Every time I think about our great move to EU (Germany, for that matter) this year, it always makes me feel accomplished and relieved. And no, it’s not about me moving myself and my life here. It is because we managed to bring our 6 beloved cats with us, in one trip, from one side of the world to another.
Traveling with your pets can be really stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. You just need to be organized, well-informed, and of course, plan carefully. I’d like to share my experience and write it as informative, concise and as simple as I can with the hopes that it will help you have an idea of what to take care of in the event that you want to move or travel with your pets to EU.
Because I want to be as informative as I can, this blog entry will be divided in 3 parts:
Part 1 – Cat Document Requirements.
Part 2 – The Rabies Titer Test.
Part 3 – Basic Airline Requirements and Choosing Your Airline.
A special note though; I’ll be writing about my experience moving my cats from the Philippines to EU (Germany). Every county have their own animal import/export rules and regulation and this blog entry will be particularly about EU countries.
Paperworks/Documents Required:
1. A Pet Microchip.
– This is not a document, but this is one of the requirements. Your cat should have a microchip installed. This can be done by your local veterinarian.
2. A Rabies Titer Test Certificate (Rabies anti-body titration test)
– Your cat’s blood sample has to be tested by an EU-approved rabies serology laboratory. Unfortunately, there’s no accredited laboratory that can perform this in the Philippines. You can get the list of accredited laboratory here. Note that they have to pass.
3. Your cat’s vaccination card.
– Anti-rabies vaccine is a requirement for your pet to enter EU. Your cat’s vaccination card will serve as a proof of anti-rabies vaccine that your cat had. Make sure that your cat’s vaccination is up to date.
4. Health Certificate.
– This is issued by your local veterinarian/veterinary clinic.
5. Export permit from Bureau of Animal Industry.
– This can be taken care of your local veterinary clinic. The export permit is only valid for 10 days. I suggest that you process this together with the vet’s health certificate a few days before you leave. In my experience, it only took a day to process this. I took care of this 5 days before our departure.
6. EU’s Pet Import Certificate form.
– This should be filled out by your veterinarian. I took care of this together with the Health Certificate and Export Permit so they are all dated together. You can get the form here.
If you want to personally check the EU’s requirements, you can read more from European Commission website.