Travelling to France with Your Pets

Do you have pets and feel guilty when you go to France without them? Now is the time to enquire and undertake procedures so that your beloved friend can follow you on holiday or in your new French home.

First of all, you must ensure your pet is among those considered as “domestic animals” by the authorities. That is to say they must be in one of these categories: Dogs, cats, ferrets, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates (except bees and crustaceans), rodents and domestic rabbits, and all species of birds (except poultry). You may bring up to five pets; to bring more, you have to follow a more complicated procedure.  The entrance of some breeds of dogs is forbidden or restricted in France; this particularly applies to dangerous breeds.

For dogs, cats, or ferrets coming from European countries (including European Union countries, Andorra Island, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland and Vatican), the three compulsory requirements are as follows:

• Must be identified by a microchip or by a clear tattoo for those applied before July 2011
• Must be vaccinated against rabies and the vaccination must be still valid
• Must have a European Pet Passport issued by a licensed vet

This passport contains the identification number and is the proof of the vaccinations; therefore, it must be kept in order, regularly.

Regarding those who come from non-European countries, the requirements are similar, although a bit more rigorous. Indeed, at least three months before the departure, each animal must be subjected to an efficiency test of the vaccine against rabies in a laboratory certified by the European Union. However, animals from officially non-affected countries can be exempted from this requirement. In addition, if the animal is identified by a tattoo, this tattoo must have been applied before July 2001 and not 2011 as is required for the European pets. As for the “passport,” it must be a sanitary certificate in accordance with the European norm and delivered by an official vet of the origin country.

If you wish to bring your birds to France, they have to come from areas which are not affected by the Newcastle disease and the avian influenza, and must come with a sanitary certificate delivered by an official vet of the origin country.  Before your departure, you will be required to sign a form in which you agree to respect all procedures to ensure the perfect health of your birds (i.e., quarantine, vaccination or treatment when necessary).

All other domestic animals have to come with a Certificat de bonne sante (Good Health Certificate) delivered by a vet practitioner. The mammals must have been subjected to a treatment against parasites.

However, be careful if you wish to travel in other European countries as each one may have specific conditions. It is, therefore, preferable to enquire within the embassies concerned.

Now you know how to proceed, you can go enjoy your French life with your pets. Besides, you will probably notice a strong presence of pets in France as it is the country with the largest population of domestic animals in Europe!