If you plan to travel with a dog, it’s especially important to make sure you know of the requirements of the country you’re visiting, regarding both taking the dog out of Sweden and bringing the dog back in. When you travel with a dog, it’s usually rabies you need to protect your dog from. What applies in your case depends on the state of the rabies situation in the country you want to visit. The world’s countries are divided into three categories based on the rabies situation:
- EU countries and countries with functioning routines for detecting rabies
- Countries where the rabies situation is a problem but where it’s documented and followed up.
- Countries where the rabies situation is out of control.
Regardless of which country you’re traveling to, it’s also important that you check whether the country has special requirements for traveling dogs. Different countries have different requirements. If you visit Norway, Finland, Ireland and Malta, your dog has to be dewormed against echinococcos. And Denmark only allows certain dog breeds in the country. You can easily find out what applies in your case from the country’s veterinary authorities or the country’s embassy in Sweden.
1. EU countries and countries with functioning routines for detecting rabies
In addition to the countries within the EU, there are other countries with functioning routines for detecting rabies. On the Swedish Agricultural Agency’s website you can find which countries these are. If you’re planning a trip to and from one of these countries, you have to make sure that your dog, among other things:
- is ID tagged with a chip by a veterinarian or approved ID tagger.
- is vaccinated against rabies, but only after the dog has been ID marked.
- has an EU passport for pets.
When you enter Sweden, you have to register your dog with customs. If the customs point is unmanned, you need to call and wait for the customs staff so they can register your dog. In other words, you can’t pass customs until the staff has registered your dog.
If you and your dog travel on separate dates or on different routes, your dog has to be insured during the trip. Since the airline also could have special conditions, you need to check what applies if you plan to fly.
2. Countries where the rabies situation is a problem but where it is documented and followed up
Many countries outside the EU either don’t have rabies or are very good at detecting cases of rabies according to the World Health Organization. You can also find which countries these are on the Swedish Agricultural Agency’s website.
To travel to and from these countries, you have to make sure your dog, among other things:
- is ID tagged with a chip by a veterinarian or approved ID tagger.
- has a valid vaccination against rabies, but only after the dog is ID marked. If you don’t have time to revaccinate your dog before the validity period of the latest vaccine dose has expired, you have to wait 21 days after the vaccination before you’re allowed to travel with your dog.
- has a health certificate from the Swedish Agency for Agriculture if the vaccination against rabies expires during the trip. The certificate has to be filled in by an official veterinarian in the country you’re visiting. You have to travel with your dog via an Entry Point in the EU within 10 days. These are special places within the EU where animals brought in from countries outside the EU can be checked. Sweden has two Entry Points, one at Arlanda and one at Landvetter.
- has an EU passport for pets in which the latest vaccination against rabies is documented.
3. Travel with a dog to countries where the rabies situation is out of control
In countries where the rabies situation is a problem, it’s important you’re careful with your dog. If you travel to a country with widespread rabies, you have to be extra careful and, among other things, make sure that your dog:
- is ID tagged with a chip by a veterinarian or approved ID tagger.
- has a valid vaccination against rabies, but only after the dog is ID marked. If you don’t have time to revaccinate your dog before the validity period of the latest vaccine dose has expired, you have to wait 21 days after the vaccination before you’re allowed to travel with your dog.
- has enough antibodies against rabies. This can be done by having a veterinarian take a blood sample from your dog.
- has a valid health certificate that’s issued only 3 months after the blood sample has been taken.
- has a health certificate from the Swedish Agency for Agriculture if the vaccination against rabies expires during the trip. The certificate has to be filled in by an official veterinarian in the country you’re visiting. Afterwards you have to travel with your dog to an Entry Point in the EU within 10 days. These are special places within the EU where animals brought in from countries outside the EU can be checked. Sweden has two Entry Points, one at Arlanda and one at Landvetter.
- has an EU passport for pets in which the latest vaccination against rabies is documented.
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