# EU Pet Passport



## panama rick (Oct 15, 2014)

Hi everyone. This is an extension of a previous thread I submitted on this subject. I would like to ask one more question as I'm having some difficulty trying to acquire an EU pet passport. As a US citizen do I need an EU pet passport if I have all required documents? ie, US Department of Agriculture certified health certificate, recently acquired Italian health certificate, recent rabies booster, tapeworm treatment (for UK). After much research I've come to the conclusion that I should be able to travel on these documents. 
I welcome any and all responses. Thanks


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

As I understand it (or at least as my vet has explained it to me), the Euro pet passport is something established for EU residents. If you are traveling as a "visitor" in Europe, you'll need to have all the various documents you seem to have. 

The Euro pet passport is normally obtained through your local vet (assuming you live in Europe), so unless you are staying in Europe on a residence visa or card, I think you're all set.
Cheers,
Bev


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## panama rick (Oct 15, 2014)

Hi Bev, I knew I could count on you. That makes perfect sense. The more research I did the more I started to question the whole issue. We're "tourists" until my wife's citizenship is finalized, so I should be able to travel with documents that brought here in the first place. I've his rabies and health certificate here in Italy so logically that should constitute a "passport".
Again many thanks. Rick


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## Italia-Mx (Jan 14, 2009)

Panama Rick, since it was not your intention to travel to the UK because you were going to Italy instead, it sounds like you did not check before you left the USA to see if a US tourist would be permitted to bring a pet into the UK. Crawford (originally from UK) in a previous thread said that no tourist arrives in the UK with a pet. I would take this to mean that you could only obtain the right to bring a pet into the UK if you were traveling there on a visa. If this is the case, you will have to go back to the USA to obtain a visa.


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## GeordieBorn (Jul 15, 2016)

I would have a look at the official line here and perhaps this link here, good luck.


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## panama rick (Oct 15, 2014)

Thanks ItaliaMx I'm not sure what Crawford is referring to because there's not anything even remotely suggesting that pets cannot be brought into the UK by tourists. Actually it's quite the opposite. It seems the UK is doing everything it can to assist people who want to bring pets to avoid making mistakes.


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## panama rick (Oct 15, 2014)

Geordie thanks. Have seen both of those site pages. That's what started me thinking that I don't need a passport. Actually a "passport" is nothing more than a consolidation of individual documents, ie. rabies cert., health cert., microchip verification, tapeworm vaccine. I have all those. Actually I have two health cert., one from the US and one from Italy.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

The other question is precisely "what" you would need a pet passport for. For getting your dog into one of the European countries, your US documents should be adequate. But what people generally use the pet passports for is to kennel their dogs, or to have the dog with them in a camping facility or other sort of public accommodation. In those cases, if the owners/operators aren't familiar with the US documents they very well could refuse you due to the lack of a pet passport.
Cheers,
Bev


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## panama rick (Oct 15, 2014)

Thank you Bev. A piece of information I did not know. But makes absolute sense. I am still going to try and get an EU passport here in Italy as I think it would make things easier.


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## Italia-Mx (Jan 14, 2009)

Panama Rick, if you're going to try to CONVERT your dog's US documents into a European Pet Passport issued in Italy, good luck. My companion, an Italian citizen was not even able to CONVERT his US driver's license into an Italian driver's license. Aside from that, any documents you have in English will have to be translated into Italian.


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## panama rick (Oct 15, 2014)

Hi ItaliaMx. You may be right, but I'm going to try anyway. It will make things a lot easier. As far as the drivers' license is concerned the Italian government website that covers that issue is very specific that the US and Italy do not have reciprocity. A US citizen must do the same thing an Italian citizen does.


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## Italia-Mx (Jan 14, 2009)

I really think that if the UK does allow tourists to bring pets, you could have done so if you departed with your dog from the US with the airline handling everything as long as you had the proper documents. You have mentioned in a previous thread that the low budget European airlines don't carry pets, that one airline in particular that flies to Luton doesn't have the proper immigration facilities, that Alitalia is not allowed to fly pets to the UK and British Air never responded to your questions. This tells me that since you're not an EU citizen, this just isn't going to work and is another reason the consulates advise not to go to Italy/Europe and expect to stay indefinitely until the entire Italian citizenship process is finalized. If you wife had an Italian passport in her hand at this time, you would not be having these problems. I moved to Italy from the USA in 2001 with an Italian passport. Piece of cake. My companion moved to Italy with me in 2011 with his own Italian passport. Again, a piece of cake.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

panama rick said:


> Hi ItaliaMx. You may be right, but I'm going to try anyway. It will make things a lot easier. As far as the drivers' license is concerned the Italian government website that covers that issue is very specific that the US and Italy do not have reciprocity. A US citizen must do the same thing an Italian citizen does.


As far as getting a Euro pet passport, you're going to have to engage with an Italian vet to see what they can tell you. Generally speaking, I believe the idea is that the pet passport is issued by the animal's "regular" vet (who does their shots, etc.) - and in that case, there is only a nominal charge for the passport itself.

If the local vet has NOT done all the shots and has no history with the animal, I would expect that they would require an office visit and rather thorough check-up for your dog, possibly also requiring re-vaccination. (The European countries have a slightly different schedule for animal vaccinations than back in the US.) Only way to know, though, is to ask a vet.
Cheers,
Bev


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## panama rick (Oct 15, 2014)

Italia-Mx. Not sure where your going with your last reply. The UK government doesn't allow Alitalia to bring pets into the UK. The low cost carriers, by policy, don't carry pets. It has nothing to do with me being a US citizen. You as an Italian citizen would run into the same issues.


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## panama rick (Oct 15, 2014)

Hi Bev. Yeah, I had him re-vaccinated last week and got an updated health cert. I think we'll be OK. Thanks.


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## Italia-Mx (Jan 14, 2009)

panama rick said:


> Italia-Mx. Not sure where your going with your last reply. The UK government doesn't allow Alitalia to bring pets into the UK. The low cost carriers, by policy, don't carry pets. It has nothing to do with me being a US citizen. You as an Italian citizen would run into the same issues.


More than not being a citizen is the fact that you don't have legal residence in Italy which severely limits what you can and cannot do while in Italy. I predict that you will not be able to get a pet passport until you have legal residence and that's not going to happen until your wife's commune transcribes her documents.


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## Italia-Mx (Jan 14, 2009)

Bevdeforges said:


> As far as getting a Euro pet passport, you're going to have to engage with an Italian vet to see what they can tell you. Generally speaking, I believe the idea is that the pet passport is issued by the animal's "regular" vet (who does their shots, etc.) - and in that case, there is only a nominal charge for the passport itself.
> 
> If the local vet has NOT done all the shots and has no history with the animal, I would expect that they would require an office visit and rather thorough check-up for your dog, possibly also requiring re-vaccination. (The European countries have a slightly different schedule for animal vaccinations than back in the US.) Only way to know, though, is to ask a vet.
> Cheers,
> Bev


Bev, I doubt the Italian Vet is going to take on this responsibility because the owners of this dog do not have legal residence in Italy. When I moved my cats from Mexico to Italy, the Mexican Vet complied with all of the requirements of Mexico AND Italy because I was a legal, permanent resident of Mexico living there on a valid retirement visa. I'm sure that whenever and wherever Panama Rick has inquired in Italy as to how he can get his dog to the UK, the first question he's been asked is if he and the dog have legal residence in Italy.


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## panama rick (Oct 15, 2014)

I guess I need to set the record straight right here. I took my dog to a local vet (one of the largest & best equipped in all Italy) and the doctor did an examination and also administered a 3 year booster. He issued a rabies certificate and health certificate as well. When the time comes he will do a tapeworm treatment as required by the UK. I don't know why Italia-Mx would not think this possible. As long as he/she complies with all health laws, where's the issue?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

First of all, full disclosure - I'm basing all of my comments on how things work here in France. The pet passports are issued by individual vets, and as far as I know don't require local residence other than to the extent that the vet bases the information provided in the pet passport on the animal's "patient records" with that particular vet.

But the European pet passport is not (as far as I know) issued with any government agency (at least not here in France it isn't). At this point, the best thing to do would be to simply ask the vet who did the vaccinations and exams on your dog if s/he can issue a European pet passport. If they say "no" they can probably tell you what the official procedure is. But last time I was in getting my cats vaccinated, the vet simply asked me if I'd be traveling with them and would need a pet passport (i.e. to take them elsewhere in Europe). I know the cost here is something very reasonable like 6€ or something. When all else fails, ask.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Italia-Mx (Jan 14, 2009)

I don't know how it works in France but in Italy you have three months from date of arrival to apply for legal residence or you must exit the European Union. I simply cannot see any doctor, Veterinarian or otherwise issuing any sort of legal medical document for a person who is not a legal resident unless that person is returning to country of origin. Let us know when you get to the UK with your dog.


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## Italia-Mx (Jan 14, 2009)

Rick might also ponder this. If he were a tourist in Italy wanting to go to a country that required him to have a visa, does he think he could apply for the visa at that country's embassy in Italy? The answer is absolutely not. He would have to return to his country of origin and apply for the visa there.


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## Italia-Mx (Jan 14, 2009)

And just one more thing. You can go to the UK, Rick, because even though you have been in Italy for three months, you have a US passport. But your dog doesn't have any travel documents from the US that coincide with your American passport except for some expired health certificates that you got to come to Italy. It might be a different situation if you had acquired the dog in Italy. But this is not an Italian dog. It's an American dog and it needs current American documents.


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## GeordieBorn (Jul 15, 2016)

Rick, if you satisfy the UK requirements on the official site (I've not read them in full), then I can't see any reason you can't get you pet into the UK... Of course it would have been better if you did not have to go to the UK, but going all the way back to the USA would be a pain. Hopefully all will work out okay and you can come back and let someone know...:fingerscrossed:


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## panama rick (Oct 15, 2014)

Geordie, I've read everything conceivable about bringing pets into the UK. And you are correct in your assumptions. It's very straight forward, if you do this then you avoid quarantine. It was the UK that was the driving force behind the "Pet Travel Scheme" program. They were trying to make it easier to travel not only in the EU, but also worldwide. As far as Italy is concerned they are somewhat like the US regarding pet travel documents. The vet generates the health certificate but then it is endorsed at the federal level (USDA) to make it official. In Italy a "federal agency" actually issues the pet passport. Additionally the USDA certified health certificate is valid for 4 months from day of issue to allow for onward travel. One last thought. The pet passport simply consolidates all official documents (health cert.,rabies cert., blood tests, tapeworm treatment). I've not read anything that says you MUST have a pet passport, but must have proof of all entry requirements. 
I will be sure to post a message about the experience. You've all been very helpful. Many thanks.


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## ccm47 (Oct 15, 2013)

You MUST comply with all the UK regulations and use the approved routes etc. The link for this is https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad/approved-routes
N. B. Timescales, the authorities are very picky about them.


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## panama rick (Oct 15, 2014)

I received a reply to an inquiry I made to the UK Department of Environment, Food, Rural Affairs; Animal and Plant Health Agency division. 
" Your health certificate will remain valid for a total of four months from the date of issue in the USA for further movement into other EU member states. Therefore if it is still valid you may enter the UK with it. However, if it is not valid you may take the health certificate to your vet and they will exchange it for an EU passport". This was good news. Thank you everyone for contributing. Cheers, Rick


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## expatgal (Mar 4, 2013)

panama rick said:


> I received a reply to an inquiry I made to the UK Department of Environment, Food, Rural Affairs; Animal and Plant Health Agency division.
> " Your health certificate will remain valid for a total of four months from the date of issue in the USA for further movement into other EU member states. Therefore if it is still valid you may enter the UK with it. However, if it is not valid you may take the health certificate to your vet and they will exchange it for an EU passport". This was good news. Thank you everyone for contributing. Cheers, Rick


Good job! I've been rooting for you and your pet!


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## panama rick (Oct 15, 2014)

Thanks very much. Also, really want to see Portugal.


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