Bringing Pets and Animals into Spain
You will need a Pet Passport to bring your pet into Spain. Your pet will not be allowed to enter Spain without a valid rabies inoculation certificate or health record showing proof of vaccination.
You can bring your dog or cat to Spain under the PETS travel scheme or with an Export Health Certificate. To qualify for a PETS certificate your pet must be:
Fitted with a microchip
Vaccinated against rabies
Blood tested
Issued with an official PETS certificate
Once a pet has joined the scheme they are given a new PETS certificate each time they have their rabies booster which in Spain is yearly, regardless of them having the 24 month vaccine in the UK. You can then take your pet back to the UK providing it is treated for tapeworm and ticks, and an official certificate issued by a vet between 24 and 48 hours prior to entering or checking in for travel. Six months must have passed since the pet was blood tested successfully, the date of the test will be on the certificate issued by the vet.
Taking Your Pet From Inside The EU
The main concern for you when taking your pet to live with you in Spain will be the legal issues involved. Although it is quite a straightforward process, you still have to follow the correct procedure, which often means planning well in advance.
If you live in the EU, you will require a pet passport. This regulation came into force in 2004 and replaced the previous need for a PETS certificate for the pet and other regulations.
Also, although up until 2012 the Spanish authorities will accept either a microchip or a tattoo that confirms your pet’s identity, we advise you that after 2012 only a microchip will be accepted.
Once you have a pet passport you will be able to travel with your pet, and this will also prevent the need for it to be placed into quarantine on its return if you take it back to your home country, at least in the case of UK residents.
Taking Your Pet From Outside The EU
If you do not live in the EU then you will not be able to benefit from the pet passport scheme. Instead, you will require a health certificate that must be issued by an authorized vet in your country, and it also has to be issued within 15 days of your intended trip to Spain. You will also be required to get a certificate showing vaccination against rabies which has to take place between one and 12 months before moving to Spain.
On top of this, you will also be required to get a certificate from the agriculture ministry in your country stating that the area in which you keep your pet is free from diseases. These all need to be authorized and stamped by the Spanish authorities in your own country, and there will be a fee for the process.
The general rules for the free movement of your pet to and from the UK are as follows:
To enter the UK without quarantine from an EU country, dogs and cats will still have to be micro chipped, vaccinated against rabies and blood tested. Animals must be at least 3 months old before being vaccinated.
The 6 calendar month wait to enter or re-enter the UK from the date a blood sample was taken that gave a satisfactory test result will still apply. Animals must not have been outside any EU country in the 6 calendar months before entering the UK.
