Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Belgium → 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 Belgium publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. AFSCA's page gives no deadline, fee or booking route for the certificate. Ask your local control unit (ULC) early.
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
Belgium 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”
Paperwork
Bring proof of the destination's conditions to your local control unit
If the destination has its own conditions, or conditions AFSCA hasn't published, bring official proof that the destination's authority asked for them (with a sworn translation if needed) to your local AFSCA control unit (ULC) beforehand, not on the day of certification, so it can check that certification will be possible. Start preparing early.
Details and the official words
“vous devez présenter une preuve officielle attestant que ces conditions ont bien été exigées par l’autorité du pays de destination”
“Les conditions imposées par le pays de destination doivent être présentées au préalable”
Official stamp
Health certificate checked and certified by AFSCA (local control unit)
In most cases the destination requires a health certificate for your pet. AFSCA's website lists the procedure and the types of certificate. Your local control unit (ULC) has to be able to check that the certification is possible.
Details and the official words
AFSCA's page gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be: the destination's rules decide.
“Dans la majorité des cas, un certificat sanitaire est exigé par le pays de destination pour que votre animal puisse vous accompagner dans ce pays.”
“L’Unité locale de Contrôle (ULC) doit pouvoir contrôler que la certification sera possible.”
Good to know
- To travel outside the EU, the destination country's conditions apply. For some countries AFSCA publishes them; for others you must ask the embassy or the regional export-promotion organisations. It is your responsibility that the destination accepts your pet.
- AFSCA recommends a European passport, a microchip and a valid rabies vaccination. For a limited number of countries the rabies vaccination is not required, but AFSCA still advises it because it is needed to come back to the EU. Many non-EU countries count a vaccine as valid for one year, so check its date before you leave.
- Even after a short stay in a non-EU country, your pet has to meet the rules for entering Belgium from outside the EU when it comes back. Where a blood test is needed, the conditions are relaxed if you do it 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”
Paperwork
Bring proof of the destination's conditions to your local control unit
If the destination has its own conditions, or conditions AFSCA hasn't published, bring official proof that the destination's authority asked for them (with a sworn translation if needed) to your local AFSCA control unit (ULC) beforehand, not on the day of certification, so it can check that certification will be possible. Start preparing early.
Details and the official words
“vous devez présenter une preuve officielle attestant que ces conditions ont bien été exigées par l’autorité du pays de destination”
“Les conditions imposées par le pays de destination doivent être présentées au préalable”
Official stamp
Health certificate checked and certified by AFSCA (local control unit)
In most cases the destination requires a health certificate for your pet. AFSCA's website lists the procedure and the types of certificate. Your local control unit (ULC) has to be able to check that the certification is possible.
Details and the official words
AFSCA's page gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be: the destination's rules decide.
“Dans la majorité des cas, un certificat sanitaire est exigé par le pays de destination pour que votre animal puisse vous accompagner dans ce pays.”
“L’Unité locale de Contrôle (ULC) doit pouvoir contrôler que la certification sera possible.”
Good to know
- To travel outside the EU, the destination country's conditions apply. For some countries AFSCA publishes them; for others you must ask the embassy or the regional export-promotion organisations. It is your responsibility that the destination accepts your pet.
- AFSCA recommends a European passport, a microchip and a valid rabies vaccination. For a limited number of countries the rabies vaccination is not required, but AFSCA still advises it because it is needed to come back to the EU. Many non-EU countries count a vaccine as valid for one year, so check its date before you leave.
- Even after a short stay in a non-EU country, your pet has to meet the rules for entering Belgium from outside the EU when it comes back. Where a blood test is needed, the conditions are relaxed if you do it 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 Belgium 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.