Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Austria → Canada
What the official rules ask for on this route, for a family pet travelling with its owner. Enter your travel date and your pet’s details to turn it into a dated checklist.
Limited official guidance. The authority for leaving Austria publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. The health ministry's page gives no deadline, fee or application route for the certificate. Vienna's city page adds a 10-day rule and online booking for Vienna only; other districts may differ, so ask your district's official vet.
How early to start
No fixed wait
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet (the least time the official waiting periods allow)
No fixed wait
if it is already microchipped and vaccinated
Counted only from the officially fixed waiting periods. Vet, lab and paperwork appointment times are on top, so start earlier.
Which rules apply to you
Austria is in the group “Not on CFIA's rabies-free list” in Bringing a pet dog or cat into Canada’s published list.See every group
What your dog needs
Dogs
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination certificate
Bring a valid rabies vaccination certificate (in English or French, signed by a licensed vet, showing the vaccine and how long it protects). CFIA doesn't list a waiting period after vaccination.
Details and the official words
If the certificate doesn't state the duration of immunity, Canada treats it as valid for 1 year from the vaccination date.
If this is missed: The owner must have the pet vaccinated against rabies within a set time, at their own expense, and show the record to a CFIA office.
“a valid rabies vaccination certificate”
“a valid rabies vaccination certificate or a valid Rabies Country-Freedom Certificate”
“specify the duration of immunity (otherwise, it will be considered valid for 1 year from the date of vaccination)”
“state that the animal has been in the exporting country since birth or for at least 6 months immediately preceding the date of export to Canada”
On arrival
Healthy and transported humanely
Your dog must appear healthy on arrival and travel in line with Canada's humane transportation requirements.
Details and the official words
“the dog appears healthy and meets humane transportation requirements”
Official stamp
Certificate from your district's official vet (Amtstierarzt)
The veterinary certificates you need for the trip are issued by the official vet of your district or city (Bezirk or Magistrat). Book the appointment early and take your pet, its EU pet passport and any form the destination requires.
Details and the official words
In Vienna the certificate usually has to be issued within 10 days before travel (see the warning). The ministry's page gives no general deadline: the destination's own rule decides how recent the certificate must be.
“Für Reisen notwendige veterinärbehördliche Zertifikate stellt die Amtstierärztin bzw. der Amtstierarzt Ihres Bezirks bzw. Magistrats aus.”
Only in some cases
Official stamp · only in some cases
Authentication of the official vet's signature (Vidierung), if the destination asks
Some non-EU countries also want the central veterinary authorities to confirm that the official vet's signature is genuine. Only do this if your destination's rules ask for it.
Details and the official words
“Manche Drittstaaten verlangen zusätzlich eine Vidierung, das ist eine Bestätigung bzw. Beglaubigung der Echtheit der Unterschrift des Amtstierarztes bzw. der Amtstierärztin durch die zentralen Veterinärbehörden.”
Good to know
- The conditions for entering a non-EU country differ and change often. Find them early from the destination's embassy (its trade department) or its veterinary authority.
- Austria itself sets no extra conditions for leaving with a pet, for example no export quarantine. The destination's rules are what count.
- In Vienna the vet's health certificate usually has to be issued within 10 days before you travel, and only after you book an appointment online. Appointments sell out in the holiday season.
- Vaccinations, parasite treatments (for example against echinococcus) and titer tests must be done by your own vet before the official vet issues the certificate. Bring any form the destination requires, filled in as far as possible.
- To bring your pet back from most non-EU countries a rabies titer test is required. Austria says it is best done before you leave.
- 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.
What your cat needs
Cats
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination certificate
Bring a valid rabies vaccination certificate (in English or French, signed by a licensed vet, showing the vaccine and how long it protects). CFIA doesn't list a waiting period after vaccination.
Details and the official words
If the certificate doesn't state the duration of immunity, Canada treats it as valid for 1 year from the vaccination date.
If this is missed: The owner must have the pet vaccinated against rabies within a set time, at their own expense, and show the record to a CFIA office.
“a valid rabies vaccination certificate”
“a valid rabies vaccination certificate or a valid Rabies Country-Freedom Certificate”
“specify the duration of immunity (otherwise, it will be considered valid for 1 year from the date of vaccination)”
“state that the animal has been in the exporting country since birth or for at least 6 months immediately preceding the date of export to Canada”
Official stamp
Certificate from your district's official vet (Amtstierarzt)
The veterinary certificates you need for the trip are issued by the official vet of your district or city (Bezirk or Magistrat). Book the appointment early and take your pet, its EU pet passport and any form the destination requires.
Details and the official words
In Vienna the certificate usually has to be issued within 10 days before travel (see the warning). The ministry's page gives no general deadline: the destination's own rule decides how recent the certificate must be.
“Für Reisen notwendige veterinärbehördliche Zertifikate stellt die Amtstierärztin bzw. der Amtstierarzt Ihres Bezirks bzw. Magistrats aus.”
Only in some cases
Official stamp · only in some cases
Authentication of the official vet's signature (Vidierung), if the destination asks
Some non-EU countries also want the central veterinary authorities to confirm that the official vet's signature is genuine. Only do this if your destination's rules ask for it.
Details and the official words
“Manche Drittstaaten verlangen zusätzlich eine Vidierung, das ist eine Bestätigung bzw. Beglaubigung der Echtheit der Unterschrift des Amtstierarztes bzw. der Amtstierärztin durch die zentralen Veterinärbehörden.”
Good to know
- The conditions for entering a non-EU country differ and change often. Find them early from the destination's embassy (its trade department) or its veterinary authority.
- Austria itself sets no extra conditions for leaving with a pet, for example no export quarantine. The destination's rules are what count.
- In Vienna the vet's health certificate usually has to be issued within 10 days before you travel, and only after you book an appointment online. Appointments sell out in the holiday season.
- Vaccinations, parasite treatments (for example against echinococcus) and titer tests must be done by your own vet before the official vet issues the certificate. Bring any form the destination requires, filled in as far as possible.
- To bring your pet back from most non-EU countries a rabies titer test is required. Austria says it is best done before you leave.
- 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.
Common questions
Does my dog need a rabies blood test to go from Austria to Canada?
No. The official rules we have verified for this route don't ask for a rabies blood test.
Do I need an import permit to bring my dog into Canada?
No. The official rules we have verified for this route don't ask for an import permit.
Will my dog be quarantined in Canada?
Not on the routes we have verified: the official rules list no quarantine for a pet that meets the requirements.
Does my dog need a microchip?
The official rules we have verified for this route don't list a microchip requirement.