful, especially if you’ve never left the country with them before.

But if you do your research, respect timelines and a regulations, and ensure your dog is permitted in all of the places they need to go, you’ll both arrive together safely in your new land and be prepared to take on the next chapter.

Ciao for now!

Dr. Sami

Luca and I upon arrival in The Netherlands in 2019. We made it!

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