Exit guide
Taking a dog or cat out of Lithuania
The steps the authorities in Lithuania require before your pet leaves, mostly the health certificate and who has to sign or endorse it. The destination adds its own requirements on top: pick it below, or make a dated plan.
Limited official guidance. State Food and Veterinary Service publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. VMVT's page says only that the destination sets the rules, that an import permit and a veterinary certificate from an official vet may be needed, and that some procedures take months. It gives no deadline, fee or endorsement procedure for leaving Lithuania: ask VMVT (phone 1879, or +370 5 242 0108 from abroad).
The steps
Official stamp
An official vet of the country the pet leaves from approves and issues the veterinary certificate
Applies when: you do not travel to any EU country, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City
When the destination asks for a veterinary certificate, VMVT says it is approved and issued by an official vet in the country the animal leaves from. Its form and content, and any annexes, are set by the destination country: for some countries the certificates are already published (VMVT's page links them).
Details and the official words
VMVT's page gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be, no fee and no booking procedure: the destination's own requirements decide, and VMVT is the place to ask.
“Sertifikatą patvirtina ir išduoda oficialus veterinarijos gydytojas toje šalyje, iš kurios gyvūnas išvyksta.”
“Keliaujant iš ES į trečiąsias šalis ar teritorijas, veterinarinio sertifikato forma ir turinys bei bet kokie priedai nustatomi trečiosios šalies.”
Good to know
- The conditions for bringing a pet into a country outside the EU are set by that country's own national law. VMVT recommends finding out well before the trip what your pet must meet to enter that country, because some procedures can take several months.When: You do not travel to any EU country, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City
- Check the destination's veterinary rules in advance. If the country requires it, you must get an import permit and a veterinary certificate.When: You do not travel to any EU country, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City
- Not every country outside the EU accepts the EU pet passport. Some let dogs, cats and ferrets travel with it; others require a veterinary certificate issued by an official vet of the competent authority.When: You do not travel to any EU country, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City
- Planning to bring your pet back to the EU? After a short stay in a non-EU country you can skip the 3-month wait after the rabies blood test, but only if, before you leave the EU, your pet was vaccinated against rabies, passed a successful titer test, and your vet recorded both in its EU pet passport. So do the blood test before you go.When: You do not travel to any EU country, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City
Where are you taking your pet?
Routes from Lithuania where we cover both sides.