Exit guide
Taking a dog or cat out of Sweden
The steps the authorities in Sweden 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. Swedish Board of Agriculture publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. Jordbruksverket says it usually does not know other countries' requirements and gives no fixed deadline or fee for the certificate: the destination's own rules decide, and an official vet in your area issues the certificate.
The steps
Official stamp
Health certificate from an official vet in your area
Applies when: you do not travel to any EU country, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City
Most often your dog or cat needs both a passport and at least one type of animal health certificate issued by an official vet. Once you know which certificates you need, contact an official vet near you to help you meet the conditions and have the certificates issued.
Details and the official words
Jordbruksverket's page gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be: the destination's own requirements decide.
“Oftast behöver hunden både pass och minst en typ av djurhälsointyg som utfärdas av en officiell veterinär.”
“Oftast behöver katten både pass och minst en typ av djurhälsointyg som utfärdas av en officiell veterinär.”
“När du har tagit reda på vilka intyg som du behöver ska du kontakta en officiell veterinär i ditt närområde för att få hjälp med att uppfylla villkoren och få intygen utfärdade.”
Good to know
- When your dog or cat travels to a country outside the EU, the rules of that country apply and they differ from country to country. It is your responsibility to find out what applies, to use the right certificate and to make sure the pet meets the rules. Contact the destination's veterinary authority or its embassy in Sweden in good time.When: You do not travel to any EU country, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City
- If your pet travels with wrong or incomplete documents, the authorities of the destination decide what happens: it can be refused entry and sent back, put in quarantine at your cost, or in the worst case put down.When: You do not travel to any EU country, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City
- Contact the destination's veterinary authority, ask for the requirements in writing, and ask whether it accepts Jordbruksverket's health certificate for dogs and cats. Ask about special certificates, sampling, deworming or other treatments (for example Norway requires deworming against the fox tapeworm). Use the right terms: the rules can differ for a holiday trip with the owner and a trip to change owner by sale, adoption or rehoming.When: You do not travel to any EU country, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City
- Make sure your pet meets the rules for coming back to Sweden before you go. If a rabies antibody test is needed to return and its result is not in the passport before the trip, a dog may have to wait up to 4 months before it can come home.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 Sweden where we cover both sides.