This page will focus on how to import a dog to Spain without an EU pet passport. If you have an up to date EU pet passport, it’s very easy to enter Spain. However, when you live outside of the EU or your most recent rabies vaccine was not done in EU, you may not have a valid EU pet passport. Only EU vets can enter rabies vaccines into an EU pet passport. full For my experience of the import process, please check out my blog post.
The Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentacion (MAPA) website has a lot of useful information about travelling to & from Spain. It splits the information into sections depending on where you are coming from or where you are going.
Requirements
The website states, ‘In those cases where there is no European pet passport, the animals must be accompanied by;
– An animal health certificate, which must be signed by an official veterinarian of the third country, and presented at least in Spanish;
– and a declaration, both in accordance with EU models, and
– Certified copy (see FAQs) of the identification and vaccination data of the animal/animals.’
I confirmed with animal quarantine in Madrid that as long as you travel with the original vaccine certificates and ID documents, you do not need a certified copy of the documents. You do need to have the health certificate in Spanish (we wrote in English also for moving into other EU countries), however, there is little that needs to be translated so I just used Google translate.
In order to qualify for entry the pet must;
– Be identified with a microchip, or tattoo (if done before 03/07/2011)
– Be vaccinated against rabies with a valid vaccine at the time of travel.
– If you come from a country not listed in Annex II to Regulation 577/2013, the pet must have undergone a serological test for rabies (see paragraph 4) in an approved laboratory.
Model certificate and declaration in Spanish/English:
This is the link to the blank certificate & declaration that you need to complete : Model of certificate (Valid from 01/11/2019).
Our certificate was completed by the Official Government Vet in Japan. They are happy to complete the health certificate, but a lot of countries you first need to get this completed by a standard vet and then endorsed by the Official vet of the country.
Arrival in Spain
On arrival in Spain you need to go to customs and declare your pet. There, they will check your papers and san your microchip to confirm you are the dog you say you are. There is nothing to pay.
It is worth noting that if you plan to move around Europe, you need them to stamp the health certificate. This confirms the documents were checked on arrival. They didn’t do this as standard for us, so make sure you remember this. If you don’t have this stamped, you could get stopped when moving through EU as it may look like your papers weren’t checked upon arrival.
We’ve travelled to many countries now so have lots of experience in importing and exporting to and from various countries. If you are planning on doing more travel, check out my import/export page for more handy tips.
Regulations and requirements may change at any time. The information on this page is valid at the time of writing. Always check the official government websites before travelling to ensure you meet the most up to date requirements.
Bon voyage!
Woof woof, Wylie x
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